LIVE BLOG: George Zimmerman trial in the Trayvon Martin case
LIVE BLOG - George Zimmerman trial in the death of Trayvon Martin...
[Read Day 4 Blogging of Jury Selection Below]
UPDATE, 5:17 p.m.: The court is in recess for the evening, the jury selection will resume at 9 a.m. tomorrow.
UPDATE, 5:14 p.m.: Potential juror B65 is back on the stand and has identified that it would be a hardship for her to serve on the jury. She was quickly released.
UPDATE 4:57 p.m.: G14 claims that she can not form an opinion about why Zimmerman shot Martin. She said, “I know that I don’t have an opinion… that I would have to set aside”.
UPDATE, 4:52 p.m.: G14 said she remembers two motions that had been filed before jury selection had begun. She also remembers the police chief losing his job.
UPDATE, 4:49 p.m.: Don West is questioning G14.
UPDATE, 4:43 p.m.: G14 said she doesn’t feel like the local media “intended” to present a bias. She doesn’t think the presentation of news was slanted, but noticed the focus has shifted more heavily from one side to the other.
UPDATE 4:36 p.m.: G14 said she thinks the media coverage favored Martin.
UPDATE, 4:32 p.m.: G14 said that she has seen pictures of Mr. Martin in a hoodie and pictures of Mr. Zimmerman with injuries to his head.
UPDATE, 4:30 p.m.: G14 uses the internet at work to search for breaking news, not specific to this case.
UPDATE, 4:27 p.m.: New potential juror, G14, is being questioned by De la Rionda.
UPDATE 4:18 p.m.: P67 says he is capable of only considering the evidence.
UPDATE, 4:14 p.m.: O’Mara is now questioning P67.
UPDATE, 4:14 p.m.: P67 said he wants to be on the jury and agrees that this case is his opportunity to serve this country.
UPDATE, 4:05 p.m.: P67 said that he is not going to favor anyone until he can see how the case proceeds.
UPDATE, 4:01 p.m.: The potential juror, P67, does not think that the incident was a race issue. He said his impression was that the situation was an “accident”.
UPDATE, 3:59 p.m.: New potential juror is being questioned by De la Rionda. He said that the protestors had the right to free speech.
UPDATE, 3:54 p.m.: B67 said she would have a conflict being sequestered because she is enrolled in school and has a son that is taking leave from the Air Force to visit her. She was soon dismissed.
UPDATE, 3:46 p.m.: B67 said she saw a news broadcast about the case on local TV, and she saw pictures. She claims to not have payed attention and really doesn’t know anything about Trayvon Martin.
UPDATE, 3:44 p.m.: New potential juror, B67, is being questioned by Bernie de la Rionda.
UPDATE, 3:43 p.m.: B34 said that he thinks that Mr.Zimmerman is guilty. He said that this is a “tough position” for him but his mind is made up.
UPDATE, 3:39 p.m.: B34 said he searched Mr. Zimmerman’s name on YouTube and watched videos (that only contained audio) within the last few weeks.
UPDATE, 3:36 p.m.: B34 was informed about the case by his children at a weekly family dinner.
UPDATE, 3:33 p.m.: B34 has seen information about the trial on all of the local news stations, but does not read the newspapers.
UPDATE, 3:31 p.m.: Court is back in session. Potential juror B34 is being questioned by De la Rionda.
UPDATE, 3:17 p.m.: Court will be in recess for 15 minutes.
UPDATE, 3:01 p.m.: N18 said he has not talked about the case with anyone at church or in any social circle.
UPDATE, 2:53 p.m.: N18 referenced the 10 commandments and said, “I believe in god’s law”.
UPDATE, 2:52 p.m.: Zimmerman’s attorney, Don West is now questioning N18. N18 says he has seen O’Mara on the news.
UPDATE, 2:49 p.m.: N18 said that he believes Zimmerman is “guilty” but understands that a person is “innocent until proven guilty”.
UPDATE, 2:45 p.m.: N18 said that he was not completely able to understand some questions because his native tongue is Spanish.
UPDATE, 2:43 p.m.: New potential juror, N18 is being questioned by De la Rionda. N18 said he learned of the case through local and national news.
UPDATE, 2:29 p.m.: When asked for three things that she remembers about the case, K95 answered: the age differences of Martin’s pictures, a bag of skittles, and a hoodie. After being probed by O’Mara she offers more small memories.
UPDATE, 2:22 p.m.: K95 said her first impression was that the media tried to turn the incident into a race issue and that made her change the channel. She calls herself a “research buff” because she needs to know facts.
UPDATE, 2:20 p.m.: O’Mara is now questioning K95.
UPDATE, 2:16 p.m.: K95 said she remembers Martin’s photo on TV. She also said she would have no hardship if selected as a juror.
UPDATE, 2:06 p.m.: K95 said that she does not know much about the case. At the time of the incident she did not have thorough discussions with her family or classmates about the case.
UPDATE, 2:03 p.m.: Bernie de la Rionda, of the state, is questioning potential juror K95.
UPDATE, 1:53 p.m.: Judge Nelson just decided to sequester the jury for the duration of the trial. The trial is anticipated to last 2-4 weeks. Selected jurors would not be allowed to participate in day to day activities and would have limited to access to the outside world.
UPDATE, 1:36 p.m.: “I don’t think this case should be about anything racial it was a terrible accident that occurred,” said K80.
UPDATE, 1:25 p.m.: K80 is concerned for her safety and that of her family if the identity of the jurors is somehow released.
UPDATE, 1:15 p.m.: K80 said she tries to distance herself and compares this case to the Casey Anthony case. She said she followed the case when it first happened because of the protests.
UPDATE, 1:12 p.m.: She says that the news she watches puts their own “spin” on things and she tries not to watch negative news in front of her children.
UPDATE, 1:11 p.m.: Potential juror, K80 is being questioned by De la Rionda. She watched local TV news and has a subscription to the Orlando Sentinel.
UPDATE, 1:00 p.m.: Court is back in session.
UPDATE, 12:00 p.m.: The judge has called a recess, court will resume at 1:00 p.m.
UPDATE, 11:38 a.m.: E81 said she does not want to be separated from her husband, but could serve as a juror if called upon.
UPDATE, 11:25 a.m.: E81 thinks that she can set aside her “working knowledge” of the facts of the case and rule only on what is presented in the courtroom. She said “If it is not presented as evidence, it has no place.”
UPDATE, 11:15 a.m.: O’Mara is now questioning E81.
UPDATE, 11:13 a.m.: E81 said she thought about donating to the Zimmerman defense fund, but decided against it.
UPDATE, 10:55 a.m.: E81 said that she would be nervous to serve on the jury. She researched the case after she received her summons, and she said her opinion is based on what she knows about the case and her personal beliefs.
UPDATE, 10:50 a.m.: E81 said that her “mind is made up” unless presented with different evidence.
UPDATE, 10:40 a.m.: E81 referred to Trayvon Martin as a “street fighter” and said that he did not sustain the same type of injuries as Mr. Zimmerman. She said she remembers Zimmerman having a bloody nose and blood on his clothing. She said that she knows Trayvon Martin was smoking marijuana, interested in guns, and was “going down the wrong path”.
UPDATE, 10:37 a.m.:Â A new potential juror, E81, is being questioned by Bernie de la Rionda. She admits that she believes that George Zimmerman is innocent and that he acted in self defense.
UPDATE, 10:26 a.m.: E75 said that he does not think that there is a racial issue in the case, but other people do. He said he heard others in school say that no one cared because it was a black person that was shot.
UPDATE, 10:14 a.m.: E75 was a junior in high school at the time of the shooting in February. He said classmates would talk about the incident at school and teachers would shut down the conversation. He said the majority of his classmates thought George Zimmerman was guilty.
UPDATE, 10:04 a.m.: E75 explains to West the access that he had to comments about the case through Facebook. He said there were comments during February pertaining to the case, but he did not post any comments specifying his opinions. E75 says that he saw comments from people who claimed to be friends of Trayvon Martin.
UPDATE, 10:01 a.m.: E75 said that he will not have any financial hardship if he is unable to work during the trial period.
UPDATE, 9:58 a.m.: Defense attorney, Don West, is now questioning potential juror E75.
UPDATE, 9:50 a.m.: E75 said that he doesn’t know very much about the case other than the two men involved. He said he has heard his peers at school discuss the case, and the topic was discussed heavily on social media when the incident first happened in February.
UPDATE, 9:47 a.m.: The next potential juror, E75, is being questioned by state attorney De la Rionda.
UPDATE, 9:43 a.m.: E50 speaks of the difficulty he would face caring for his 4 year old grandson if he were selected for the jury.
UPDATE, 9:37 a.m.: E50 does not use the internet.
UPDATE, 9:31 a.m.: O’Mara, of the defense, is now questioning E50. E50 says he did not remember much about the case but knows that Zimmerman was a watchman, and that Zimmerman and Trayvon were of different races.
UPDATE, 9:23 a.m.: E50 said he has lost a child, but it will not hinder his ability to be a juror.
UPDATE, 9:17 a.m.: E50 says he stays away from the news because it “depresses him”.
UPDATE, June 13, 9:11 a.m.: Court is now in session. Prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda is now questioning new potential juror, E50.
