Subscribe
The Daily Grind Video
CLOSE

The state and the defense in the George Zimmerman trial both agree that media should not be privy to the evidence surrounding the case. Each side hopes that a judge will keep all the evidence private from the media.

STORY: Is There A Bombshell Waiting To Drop In The Trayvon Martin Case?

However, lawyers representing more than a dozen newspapers and television stations across the state and elsewhere argue the shooting death Trayvon Martin is a matter of great interest and concern, and the public has a right to information.

The two sides will square off in court in Sanford, Florida Friday afternoon to discuss the evidence, which includes the statements Zimmerman gave investigators, phone records and crime-scene photos.

In a motion seeking to have the documents sealed, Assistant State Attorney Bernie de la Rionda argued that their release “will result in … an inability to seat a fair and impartial jury in Seminole County.”

According to the Orlando Sentinel, the media companies, including the Orlando Sentinel, The Miami Herald, The New York Times and CBS News argue there’s no evidence of that.

Of the evidence the public hasn’t yet seen, Zimmerman’s statements to law enforcement may be the most important.

Prosecutors want them sealed, because they’re inconsistent with physical evidence, witness accounts and other Zimmerman statements and they amount to a confession. Confessions are exempt from state public records law.

The judge could decide today whether prosecutors were in the wrong and what additional evidence, if any, they must release to the public.