UPDATE: 11:00 AM EST
George Zimmerman’s trial will not be delayed. It is scheduled to begin on June 10, 2013.
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UPDATE: 9:30 AM EST
The judge has ruled that Trayvon Martin’s history of marijuana use, fighting, and his text messages will not be allowed in the trial.
However, judge Debra S. Nelson specified that neither party will mention any fighting in opening statements. This story is developing.
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George Zimmerman’s second-degree murder trial begins in just two weeks, and his attorneys are getting frantic.
In the last pre-trial hearing before the June 10 trial date, Zimmerman’s defense attorneys returned to court to ask for yet another trial delay. But that’s not all – they are also asking that an especially damaging state audio expert be banned from testifying.
The compelling audio was analyzed by the expert, who says that in the background of a 911 call, he heard Trayvon Martin in distress and in a trembling voice say, “I’m begging you.”
Also included in the list of requests from the defense:
Circuit Judge Debra S. Nelson will be asked to decide a long list of other issues, things that will determine how the trial plays out and what jurors will see and hear.
For example, defense attorney Mark O’Mara has asked that she take jurors to the scene of the shooting, a middle- to working-class gated townhouse community on Sanford’s west side where Zimmerman killed Trayvon.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, defense attorneys on Tuesday also will ask the judge to keep jurors’ names a secret, something prosecutors are not expected to oppose.
We’ll keep you updated on the judge’s decision. Make sure to check back to GlobalGrind for coverage on the upcoming trial.
SOURCE: Orlando Sentinel
