Following his second bail hearing last week, George Zimmerman is back in jail, waiting to see if his request for bail will be granted by Judge Kenneth R. Lester. There are indications to suggest that Zimmerman will remain in jail until his trial in the Trayvon Martin case. Bail hearings are for the sole purpose to determine if the defendant is a flight risk or a danger to society. Another key element is the strength of the prosecution’s case. Zimmerman is charged with 2nd degree murder which also bears on the bail. Yet, another issue is the defendant abiding by the court’s orders, if released on bail.
At Zimmerman’s first hearing, based on what we now know to be lies, he was granted a $150,000 bail. And ironically, Zimmerman’s lawyers now request that he be freed again on the same amount of bail–$150,000. He can’t possibly expect to be released on the same amount of bail after having found out to be a liar. To be released on the same low bail, would make a mockery of the judicial system. And if I were Zimmerman’s attorney, I would not have argued that nonsense. And remember his wife was charged with perjury for her alleged lies under oath about their finances.
The judge indicated that he needs to think over the case and will file a written decision. Undoubtedly, if the judge rules against Zimmerman and remands him to remain in jail pending trial, the defense will file an appeal of the ruling. And that’s the very reason why the judge is writing a written opinion rather than an oral ruling from the bench. If an appeal is filed, the judge wants to make sure that the sound legal reasoning for denying Zimmerman’s bail is in writing.
The defense did a good job of playing up the Stand Your Ground defense at the bail hearing to show weaknesses in the prosecution’s case. That was more for the benefit of the potential jurors in the case who will read about the case in the media. The defense did a poor job of explaining to the judge why Zimmerman should be released on the same bail amount, when the Court was convinced the first time that the family had little finances. This time around is different. Even Zimmerman’s own accounting witnesses testified that moving the money around looked like he was hiding money.
George Zimmerman conspired with his wife to hide funds available to him in a recorded jail house phone call. And he allowed his wife to testify falsely at his first bail hearing, without attempting to correct her false statements. We know he does not follow the instructions of the authorities. Additionally, when Zimmerman’s wife found a second passport, he told her to keep it, instead of turning over to the authorities. The judge previously ordered him to surrender his passport. He had a second one because he thought it had been previously stolen.
Florida statute 903.035 states:
903.035 Applications for bail; information provided; hearing on application for modification; penalty for providing false or misleading information or omitting material information.—(1)(a) All information provided by a defendant, in connection with any application for or attempt to secure bail, to any court, court personnel, or individual soliciting or recording such information for the purpose of evaluating eligibility for, or securing, bail for the defendant, under circumstances such that the defendant knew or should have known that the information was to be used in connection with an application for bail, shall be accurate, truthful, and complete without omissions to the best knowledge of the defendant.
(b) The failure to comply with the provisions of paragraph (a) may result in the revocation or modification of bail.
Judge Lester is still deciding on whether to release Zimmerman on bail after he has been proven to be a liar, manipulator and unable to follow instructions of authorities, including the judge. Does that mean he should remain in jail? Looking at the totality of the evidence and law, it is highly unlikely that Zimmerman will be released on bail. Yes, he could remain in jail until the trial–expected to start in 2013.
Washington, DC based Debbie Hines is a former prosecutor and founder of LegalSpeaks, a progressive blog on women and race in law and politics. As a legal and political commentator she has appeared in national and local media including the Michael Eric Dyson Show, NBC, ABC and CBS affiliates, RT TV, CBC- Canadian TV, NPR, XM Sirius radio, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, USA Today, Black Enterprise among others. She also writes for the Huffington Post.
Dubai-Kanzlei says
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KA says
I believe that as well. I think the State’s response filed on 6/29/2012 spelled out well that there is no change in situation from June 1st. There was no defense for the action except to say there was fear and mistrust of the judge? He must have also feared and mistrusted O’Mara, because if his filings are true, he not only omitted information about the funds, but had O’Mara start preparing paperwork to declare him indignant.
He already had over 20K in his account before the Request for Reasonable Bond was made citing the Zimmerman’s indignant status. He also somehow negotiated a “pro bono” status with O’Mara in the same timeframe.
I did not feel the most recent bail hearing was a sincere attempt at getting Zimmerman out on bail, I think it was a fishing expedition to test Judge Lester’s position on the evidence he feels is appropriate for a SYG hearing. I imagine that putting Zimmerman on the stand is a risky move for O’Mara in a SYG hearing, if he is going to do that (which I think he has to in that situation), he wants a reasonable chance of success. The credibility hits are too damaging on their own, so if physical evidence and various statements are enough to sway without too much weight on Zimmerman’s credibility, then I think he would likely try it.
I think this hearing was a “safe” place to “test” that as he really had no respectable defense for the Zimmerman’s dishonesty, so there was not much to say there that would make his chances any better. I suspect it was worth the opportunity to get some feedback on the possibility of a SYG hearing.
Thanks for your blog, I follow it religiously.
KA says
I also wanted to add that I found it interesting that the State said they WELCOMED a SYG hearing because then they could, at least, cross examine Zimmerman and make knows the inconsistencies of his statements to physical evidence. I suspect the State charged him knowing he would, most likely, have a SYG hearing as part of his defense. They knew that his statements on record would not stand against some compelling physical and circumstantial evidence.
I believe now though that if Lester still contends that the State’s case is strong, O’Mara will not attempt a SYG hearing. The relevancy of testimony and the possibilities of further damage to his credibility would be disastrous to a trail.
Debbie Hines says
I think the defense will proceed with a Stand Your Ground, regardless of how the judge rules on the bail hearing or how he responds to the strength/or weakness of the state’s case.
Alicia says
When George gets out this week is everyone going to start screaming foul or what? He should be let out because he didnt have his trial yet, what happened to this countrys justice system lately? It seems that the system is being run by the media and different political groups. This judge is a joke because george is in court for a BAIL HEARING not the case itself but people dont look at it that way. Also I hope the defense brings up the real reason Trayvon only purchased ICED TEA & SKITTLES as the news media and everyone else has been screaming about. If anyone wants to know why he had these things on him go read some of his old facebook posting, these things are used to make a poor mans PCP which Trayvon did all the time because of his DRUG HABIT. George will be out by the weekend or I sure hope he is.