(ABC) The Florida judge presiding over George Zimmerman’s murder trial reversed herself today and announced that the jurors will be sequestered for the trial.
“The parties have, both sides have, stipulated that this trial will last between two and four weeks,” Judge Debra Nelson said. “Based upon that approximate stipulation, I will be sequestering the jury.”
Earlier the judge had ruled that the six-member jury and four alternates would be anonymous, but declined to have them sequestered.
In February 2012, Zimmerman, a neighborhood watchman in Sanford, Fla., shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin after a confrontation in the dark. Zimmerman has said he shot the black teen, who he said had been acting “suspiciously,” in self-defense.
The racially charged case has attracted national attention.
Watch live here:
Jury Selection – Day 5
Leaders, Tweeners and Followers: A Guide to Jury Selection
http://frederickleatherman.com/2013/06/16/leaders-tweeners-and-followers-a-guide-to-jury-selection/
This article supplements my post yesterday: Zimmerman trial and the strategic use of peremptory challenges UPDATED
I used a simple three-part classification method during jury selection to decide how to use my peremptory challenges. I do not claim to have invented this method. Many lawyers use it or something similar to it. I had lots of success with it and recommend that we use it to evaluate the potential jurors (PJs).
The three categories are: leaders, followers and tweeners.
Leaders
Leaders are generally, but not always, well-educated professional people with lots of life-experience. They are self-confident, comfortable in their own skin and good at organizing and managing other people. These folks usually are selected to serve as the foreperson of the jury. They know how to create consensus without arrogantly telling people how they should vote. They can be male or female, conservative or liberal, and belong to any race or ethnicity.
RULE: If you are not certain that a PJ in this category is going to accept your theory of the case, use a peremptory to excuse the person.
Followers
I do not believe I have to explain who is in this category. They are likely to go along with the majority and not hold out against the majority view. Do not expect them to cause a hung jury. These people respect authority figures and are good at following orders.
RULE: Do not use a peremptory challenge against a follower unless you are satisfied with the tweeners in the box and want to use it to create an open seat on the jury so that a leader you want to have on the jury can move into the box and replace the follower.
Note: Sometimes you have to use more than one peremptory to move the leader you want into the box.
Tweeners
Tweeners are in between the leaders and the followers. They may be the most intelligent PJs but prefer playing a supporting role to serving as the foreperson. They prefer thinking before acting and take pride in making well-informed decisions. I looked for people willing to consider my theory of the case and seriously committed to the process of examining and considering all of the evidence.
With rare exceptions, I had a theory of the case supported by evidence which, if believed by the jury, would support a verdict of not guilty.
RULE: Tweeners help the foreperson make the right decision by assuring due process.
As we continue to watch the jury selection process, classify the PJs into one of the three categories. Do this from the prosecution’s perspective and then do it from the defense perspective. Performing this exercise will bring jury selection to life and deepen your understanding of what is going on.
Zimmerman trial and the strategic use of peremptory challenges
http://frederickleatherman.com/2013/06/15/zimmerman-trial-and-the-strategic-use-of-peremptory-challenges/
I write today to explain another jury selection rule that is important for a lawyer to consider when deciding whether to exercise a peremptory challenge.
The order in which the PJs (prospective jurors) were called determines the order in which the PJ’s fill in as PJs are excused for cause and peremptory challenge.
For example, let us suppose that we have 10 PJs numbered 1-10.
Let us also suppose that PJs 1, 5, 6, and 9 are excused either for cause or by peremptory challenge.
The new order is 2, 3, 4, 7, 8 and 10.
If we have a jury of 4 with 1 alternate, the jury will be composed of former PJs 2, 3, 4 and 7. They will now be known as jurors 1, 2, 3 and 4.
Former PJ 8 will become the alternate and PJ 10 will be excused.
Therefore, the order in which the PJs have been called is important. They were called in this order. The strike-throughs have been excused.
Monday 4 B12, B29,
B30B76Tuesday 10 (B7, B35, B37, B51, B55,
B65, B86, E6, E40, E54)Wednesday 10 (E73, M75, R39, B61, B72, E22,
B87,E7, E13, E28)Thursday 10
(E50,E75,E81, K80, K95,N18,B34,B67, P67, G14)Friday 7 (G29, G47, G63, G66, G81,
G87, H6)We now have 23 PJs passed for cause on the issues of hardship and pretrial publicity. This is the new order after removing the excused PJs:
B29, B35, B51, E6, E40, E54, E73, M75, B61, B72, E22, E13, E28, K80, K95, P67, G14, G29, G47, G63, G66, G81 and H6.
If the 6-person jury and 4 alternates were to be selected from this group, the jury would be composed of:
B29, B35, B51, E6, E40 and E54.
The four alternates would be:
E73, M75, B61 and B72.
The following PJs would be excused:
E22, E13, E28, K80, K95, P67, G14, G29, G47, G63, G66, G81 and H6.
We are still a long way from exercising peremptory challenges because Judge Nelson wants to create a pool of 40 PJs passed for cause on the issues of hardship and pretrial publicity. She has 17 to go after 5 days of individual voir dire.
When she gets to 40, she will bring all 40 together in the original order in which they were called and the lawyers will question them one at a time on other subjects asserting challenges for cause when they think they have established a proper basis to support it.
click on the link above for more..
America’s raw ignorance passed down from generations
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZWr-Y0HGLE
Racism is a belief rooted in ignorance and passed down from generation to generation. It’s a continuing cycle. Check out the video below.
In Trayvon Martin case, history’s ghosts linger
Focus on the details, and the cases seem very different. One was killed by virulent white racists, the other by a part-Hispanic neighborhood watchman who insists he faced a vicious attack. One was weighted down and dumped in a river; in the other case, police were called by the shooter himself.
Six decades and myriad details separate the deaths of Emmett Till and Trayvon Martin, two black teenagers felled by violence. Yet in the way America reacted to Martin’s death – and the issues that echoed afterward – his case has created a national racial conversation in the much same manner as the saga of Till, infamously murdered in 1955 for flirting with a white woman.
Plenty of people do not see the Martin case as about race at all. But for others who study America’s racial past and present, each killing is a defining moment for its era – a fraught microcosm of what we are, and what we are trying to become.
http://www.omaha.com/article/20130615/AP09/306159973
@AxiomAmnesia wants people to call with thoughts on Trayvon Zimmerman trial at 202-446-1886. Your opinion might B played on the show!
Kill a dog and your ass is going to jail. Kill an unarmed black kid and the murderer goes home. Ask Sanford Police?
What are you thoughts on the #Zimmerman #Trayvon trial after the first week?
Give us a call at 202-446-1886, and…
http://fb.me/1YDQnfo3W
Hey, what’s that sound? Everybody look – what’s going down?
Justice Papa Zimmerman Style
George Zimmerman smiling in court. Who smiles like that in court knowing you’re charged with 2nd degree murder? Clearly, he has no remorse whatsoever.
Was he smiling about Juror E81’s testimony?
Court is in recess until 9am Monday.
Judge Nelson read off the PJ’s #s too fast. did you get them all, SG2?
All the jurors interviewed today will come back Tuesday except Juror G-87 who worked across from shooting. West got too much information from her so she was dismissed. Anonymity compromised!
The 6 potential jurors who will come back on Tuesday are:
G29, G47, G63, G66, G81 and H6.
They will join B29, B35, B51, E6, E40, E54, E73, M75, B61, B72, E22, E13, E28, K80, K95, P67 and G14.
Juror H6 is up
white male, 30s, TV viewer, no newspaper, does not know if it is “self-defense.”
He heard Zimmerman had pictures of injuries. He never saw pictures for himself and doesn’t know if it self defense.
I’m trying to catch up. I got a little behind.
Juror G97 is up
I saw tour buses drive to makeshift Trayvon memorial near scene of shooting
Excused because West extracted too much about her work location. Anonymity compromised
Juror G87 is up
white woman who works 2 jobs, one at a school. Learns of shooting at work.
She was nervous from jump/
@adept2u
RT @thinkprogress: In new book, George Zimmerman’s father says the “true racists” are all African-American http://thkpr.gs/18HoFjG
This seals the DEAL as far as why RACE is a factor in this murder trial now doesn’t it?
Well, as they say, the fruit never falls far from the tree.
Papa Zim seems to be worried about federal hate crime charges being filed against Piglet after the state trial concludes.
This only makes sense if Papa Zim believes that George will get a hung jury or a short prison term.
i wonder how much money the racists have sent Piglet since Papa Zim released his e-book.
Can you please define “doxers?”
Someone who traces people’s personal information gathered on the internet such as their real name, address, phone number, SSN etc
So basically it’s a win-win for the defense now that Judge Nelson has ordered that the jurors be sequestored because it makes it more likely that women with children will be less inclined to serve because they probably don’t/won’t have anyone to care for their children for that length of time.
Of course these women would have probably been more sympathetic to Trayvon since they would have pre-teens or teens at home.
Now the jury is more likely to be older and whiter and more conservative thanks to Judge Nelson not putting her foot down and implementing a gag order because she didn’t want to appear biased against the defense.
Thanks a lot Judge Nelson for nothing.
Juror G81 is up
Juror G81 is a black man, watches local channel, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News,
the video keeps getting stuck. What did the brotha say about African-American males?
He was explaining to O’Mara that friends and family discussed the case and called what happened to Trayvon was tragic and some felt it was typical. By typical he meant AA males since slavery have been losing their lives at an alarming rate through violence.
Saw photos of the scene, Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman. Remembers Zimmerman mug shots in orange jumpsuit.
Remembers Trayvon photo with a burgundy shirt and smiling. Knows Governor stepped in and appoints a special prosecutor.
Friends and family discussed the case. Some felt what happened to Trayvon was tragic and some felt it was typical.
Juror G81 on media coverage: “At first it seems as though they had a bias against the defendant and later it had a bias against the deceased.”
Feels it a right to protest for injustice. We have had a history in this country of people protesting injustice.
Juror G81 serving on jury would not have a hardship.
G81 doesn’t comment on the story b/c people are MEAN SPIRITED and has NOTHING to do with the story.
****************************
Translation: I don’t comment b/c too many mean ass racists talking ish about things that has nothing to do with what’s going on.
Juror G81 it was sadness that someone lost their life.
O’Mara questioning him on whether he watches Rev Al. Says he caught bits and pieces. Watched Rev Al during the election.
Who would they expect G81 to watch? White folks watch whatever they want. Did they ask the white men and women if they watch Rev. Al, SPECIFICALLY? NO, Just ask if they watch FOX. No need to specify the jugheads who host this mess.
Juror G81’s family was sad because a teenager lost his life and they’re from the area where he lived.
Took family to the park right across the street from where the shooting took place. They were concerned b/c a teenager lost his life.
O’Mara still tripping over age of Trayvon in the burgundy shirt.
Bring it brother! Bring it about the death of AA males losing their lives through violence since slavery. Yeah…he went there!
G81′s perspective is important. His life experience speaks to the whole issues surrounding this MURDER trial.And he’s thougtful and intelligent in his delivery.
Even if he doesn’t get selected, HIS VOICE will be heard here today, just like that racist bitch from yesterday.
What country does these people come from, that they would think an American citizen can shoot another American citizen dead and think said murderer should not be brought in for questions, arrested and stand trial? Alternate universe…
Only when you’re black in America. If the races were vice versa…a whole new ballgame. This is a racist country.
uh huh
uh huh
Juror G66 is up
Juror G66 is originally from Chicago. Watches news. Saw photos of Zimmerman with head injuries, Trayvon Martin with hoodie on. Felt sorry for George Zimmerman.
Saw Zimmerman go to the scene and to do the reenactment of what happened.
She saw and felt what she wants to see and feel. NEXT!
She heard a neighbor’s recording reporting a scuffle. Remembers protesting in Sanford about Zimmerman not being arrested.
Saw a bloody photo of the back of the Zimmerman’s head. Knows Trayvon was from Miami, saw photos on Trayvon’s phone, believes mother was having trouble with him.
She remembers black people protesting because Zimmerman wasn’t arrested. Knows he’s claiming self-defense.
Court is back in session
THANK YOU SO MUCH SG2
for being strong and keeping up with this. I read your comments and these people…I would be ready to bitchslap 3/4th of them
Court is in recess until 1:40
A BLACK BOY was murdered. RACE is involved in this case.
SG2, where’s that comment from yesterday about BEING BLACK IN AMERICA. Can you repost?
ZCBest says:
June 13, 2013 at 3:58 pm
I am just going to say it and be done with it. I am getting pissed that so many jurors are saying that they don’t thing race should have been brought into this case and that the protests should not have happened because this probably wasn’t about race. I am sorry, but I am of the opinion that these individuals have probably not experienced much racism in their lives. I tried to hide my black once…oh wait, that could never happen, so my race is a factor in everything I do regardless of if I want it to be considered or not.
Let me go through the list.
Have I ever been…
1. Pulled over for no reason other than driving while black? Yup, I was driving in the prestigious community that my super pastor father lives in. Sorry I drive a Kia. Yes, Zia drives a Kia not a Porsche. Guess I should go into ministry…
2. Followed/Watched while in upscale establishments? Come with me one day and watch the peep show that ensues.
3. Asked a crazy question about the texture of my hair or the styles of my hair? Of course, I have natural hair. It looks different, I know. But all the questions and non-minorities wanting to touch it…not so fun. Google the You Can Touch My Hair exhibit.
4. Felt the effects of micro-inequalities professionally because I am anomaly in my profession and place of employment? Yes, I actually had a woman tell me that I was like a “unicorn”. She wouldn’t have believed that my job had hired a woman under 30 and black to do my job! Yup, said it right to my face after she touched my hair.
5. I am going to stop at 4, because it’s my favorite number. lol
But my long winded point is that for many black people in this country, race is always involved. We didn’t ask for it to be considered. It just is, because we just are. I come from a multicultural family, it is not uncommon for restaurants not to include my in the party count going to dinner with my family because of my chocolate skin (I could have said brown, but I like chocolate much better as do most women lol). Trayvon would not have been even questioned had he had blond hair. The protests began because we all know that Fogen would have continued on his merry way after killing an unarmed teenager if the media didn’t start covering the protests and Ben Crump didn’t threaten to sue. And I know all of my caucasian, asian, dofeuufdjf, ejruefu, and oeure8rj, friends following this blog know that. Sorry, just had to vent folks.
Wooosah.
This needs to be posted on every thread, right up until the very end of the ZIMMERMAN trial.
Thanks!
THE TRUTH is the truth
where’s that lady who was asking to see pic of Trayvon as an adult. Ignorant fool! 17 year olds aren’t adult. Anyway, that pic of Trayvon above with the green tie is precious. he looks like a young teenage boy getting ready for a date or church.
Trayvon looks so handsome in his suit. It hurts my heart everytime I look at photos of this kid. So much potential gone!
bitch, he didn’t get to become an adult…he was MURDERED
SLAP!
Aren’t there any BLACK MALES in FLORIDA? Just askin’
That’s what I’m saying. Where are the black males?
On the one hand, If they think that Black males can’t be neutral on a high profile case like this, they’ve got EVERY reason to think this way. They live this life of being PROFILED everyday. Yet on the other hand, why wouldn’t we believe the opposite about white males not being neutral when it comes to this racially charged cases to help defend and uphold racists behaviors disguised as law?
There needs to be more BLACK MEN on this JURY!
Damn right!
Demographic information for Seminole County, Florida:
http://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/gm/ecodev/population.aspx
Nevermind. This website is so lame. They haven’t even updated their information based on the 2010 census. I guess they figure they have 10 years to do that. Anyhow, their 2009 “projections” do not reflect reality and the Wikipedia link for Sanford is actually better: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanford,_Florida
However, what appears to be true is that the African American percentage of the population for Seminole County is largely concentrated in Sanford where it is 30% but somewhere around 10% (based on 2000 census) in the county as a whole.
Thanks for this, Liza.
GOOD QUESTION
Juror G63 is up
G-63 is a white male late 20s-30
G63 gets most of his news from Facebook
He has heard SYG law and gun was involved
G-63: “to me I think there is no need to be a protester when there is nothing worth protesting about”.
Translation: Trayvon Martin’s life isn’t worth protesting about.
THIS Folks who are’nt affected by racial profiling adn bias, can NOT speak about what has “RACIAL OVERTONES” HELL NAW
Here it comes…
Black folks making trouble. Says same folks always complaining about something.
Protesting is LEGAL in America. First Amendment rights and such, but wait>>> Negroes don’t have those rights? it’s complaining when we speak out. FUCK’EM!
Thinks protesting doesn’t make sense.
G63: The Boston marathon bombing has no impact in my life.
They’re keeping the cameras on old Georgie Porgie, when they confer.
Juror G47 is up
Juror G47 white male, works 50 hours/week in restaurant, heard talk it is a self-defense case, cares for sick parents.
Yes; folks heard alot of things, pre trial. We got that fat punk charged for 2nd degree murder, and now let’s get the fact and evidence out in a court of law.
Believes the people had a right to protests as an American citizen.
Wants to look at both sides of a issue.
Says it would be a hardship to be on jury because he just got promotion at his job.
West keeps trying to sneak in “do you think GZ is innocent” ?
His question should be: DO YOU THINK YOU CAN LISTEN AND OBSERVE ANY AND ALL EVIDENCE PRESENTED HERE IN THIS COURT, AND MAKE A FAIR AND BALANCED DECISON, BASED ON ALL THE EVIDENCE PRESENTED HERE?
Case closed, West!
West is ticked b/c he G47 won’t bite! LOL!
Frederick Leatherman: West is turning himself into a caricature of a lawyer on the national stage.
Juror G29 is up
G29 remembers a lot of racial tension. Saw photos of Zimmerman with bruising to the face.
Saw friends on facebook posting their opinions about the case. The opinions of friends were favorable to Trayvon Martin.
G29 got her information from Phillips Phile on talk radio.
***************************
Wiki’d Phillips Phile: Jim takes serious interest in politics and will actively berate his listeners if the opportunity arises, though many topics are discussed on the program most of which are meant strictly for entertainment. He has used his local celebrity in the past to have various subjects investigated by the local media. Unlike most talk radio show hosts who discuss politics, Philips leans decidedly to the left.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Philips_Phile
Juror G29 is a young black female
You can bet your sweet bippy O’Mara will check her facebook postings to see if she wrote anything about the case.
G29 is up
19 potential jurors who have not been questioned are being sent home until 9am Monday.
Is this racial breakdown on par with the region of Florida?
It’s the racial breakdown of potential jurors so far.
You can see the racial breakdown for Sanford here based on the 2010 census. Scroll down to Demographics.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanford,_Florida
There are overlaps, but the white population of Sanford including white Hispanics is 57% and African Americans are 30%. If the jury is going to mirror the demographics then they should have more than 4 black people out of 23 PJ by now. They should definitely have more black males but I’m sure that the defense lawyers are scared sh!!less of black males.
Thank you for this, Liza!
Yes; I get that, but is this the racial make up of citizens in Sanford?
Oh I don’t know.
What’s happening? I don’t have sound.
Sound is back. I think they were having a discussion w/ Judge.
Ah. I’m not feeling the numbers with the racial breakdown of potential jurors thus far.
Judge Nelson is sending 23 questioned prospective jurors home until Tuesday. Instructing them not to do any research or talk about the case. No Twitter, emails, etc. No discussion of the case with friends or family.
B35m B29, B12, B76, B51, B7, B37, B86, B55, E5, E40, E54, E73, M75, B61, B72, E22, E13, E28, K80, K95, K67, G13
Good luck with tunning out the media.
Judge Nelson may have to cold cock West today. I can see it coming.
Note the occasional battles that break out when one side or the other wants to get rid of a PJ they do not like with a challenge for cause, but they cannot quite lay an adequate foundation that the PJ cannot be fair and impartial. The other side will counter that effort by doing everything possible to rehabilitate the PJ in hopes of forcing the opponent to use a peremptory challenge to get rid of the juror.
Peremptory challenges are like bullets. A lawyer is helpless when he or she runs out of peremptory challenges during jury selection.
— Frederick Leatherman
http://frederickleatherman.com/2013/06/14/welcome-to-day-5-of-jury-selection-in-zimmerman-case/
Defense will schedule conclusion of Frye hearing on expert voice analysis at 4 or 5 p.m. next Tuesday.
Juror E81 & The Hate That O’Mara Produced
http://axiomamnesia.com/2013/06/13/episode-227-hate-omara-produced-juror-e-81/
This isn’t the first time that we’ve talked about Zimmerman attorney Mark O’Mara’s racist tactics in defending his client. This is, however, the first time that the wicked chickens that he sent forth have come home to roost in the actual trial. On this episode of The Axiom Amnesia Theory, Heit & Cheri focus on the testimony of prospective Juror E-81–just the type of potential juror O’Mara hoped to reach when he released photos from Trayvon’s cell phone and lied to the media about Trayvon and his friends beating up a homeless man. The whole point was to make guilty-@ss Zimmerman appear justified in killing an unarmed youth by are trying to make Trayvon look like the scum of the earth.
George Zimmerman smirks as Juror E81 says he should be allowed to go home.
Rene Stutzman made sure to write about Juror E81 in her article last night. Rene knows the woman reads. One thing about karma, it is not prejudice.
Good morning, everyone!
Here we are into day five of the jury selection. Beyond the grave Trayvon Martin has pulled back the covers to expose just how ugly racism IS in this country. He has exposed the real hoodlums and savages who will take their toxic hate all the way to the courtroom to hurt & trample grieved parents who only ask for justice in the death of their son. It’s a sad day in America when folks publicly rejoice at the vicious murder of an innocent child.
We’re watching, America’s watching. And JUSTICE will PREVAIL.