LIVE BLOG: George Zimmerman trial in the Trayvon Martin case
LIVE BLOG - George Zimmerman trial in the death of Trayvon Martin...
[Read Day 2 Blogging of Jury Selection Below]
UPDATE, 5:11 p.m.: The court is now in recess for the evening until 9a.m. tomorrow.
UPDATE, 4:58 p.m.:Â E54 said that he has no reason to believe that the hooded sweatshirt played a significant role in the case. He said he assumes that anything not presented in the courtroom is not applicable.
UPDATE, 4:51 p.m.: Don West, of the defense, is now questioning E54.
UPDATE, 4:41 p.m.: E54 says that he discussed the case with his wife and teenage son. His step-son is 16, which is close to Trayvon Martin’s age. He said his son “dresses the same way” as Martin and that prompted their conversation after the shooting.
UPDATE, 4:38 p.m.: E54 claimed that he “lost interest” after Zimmerman was finally arrested. He said he did not pay much attention to case proceedings after that.
UPDATE, 4:31 p.m.: E54 referenced a 911 call when asked what he recalled hearing about the case. After detailing all of what he remembered, E54 said his source was from the local TV station. He says his initial focus on the case began when protestors questioned about the lack of an initial arrest of Mr. Zimmerman.
UPDATE, 4:29 p.m.: Potential juror E54 is being brought forward to be questioned by De la Rionda.
UPDATE, 4:27 p.m.: E40 says she recalls the words “gated community”, “teenager”, and “struggle” when asked what she recalls about the case.
UPDATE, 4:22 p.m.: Defense attorney O’Mara is now questioning E40. E40 says she can make decisions based solely on the evidence presented in court.
UPDATE, 4:21 p.m.: E40 says she does not fully trust media in the way they present information. She agrees that she had no first opinions and continues to have no lasting opinions about the case.
UPDATE, 4:13 p.m.: Potential juror, E40, is being brought forward and is being questioned by De la Rionda. She moved to Seminole County this past November from Iowa and learned about the case through national news.
UPDATE, 4:05 p.m.: E6 claims to have heard both the 911 call and Mr. Zimmerman’s call to the police. She says the calls were thought provoking but didn’t cause her to form an opinion. She says she has seen headlines about the audio experts being used in court.
UPDATE, 3:56 p.m.: “I really can’t make a guess without knowing the facts” says E6. She said she has not thought much about the case one way or the other, and said she hasn’t been asked her opinion about the case before.
UPDATE, 3:46 p.m.: E6 says that she used the incident as a “teaching moment” for her kids. Don West, defense attorney, is now questioning her.
UPDATE, 3:42 p.m.: E6 says she has not done any intentional internet research and does not remember hearing any commentary about the case. She says she has not discussed the case with anyone, but may have mentioned it to her kids.
UPDATE, 3:35 p.m.: After a 10 minute recess, the next potential juror, E6, has been brought in and is being questioned by De la Rionda.
UPDATE 3:15 p.m.: On the issue of being sequestered B86 admitted that she may have difficulties focusing on the case.
UPDATE, 3:05 p.m.: B86 said that she could try to set her opinions aside if she was selected. She is now being questioned by defense attorney O’Mara.
UPDATE, 3:01 p.m.: B86 said that hearing that Martin was suspended from a previous school resonated with her because she is a single parent. She said she thinks she could keep an open mind if Trayvon Martin’s mother were to speak to the court.
UPDATE, 2:53 p.m.: B86 is a female middle school teacher. She said that she has had discussions about the case and has seen media coverage. She remembers the controversy around the 911 tape.
UPDATE, 2:49 p.m.: Potential juror, B86 is being questioned by De la Rionda.
UPDATE, 2:30 p.m.: According to the Huffington Post, bad weather in Florida has caused the live feed to go down temporarily.
UPDATE, 2:25 p.m.: B65 said she lived in Seminole County at the time of the incident between Zimmerman and Martin in February, 2012.
UPDATE, 2:20 p.m.: B65 admits that she is not sure that the person that she saw on the t-shirt was in fact Trayvon Martin. She is not exactly sure what Martin looks like or how old he was, only that he was the young man that died.
UPDATE, 2:16 p.m.: George Zimmerman’s attorney, Don West, is questioning B65. She says she had not seen a picture of Zimmerman before the jury selection began yesterday, but had seen Trayvon Martin’s photo on a t-shirt.
UPDATE, 2:14 p.m.: B65 says she does not have cable and has not followed the case through the media. She claims she has not really come in contact with information about the case, even indirectly.
UPDATE, 2:11 p.m.: B65 learned of the case at church in a prayer from her pastor on behalf of Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman.
UPDATE, 2:09 p.m.: Potential juror, B65, is being questioned by Bernie De la Rionda.
UPDATE, 1:55 p.m.: B55 is planning a family vacation and it would be difficult for her to go if she was selected a s a juror.
UPDATE, 1:47 p.m.: B55 had no discussion with other people on Facebook, but she saw opinionated statuses from other people. She is a business student and has not discussed the case with classmates outside of one day in her class.
UPDATE, 1:46 p.m.: O’Mara is now questioning B55.
UPDATE, 1:41 p.m.: B55 learned about the case on Facebook, and remembered Trayvon Martin in a hooded sweatshirt.
UPDATE, 1:38 p.m.: Court is back in session. Potential juror, B55, is being questioned by De la Rionda.
UPDATE, 12:09 p.m.: The judge has called for a recess for lunch. The court will resume at 1:00 p.m.
UPDATE, 11:57 a.m.: West asks B51 if she felt that the investigation of Mr. Zimmerman and his arrest were”mishandled”. She answered that the police might have been trying to “protect his [Zimmerman’s] rights” before they arrested him.
UPDATE, 11:43 a.m.: B51 says that being in managerial positions has helped her be able to change her mind when provided with new information.
UPDATE, 11:40 a.m.: West asks B51 if she felt Mr. Zimmerman was wrong in the case. “I am certainly aware that is part of the situation– that he didn’t wait [for the police]… I guess he did do something wrong,” saidB51. She also said that she has not formed a rigid opinion. She calls herself “open-minded”.
UPDATE, 11:36 a.m.: B51 finds the case sad. She said “anytime there is a loss of life it is sad”. She mentioned that she did not realize that neighborhood watch groups were so “organized” or that they had residential participants.
UPDATE, 11:29 a.m.: Defense attorney Don West is now questioning B51.
UPDATE, 11:25 a.m.: B51 says her family is “not that interested” in the case and she is concerned about the media attention surrounding the courthouse.
UPDATE, 11:20 a.m.: B51 said that she would watch the local news and read the local newspaper when they covered information about the case.
UPDATE, 11:16 a.m.: New potential juror, B51, is being questioned by De la Rionda.
UPDATE, 10:59 a.m.: The court has taken a 10 minute recess.
UPDATE, 10:56 a.m.: B37 says she hasn’t talked about the case with anyone.
UPDATE, 10:50 a.m.: B37 described Martin as a boy of color around teenage years. She remembers a scuffle and the boy being killed.
UPDATE, 10:47 a.m.: O’Mara is now questioning potential juror B37.
UPDATE, 10:44 a.m.: B37 says she has not followed the case since the incident in February. She said “I didn’t even know what he [Zimmerman] was charged with until I got here.”
UPDATE, 10:38 a.m.: B37 says she gets most of her news from NBC local and national TV outlets, but does not read newspapers because she finds them to be untruthful. She does not surf the internet or listen to the radio.
UPDATE, 10:36 a.m.: New potential juror, called B37, is being questioned by prosecutor De la Rionda about what she knows about the case.
UPDATE, 10:32 a.m.: B35 does not believe that the prosecution fueled the focus on race after Martin’s death, and thinks that he can equally scrutinize both sides of the case.
UPDATE, 10:25 a.m.: B35 is now being questioned by Don West of the defense.
UPDATE, 10:18 a.m.: B35 says his friends and family are all “pro-Trayvon” and most of the news sources other than Fox News seemed to be “pro-Trayvon” as well.
UPDATE, 10:10 a.m.: B35 claims that he was upset about how the media politicized Trayvon Martin’s death based on race.
UPDATE, 10:05 a.m.: “I don’t know what happened because I wasn’t there, but I didn’t think it was racially motivated,” said B35.
UPDATE, 10:02 a.m.: Potential juror B35 is being questioned by De la Rionda.
UPDATE, 9:57 a.m.: B7 is concerned about alienating family members or friends or angering strangers with the jury’s verdict if he is to be selected.
UPDATE, 9:48 a.m.: B7 quantifies that he has been exposed to information about the case 40-60 times.
UPDATE, 9:46 a.m.: B7 explains popular opinions about both sides of the case. He says, “How do you know if you don’t know these people… Its offensive to speak that way about a dead man or someone who has been through what Mr. Zimmerman has.”
UPDATE, 9:41 a.m.: B7 remembers Stand Your Ground law and the controversy that surrounded it and the meanings of self defense.
UPDATE, 9:36 a.m.: Defense attorney Mark O’Mara is now questioning B7 about media preferences.
UPDATE, 9:31 a.m.: B7 said his father believes that “inappropriate things were done by Mr. Zimmerman and unfortunately someone died.”
UPDATE, 9:27 a.m.: B7 feels that media coverage did not provide all of the facts. He said, “You should not be convicted in the court of public opinion” and he doesn’t have enough information to make an opinion.
UPDATE, 9:23 a.m.: B7 said he is an infrequent TV news consumer, but has car radio set on NPR. B7 remembers references to the Stand Your Ground law, a shooting, and a fight that lead to Trayvon Martin’s death.
UPDATE June 11, 9:21 a.m.: Court is now in session. Potential juror, called B7, is being questioned by prosecutor Bernie De la Rionda.
