Judge Debra Nelson ordered the deciders-in-waiting to be sequestered for the length of the trial, in a kind of side jab at the defense potentially signaling that she is unwilling to let George Zimmerman's attorneys sway objectivity with a public smearing of Martin's past. But this may not be a direct blow to Team Zimmerman.
Of particular interest to attorneys on both sides is how much these 10 already over-scrutinized men and women mopped up from the ink spilled in the nearly 16 months since Trayvon Martin's shooting — and, of increasing importance, how many of the stories leaked in the last few weeks they've vacuumed into their objective consciousness.
The trial of George Zimmerman has begun, and immediately inspired one of the most baffling comments ever uttered by a talking head about Martin's late-night confrontation with Zimmerman, even for a story already so loaded with race, death, lawyers, Florida, and inevitably Nancy Grace.
Jury selection for George Zimmerman's second-degree murder trial begins today, and in yet another controversial move seeking to prove their client's justification for self-defense, his lawyers have released a video that' allegedly one of the only recordings of Trayvon Martin's voice — and they claim it proves Martin wasn't, in fact, screaming for help in a 911 call.
With most of the damage already done, George Zimmerman's attorneys now insist that Martin's controversial cellphone video, which they introduced as evidence of the Martin taping his friends as they beat up a homeless man, wasn't as controversial as they made it sound.
Zimmerman's lawyers are pleading for more money, insisting that they've somehow burned through almost all of the more than $300,000 in online donations the public somehow have to an alleged murderer. Don't be surprised if one of the most hated men in Florida gets his non-Kickstarter Kickstarter coffers filled right up in time to pay his lawyers for jury selection.
The judge in Zimmerman's murder case ruled Tuesday that that some of his defense team's key evidence — including Martin's history of "violence" and marijuana use — will not be allowed in court. But the way Zimmerman's defense team has been handling things, well, they're making sure to leak enough that the jury is aware of every last absurd detail about Trayvon Martin anyway.
Zimmerman and his attorneys appeared in court to waive his right to seek an immunity hearing under Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law — and keep the rest of their strategy close to the vest. His fate in the killing of Trayvon Martin will now be put in the hands of a jury beginning June 10, when one of the most emotional trials in recent American history will begin.
A police sergeant has found himself out of a job after showing up at a training day with a batch of paper shooting targets printed with the iconic image of Trayvon Martin's hoodie on the front.
Meaningful debates on gun violence followed Newtown and Aurora, but Stand Your Ground laws remain on state books exactly as they did one year ago, when George Zimmerman fatally shot a 17-year-old walking home from a Florida convenience store.
Had he not been killed, Trayvon Martin would have turned 18 today. And had George Zimmerman not shot Martin to death, we wouldn't have to report that a Florida judge just denied the defense's motion to delay the second-degree murder trial past June 10.
Paul Krugman on recapping Obama's first-term successes, Simon Johnson on Bernanke's successor, Jason Burke on al-Qaeda's non-resurgence, Alan Johnson on Israeli elections, and Penn Bullock on stand-your-ground laws.
The next court hearing for Geore Zimmerman was supposed to be next week, on January 8, but the judge in charge of the case decided that the hearing wasn't necessary, so she rescheduled Zimmerman's next court appearance to an eerily significant date.
A Florida judge didn't buy the accused killer's excuse today, denying a motion that Zimmerman has been compliant with his travel restrictions so far and forcing him to leave it on.
It's important to remember that he isn't suing for the network's coverage of the larger Trayvon Martin saga. No, Zimmerman's suit entirely focuses on his accusation that NBC manipulated his 911 call to make him look like a "hostile racist."
What to buy for someone who already has everything no decent person would ever want? How about George Zimmerman's autograph?
Here we go again: a Florida man is now claiming self defense and will possibly use the state's "Stand Your Ground" law after shooting eight rounds into a car full of black teens, killing one, and fleeing the scene, all because the teens allegedly did not turn their loud music down and the man saw a gun that did not exist.
A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.
Why is it that, despite being one of the most gifted orators on race in America, President Obama rarely addresses the issue?
George Zimmerman's legal team announced on Monday night that it wouldn't argue its case under Florida's stand-your-ground law, instead pursuing a traditional self-defense argument, but that that doesn't mean his lawyers see their case as any weaker.
The Florida State Attorney's Office caused some havoc in newsrooms on Thursday when it released a batch of evidence in George Zimmerman's second-degree murder case, then recalled it 25 minutes later, saying it hadn't been reviewed properly.
Try to wrap your head around this: The judge in George Zimmerman's case can't disagree with George Zimmerman's lawyers' claim that he's not impartial, because then he'd be expressing an opinion and he really wouldn't be impartial.
In the wake of the gun control debate raging after the Aurora shooting last week, we hear that Florida will soon have one million people in possession of concealed weapons.
In an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity last night, George Zimmerman apologized to Trayvon Martin's family, but also says he doesn't regret anything he did on the night of their deadly encounter.
Samuel Williams was just your average 71-year-old chilling in an Ocala, Florida, Internet cafe with a concealed weapon ... until the robbers showed up.
Attorneys for George Zimmerman have requested a new judge in his trial for shooting Trayvon Martin, alleging current judge Kenneth Lester Jr. is biased and they can no longer get a fair trial.
George Zimmerman was easygoing with police when they arrived at the scene of Trayvon Martin's shooting, but according to new evidence from the FBI, he was afraid for his life in the weeks after the shooting became national news and even tried to buy more guns.
George Zimmerman has a safe house in Seminole county, Florida and that's where the defendant in the Trayvon Martin killing headed after walking out of jail Friday on $1 million bail, for which $20,000 in donations came in over 24 hours.
The charge that Trayvon Martin shooter George Zimmerman hid fundraising proceeds from the court during his first bail hearing didn't stop a Florida judge from granting him bail once more, but the court significantly increased the size of his bond.
Lawyers for Jerry Sandusky plan to appeal his conviction on the grounds that an NBC interview with the former coach, which was played for jurors, contained an editing error. Sound familiar?
Sanford police chief Bill Lee has finally been fired for his handling of the Trayvon Martin case three months after going on administrative leave.
Things are not going well for the Zimmerman family: After a judge revoked George Zimmerman's bail on June 1, his wife Shellie Zimmerman was arrested on Tuesday for perjuring herself during his original bail hearing.
Go ahead and call (407) 435-2400 all you want--it's retired now, but not before it ruined Junior Alexander Guy's life.
George Zimmerman turned himself over to Orlando police Sunday afternoon, ending any confusion over whether or not he would flee.
An Orlando judge revoked George Zimmerman's bond yesterday and ordered him to return to jail. ThinkProgress obtained the prosecutors' motion that shows exactly how the Zimmermans deceived the court, and how their phone conversations while he was in jail busted them.
The judge in George Zimmerman's second-degree murder case revoked his bond on Friday, saying he misrepresented his financial status in his original bond hearing last month.
This won't make an already complicated story any simpler: Four eyewitnesses to George Zimmerman's shooting of Trayvon Martin have backed away from, or completely changed what they said earlier.
Again, sorry for turning this Friday morning into a spectacle for the macabre. But, in a new video released along with yesterday's cache of documents, you can now see the last documented minutes of Trayvon Martin's life.
A massive trove of documents was just released in the Trayvon Martin investigation, including an autopsy report that shows Martin had THC in system when he died.
WFTV in Orlando reports that the autopsy report on Travyon Martin shows broken skin on his knuckles, suggesting that he was involved in a fight before being shot and killed by George Zimmerman.
Fox has found a solution for the potential challenges of marketing the awkwardly named upcoming film Neighborhood Watch -- with its unintentional echo of the Trayvon Martin case -- by just changing the name altogether.
An ancient Myspace page from 2005 does not make George Zimmerman look like a very good guy, and yet as his attorneys have rebranded his Web presence of late, they've apparently found the page is one patch they can't scrub.
What happened to Marissa Alexander sure sounds a lot like 'standing your ground': her abusive husband came after her, choked her, and when she finally broke free, she grabbed a gun fired a single warning shot into ceiling, so why is she set to serve 20 years in jail?
Judge Kenneth Lester did not order Zimmerman back into custody after learning about $200,000 Zimmerman had raised online, saying he would wait to make that decision until he had all the facts about Zimmerman's donations and PayPal accounts.
Everybody's heard about George Zimmerman, but as a lengthy Reuters feature about him shows, we actually know very little about him and the community he patrolled as neighborhood watch captain.
The big news out of the George Zimmerman trial today is that the defendant has officially pleaded "not guilty," and no, you're not crazy if you think that news sounds familiar.
The rejection of Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee's resignation doesn't mean Lee will be back and running the police department which dropped the ball during the Trayvon Martin case, but it does, for now, allow him to remain on paid leave.
Bill Lee, the chief of the Sanford Police force when it didn't arrest George Zimmerman back in February, apparently thought this whole Trayvon Martin thing would blow over, and only stepped down temporarily last month so he wouldn't be a distraction.
George Zimmerman has been pretty quiet since he became the focus of one of the most racially-charged crime stories in years, and he should probably stay that way because the couple of times he's spoken out, it hasn't gone well.
After spending nearly two weeks behind bars, George Zimmerman was released from a Florida county jail on Sunday night after posting bail and then heading to a undisclosed location.
After a hearing that took an unexpected twist when he apologized to Trayvon Martin's family, George Zimmerman has been granted $150,000 bail, with conditions that he'll be monitored, have a curfew, and can't drink.
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