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United States News Title: State Asks Judge To Revoke George Zimmerman's Bond SANFORD – In an unexpected turn, Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester is hearing argument about whether George Zimmerman's bond should be revoked in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. In a new motion filed, prosecutors accused Zimmerman and his wife of lying to the judge during a bond hearing about money they collected for his defense. Prosecutors allege Zimmerman's wife knew about the donations her husband had collected through a PayPalaccount, but didn't mention the money at his bond hearing. Zimmerman's PayPal account collected more than $200,000, his attorney later revealed. "Defendant has intentionally deceived the court with the assistance of his wife," the motion says. "During the jail phone calls both of them spoke in code to hide what they were doing." Prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda told the judge today that "this court was led to believe that they didn't have a single penny" at the earlier bond hearing. Zimmerman's wife "flat out lied to this court,"de la Rionda said, and as a result, his bond should be revoked or increased significantly. The state also argues that Zimmerman has a second passport in addition to the one he surrendered. Argument on the bond issue came after Lester heard argument about whether he should seal key evidence in the case from the public, including the names of witnesses and the statements Zimmerman made to law enforcement. Assistant State Attorney Bernie de la Rionda started out arguing for the sealing of the names of civilian witnesses in the case. "These witnesses are scared to death to comply," he said. De la Rionda acknowledged that such information is usually public in Florida, but said "this is a very unique case." After De la Rionda went over other evidence the state wants sealed, defense attorney Mark O'Mara spoke in concurrence. "There's no question that we're in a new age," he said. O'Mara argued that his client's statements should fall under the exemption for confessions, and should not be released, echoing the state's motion. However, media lawyer Scott Ponce argued that Zimmerman's statements are not confessions. Zimmerman admits to shooting Trayvon Martin, but says he did so in self-defense. Under case law, Ponce said a statement is only considered a confession "...if the defendant admits every element of the crime." Lester indicated that he shared the concerns of the state and defense, but the public records laws in Florida are likely to tie his hands. He indicated that much of what the media requested will be released, but not for at least 30 days. Special Prosecutor Angela Corey contends that all she wants is a fair trial. To get it, though, she insists she needs to keep secret several key pieces of evidence. They include five statements Zimmerman gave authorities; witness names; crime scene photos that show Trayvon's body; and cell phone records for Zimmerman, Trayvon Martin, the teenager he shot to death, and the victim's 16-year-old Miami friend, who told authorities she was on the phone with Trayvon and heard the start of his confrontation with Zimmerman. Defense attorneyMark O'Maraalso wants witness names and other pieces of evidence kept secret. He's also asking the judge to give him 30 days to look at evidence before its released to everyone else. That way, if he finds something he wants kept secret, he can ask the judge to seal it. Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder in the Feb. 26 shooting. He told police he fired in self-defense after the teenager knocked him to the ground and began banging his head against the sidewalk. Trayvon's father and family attorneys say Zimmerman is guilty of racial profiling, that he had spotted the teenager in his Sanford neighborhood, got out of his SUV while armed with a handgun and began pursuing the teen then confronted and murdered him. Corey's office released a mountain of evidence to the media and public two weeks ago, but on her own and without a court order, decided to withhold a significant portion. News organizations say that's not fair and not what's required under Florida's public records law. Nearly a dozen media companies have filed paperwork, asking the judge to order her to release more. Those companies include the Orlando Sentinel, The New York Times, CBS News, CNN and NBCUniversal. Their lawyers will be in court today, urging the judge to force Corey's office to prove what Florida courts say she – and any prosecutor seeking to withhold pretrial evidence - must if she wants it kept secret. It's a three-part test: Prosecutors must show that release of the evidence would cause a "serious and imminent threat" to proceedings. They must show that sealing the documents is the only way, short of moving the trial to another county, that Zimmerman can get a fair trial. And they must show that sealing the records would be effective.
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#1. To: Brian S (#0)
(Edited)
High-Profile Fla. Lawyer To Join Zimmerman Defense To: SaraJohnson Sounds like good news. I really figured the pressure was on Zimmerman to take some kind of minor plea just to make the case go away (the clearly have him on a littering charge) . Sounds like they are still committed to fighting all the way. 3 posted on Friday, June 01, 2012 7:40:14 AM by I cannot think of a name
If you ... don't use exclamation points --- you should't be typeing ! Commas - semicolons - question marks are for girlie boys !
11:01 AKST KENI 650 radio news just reported that the Judge agreed and HAS revoked his bail. They are reportedly asking him to surrender himself.
Spoiled, stupid and ignorant, brain dead phuckwads, libTURD fools, tools, and idiots, are the real sickness; the messiah "king" obammy and his regime are only the symptoms.
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