I agree- I would expect no less from a defense attorney. Taint is a strong word. It really doesn't matter what the verdict is, some group of people is going to be outraged and it's not going to end well.

Not sure what I think about it. He is not exactly free. His parents had to pay, his wife and his brother have had to pay. All because he certainly made the wrong choice. He has to take the resposibility, but he hurt a lot of people with his actions.

Mark O'Mara seems to be a rather accomplished and reputable lawyer who is simply doing his job. Remember no matter what one thinks of Zimmerman, and I do think he is guilty of some criminal conduct, he is entitled to a competent defense attorney under the law this will no be changing anytime soon. The Ed show is doing much more to contribute to jury nullification with the politicization of this case than any one lawyer ever could. This poll is contributing to jury nullification.

The idea is justice. zimmerman murdered a young 17 year old, we all heard the tapes of zimmerman's call to the police department. Had Trayvon been white and still wearing the hoodie I am sure zimmerman wouldn't have given him a second look.

I think his statement may have revealed one of his lie. In the 911, he said kid. Then today he said I though he was about my age.

If his attorney doesn't do it,the press will more than likely help in on it.Even though his attorney would probably be the main one to do it.

Well It Is no surprise he got bail ! But his grandstanding on his apology was just that. So If he had known he was 17 and unarmed he would not shot him. He should of ask those questions then and not stalked a kid almost home!That apology has pity me written all over it. At least they sent him with ankle bracelet and check in every three days. His lawyer comes off as a nice guy. But In the court room he becomes someone else. He will do what ever to get Zimmerman off. I feel like Trayvons parents have had another shot to there heart again! Will we see justice for Trayvon ?

When Romney looses, that's the way the cookie crumbles! LOL

Fred, thats a good one !

@Easy

That's right... Zimmerman even told the 911 operator that he though Trayvon was in his late teens. That's much younger than near Zimmerman's age.

Damn! Didn't get to finish posting because of computer probs.

Anyway.... even though Mark O'Mara seems like a reasonable and professional attorney, he can't prevent his client from continuing to lie about what happened. Mr. O'Mara is also obligated to put on the best defense as he can and that means trying to get a jury that is favorable to his client.

Hopefully the prosecution will be equally as diligent in their efforts for justice in this case.

@Pam

So If he had known he was 17 and unarmed he would not shot him.

Exactly... and what Zimmerman said today suggests that he made a choice about shooting Trayvon, and not because he felt his life was in danger. Did it sound that way to you also?

#

And now a little number from MJB....take it away!! Or did the cat get your tongue?

I agree with just about everyone on this thread. Zimmerman's mouth piece is just doing his job. No foul.

In regards to today's bail hearing, I did hear one word where I believe would have been objected to by the defense and I don't practice law. "...crime...".

There seems to me that Zimmerman twice screwed up with 2 contradictions that the State may use to bolster their case. I've noticed that a lot of you noticed the same things.

My concern is that this will end up like the OJ and Anthony trials. "Tainting" was involved in both cases, IMO, and they got a fair trial. It's just really sad that their victims didn't get the Justice that they deserved.

I so want to see justice in every way possibe for Trayvon and his family....so many of us do. Justice has let us down in so many different ways and so many times, The case is on course as it should have been in the first place and I am satisfied with that.

Nobody has mentioned what a lying bunch of manipulative, self serving liars the entire Zimmerman clan are, and they obviously have no shame about it either. The mother thinks her son walks around with a halo over his head, the father makes excuses for any trouble he has gotten into previously and the wive says she doesn't know of any previous prior acts of violence. Then, when confronted about them she is all of a sudden present at one of them and reciting George's excuses verbatum for the others.

A respectable lawyer does not put his client on the stand if he knows he is going to lie and that is exactly what Zimmerman's lawyer did. I don't believe he didn't know what he was going to say, he would never put him on the stand without knowing before hand. Zimmerman was suppose to address the court meaning the judge not Travvons parents in his self serviing pathetic apology, if you can call it that.. it was more like an excuse.

Also, who took that picture of his bloody head that night? What unauthorized person was at the crime scene that he had contact with? Paramedics had said they never take pictures of injuries it's not their job.

I stil say those wounds are too high up on his head to be cause by one's head being banged on concrete. They look more self inflicted. Maybe, the police should check the butt of his gun for evidence of his own blood and tissue. Afterall, this family have shown it's in their character to lie and manipulate to get out of trouble.

DScully Good Saturday morning to you. I think his apology can be viewed in many ways. It may just be the silver bullet Trayvons lawyer needs. Here when there's a trial, not until its over do they get to say few words and the other side gets to say there piece. To have this done at bail hearing is unbelievable. In every situation it seems as Zimmerman wants to have the last word. Sure will cost someone a hell of allot money to keep him safe till trial. The tax payers would get off cheaper to keep him in Jail. Another twist and turn to a murder that should of never happen! You know I look in this guys eyes and see nothing. They are the windows of the soul.

Yeah- It definitely would have been easier to get 12 unswayed members from the area before this- lol- This question is an even bigger joke than the normal poll questions.

Hey MJB

What are you trying to say?

@SOOTHE

I got the feeling that Zimmerman's only intention was to make his "apology" to Trayvon's family and never realized or intended to be cross examined or asked any questions by the prosecutor. If he had known that would happen, he probably wouldn't have taken the stand and put himself in that position.

Regarding Zimmerman's head wounds, it doesn't seem that cuts like he had would have been the result of his head pounding the concrete. It seems to me he would have ended up with a different sort of wound... more of a scraping kind of wound with bruising. Not 2 perfectly straight cuts.

In her TODAY interview, Martin's mother suggested Zimmerman should apologize if he is remorseful. she stated this on april 12th. why is she and her lawyer now bashing gz for apoligizing? this makes no sense. scully are you kidding? if a person takes the stand they are open to cross examination. that is why many defendants dont take the stand. gzs lawyer knew exactly what he was doing. gzs lawyer got the lead investigater to admit theres no proof gz didnt go back to his car after being told to back off. brilliant move by mara.

Like a Doctor if the outcome is bad. If he apologizes, he looks guilty. If he doesn't, he doesn't look remorseful. He is in a no win situation on this. People who follow the Ed Show would have a logical criticism in either circumstance.

gzs lawyer got the lead investigater to admit theres no proof gz didnt go back to his car after being told to back off.

think if you check that out again you will see the investigator said he had no proof with him today as this was just a bail hearing.

but now that Zimmerman has took the stand, one has to wonder how brilliant a move like that was, as he maybe have to take the stand at trail now, which i do believe most all lawyer would like not to have to do place their client on the stand.

It wuld not had happen if he just listened and stayed in he car and until police got there he knew what he was doing and when he was on the phone with police he knew the age of martin george said he was in his late teens.

he was hunting. who goes out with a gun and sits in his car? this is what hunters do, they decide they want to kill game the get a gun and go wait for the game to walk into range and shoot to kill.

Sandra, I agree with you. Also I remember aboutO J ?Simpson , case where O J took stand before trial began and eventually he was declared Not guilty! I believe history is repeating it self in this case. This was an attempt to taint the jury, and make Zimmerman look nice person, and kind of sorry that he killed Trayvon mrtin. He never said before this that he was sorry, and lied about Trayvon's age. This case is going to be interesting, and will depend all upon Jury pick.

All zimmerman knows and cares about is that he can find a racist jury to get him off. Murdering a young seventeen year old man meant nothing to him from what I saw of the videos at the police station.

I have no sympathy for zimmerman at all. He created the situation.

I also think that the red dye looks just like blood!

I was trying to add that O J's shoes could have been a camera trick. You can always change any part of body, or it's looks and can be made to appear any way you desire. The investigator did not see all that blood, as he never said anything about it! This case smalls rotten!

Mac, Good Saturday Morning, I so agree. from the moment That Zimmerman disobeyed order to stay where he was ! Two the three days trayvon laid in a morgue, to 45 days Zimmerman was finally charged and now to his self serving confession. I hope to the good lord we see justice served. But I think there has been allot of manipulation going on here. The mans record must stand !

From CNN's transcript of the George Zimmerman bond hearing this morning:

ZIMMERMAN'S ATTORNEY O'MARA: "Zimmerman confronted Martin," those words (in the affidavit of probable cause). Where did you get that from?

DALE GILBREATH, INVESTIGATOR, STATE ATTORNEY'S OFFICE: That was from the fact that the two of them obviously ended up together in that dog walk area. According to one of the witnesses that we talked with, there were arguing words going on before this incident occurred. But it was between two people.

O'MARA: Which means they met. I'm just curious with the word confronted and what evidence you have to support an affidavit you want in this judge to rely on that these facts with true and you use the word confronted. And I want to know your evidence to support the word confronted if you have any.

GILBREATH: Well, it's not that I have one.

as you can see omara tore apart the states affidavit for probable cause by making the lead investigater admit theres no proof gz confronted trayvon. this is a huge victory for the defense. the states affidavit is the whole basis for the charge against gz. why would the affidavit say confront? i have a neighbor who is a lawyer. i told him about this and he thought i was kidding. when i showed it to him he was stunned. he said the judge could throw out the affidavit and gz goes free. this case may never come to trial. now if it does go to trial and gz is found guilty i want him to get the maximum sentence and i want him to serve everyday of it. screw the time off for good behavior. my point is lets dont make the same mistake that clown sharpton did and say hes guilty. sharpton had laughable ratings before this happened. hes lost the little creditability he had.

What was supposed to be strictly a hearing for bail, he used it as a discovery device, and was able to nail the investigator into making very, very pointed statements about the investigation and about what evidence they have."

The questioning exposed some of the weaknesses in the state's case, said Kendall Coffey, a former U.S. Attorney in Miami who is now in private practice.

"There are many miles left in this case but I think O'Mara helped the defense by eliciting those responses," Coffey said. "He is going to look for the chance to cross-examine that same investigator and ask him the same questions. If the investigator changes his story, he is going to lose credibility with the jury."

Investigator Dale Gilbreath testified that he does not know whether Martin or Zimmerman threw the first punch and that there is no evidence to disprove Zimmerman's contention he was walking back to his vehicle when confronted by Martin.

i have a question for everyone. ive seen posts where people thought gzs brother and parents are lying. if anyone in this blog had a brother or son facing decades in prison would you lie to help his defense? be honest now. i certainly would. now i dont know if theyre lying or not. just something to think about.

150k is the standard bail for 2nd degree murder in fla. for a person who turned himself in and is not a flight risk. gz was under no obligation to stay in fla. or the country until he was arrested. hes obviously not a flight risk as he could have fled then.

RE the run if you only really had some information to deliver, and offering his defence. Wearing an ankel bracelet is not being free.

His long delayed whinning is too little too late.

@mikefromcommierussia, had the legal system been doing their jobs zimmerman would have been arrested and held for trail.

Judy you don't seem to get that he's not going anywhere

judy gz has been arrested and is facing trial

Case in point Casey Anthony was deemed guilty by all the media attention, but the justice system found her innocent. Whether or not she really is guilty or not, she was found innocent yet she became one of the most hated people in America. Why have a justice system if the media convinces the public that a persons is guilty, innocent or not, their lives get ruined! The only winner is the media and their ratings, a very sad commentary on justice!

There is a difference between innocent and not guilty please think about that

Thank goodness for the media or zimmerman would never been in court.

As for C.A. she was found not guilty, far different than innocent. The jury had to go by what was presented in court, and I have a feeling many things were left out.

I don't know if C.A. has any conscience at all, from the videos I saw of her when her parents visited her in jail she doesn't seem to have one. I just hope she never has any more children.

JUDY W. - I wouldn't doubt it one bit if a few things are going to be withheld from the jury in this case also.

American Joe, I found your post interesting. But when comes to public and news I think it has always been there. Look in the old west, grab a rope and hang him. Then they would go crank out the town news paper . Murders down through the ages have been reported in one way or another. Will he walk ? I have feeling he will just like Anthony. Will he ever be free? Never !!! This Is such a heart break for Trayvons parents. Regardless of what happens he gets to go on living, and trayvons parents heart will still be broken.

Joe you have an interesting point but keep in mind you can't take away people's right to talk about it so it's like what can you do?

Unfornately there is no real way to prevent that

What I don't like is the talk talk talk 24 hour news cycle breaking news that isn't breaking or news that happens in cases like this where for a week the same facts and half facts are thrown out to the same half explanations and commentary. We don't need a play by play update of someone's tragedy, the media should cover it not exploit it. All it does is create and reinforce the slactivism tragedy fads

excellent post cyn

Yes, Cynical does have *great* points of view to contribute on Newsvine.

I get tired of hearing bits and pieces and all the analyzing and frequently turn it off. The judge stipulated that the defense and prosecution prepare and submit packages for the media. He will review them and make a decision on what will be released. This, to me, is a *much* better way to get information out before things like the jury selection and trial. It may be a way to stop so much ad nauseum speculation. We do have other issues that need reporting. It is an election year after all and there is much going on at the State levels to track.

I didn't watch any of the OJ trial until after the jury's decision. Did watch the last 2 weeks of the Anthony trial on CNBC (my brothers were really into it). Don't plan on watching much of the Zimmerman trial and will more than likely turn off the talking heads. It's a waste of my time and saves my sanity.

This trial, I believe, will also be the start of "trying" the NRA law. It's needs to be modified or repealed as we don't live in an "old West" society anymore. This, IMO, would not infringe on our 2nd Amendment Rights. I think Jeb Bush would agree with me. It would be a travesty if this law were ever to become Federal law.

The NRA and ALEC don't have any business lobbying and/or creating *our* legislation. Just sayin'.

Yes, just like Traci Anthony!

It was not the Media that made me question, why was he(Zimmerman) armed?, why did he persue? why didnt he just hold the teen until the police came? why did he exit his vehicle if he felt threatened? It was the 911 tapes.

FERALTWINKLE - How about in the EVERGLADES instead ?

They were TRYING to TAINT SOME KIND of POOL !! Most likely the CITIZENS - US !! Lets get ALL the EVIDENCE , and NOT LISTEN to FAUX for FACTS !! cafepressDOTcom/THE99percentSTRONG cafepressDOTcom/RHYPOCRIT (These are NOT for my PROFIT) . OCCUPY THE VOTE !!! The 99% LIVES ON !!!

the word sway is more appropiate than taint regarding a jury. its a lawyers job to sway the jury on behalf of his or her client.

Indeed does it mean if he was 18+ he would have plugged him a few more times?

zimmerman only saw the color of Trayvon's skin. I hope all the tapes of zimmerman's phone calls will be played in full.

He's a liar and I'm sure his lawyer put those words in his mouth.

TOM in PHILLY - Sure he was armed.He had a left arm and a right arm didn't he ?

TED, How are you this Friday evening. You must had great day because you are on a roll tonight. What do you think about him? He will walk won"t he ?

PAM - I don't doubt it one bit that he will walk.That's where I call BS on the situation.Zimmerman should have been put in JAIL on day 1 and not allowed to get out on bail.

Tyler, I ment to report the coment above me !

Just like they tried to say Trayvon Martin's cries for help were Zimmerman's cries for help. Stealing the words of a murder victim.

Unbelievable!

Amen nancebele.

xxx--you are right these were self inflicted wounds. I wish he would have called me, I would have been glad to put a knot on his head for him.

xxx ooo - I say the injuries on his head more than likely happened when he shot the gun off ( kick-back from the gun ).

RACHAEL - I would've supplied you with the baseball bat if not a good size branch off of a maple tree with a few good size KNOTS in it for good measure.

Thanks Ted, I know who to call the next time I want to knock some one out. LOL

RACHAEL - So which one do you want ? The baseball bat or the branch off of a maple tree with a few good sized knots on it.You got a choice now.

Since I like baseball Ted, Just give me the bat.

RACHAEL - Now what's wrong with a branch off of a maple tree with a few knots on it ? I say it would do more damage than the baseball bat.But then either way you look at it,he'll end up with one hell of a HEADACHE !!!!!!! ( WHACK !!!!!! )

lol 1st you clowns said there were no marks, now you say theyre fake marks? as gz is a registered democrat its noble for a rep like me to stop you dems from lynching him.

all the picture of george showed was 2 cuts with alot of blood.

as we have heard from george's older brother, georgies head was slammed against the sidewalk so many times that he was "practically unconcious", and was one more "head slam away from wearing diapers and being spoon-fed by his brother".

i would certainly expect to see more abrasions and BRUISING and SWELLING if zimmerman was within a inch of his life as his family is portraying.

i hope someone took a picture of zimmerman and his NOSE that he said was broken. his father said he had a bandage on his nose, did anyone take a picture of THAT? if his nose was broken, we would expect to see swelling, bruising and bleeding. there was no blood on his shirt at the police station, and where was the bandage? from what we could see, zimmie didn't appear to have a broken nose. or a concussion, he was walking fine.

he surely recovered quickly from being within an inch of his life of wearing diapers and being spoon-fed by his brother.

he must have a very hard head.

whoa- I thought I had read a lot of facts on previous blogs- those set out with lots of indented points- that said GZ did not have any wounds.

Now the same people are saying there were only 2 cuts and lots of blood? Have the facts changed that much in the last 2 weeks? Would someone please publish the list of facts that circulated on these sites over the last several months?

Leads me to think that many of those reciting "Facts" on here over the past months have been lying

RACHAEL - He never had one to begin with and will never have one after this.

Rachael, One thing for sure he will always be known as the man who killed trayvon Martin who was caring a can of tea and bag of skittles.

Pam-- Hey girl; No he won't. And Trayvon will always be known as the child who changed un laws.

Rachael, Good Saturday Morning. I agree and we must make sure this Stand your ground law is on trial as well.

One less thug due to a GREAT LAW!

rach you are correct, gz will never lead a normal life. but i would say alife on the outside comes closer to normal than a life behind bars.

MItts dog tainted the back window of his station wagon!

Oh crap!

Dog crap....

thats a bunch of crap

He had to go! And there was no doggie door, So he used the REAR window!

Right above the TAILGATE! Wow 5 posts took 2 days!

Only took Obama to eat the dog in one day. Reminded him of his days in Indonesia.

I do not know what is worse! Eating dog or sleeping with his wife!

NANCEBELLE - Unfortunately,ALL politicians are LIARS.Why not just say that Romney doesn't care for anyone that doesn't have more money than him.

Ted--just because Romney is the opposition and I'm sick of his particular lies.

He is the one we have to focus on now.

NANCEBELLE - I don't care for ANY politicians.But I would rather see OBAMA in the White House than sMitt Romney.

take a break truth you dont have to be an azzhole everyday.

when President Obama showed his birth certificate, you all said he was lying. if he showed his grades, you all would say he was lying.

Barack Obama was President of Harvard Review. i think we already know what his grades were.

listen, it is clear from your post above that YOU ARE A BIRTHER. if there was any dirt on President Obama, Bill and Hillary would have dug it up, and used every bit of it, but they couldn't find any.

you birthers are nuts.

@suzette, I would love to see this President's transcripts. He has admitted in his own books that he was not a good student. He admitted that he hated when his Father came to visit because his Father would ask his about his school studies.

Let's just see the transcripts and put this to bed. Many other Presidents have. Don't know why this President won't.

Better yet, why don't you get a banner that says, "Get me a freaking job!"

You forgot about the EVERGLADES.How many people could be living there without any television or communication to the outside world ?

3

LOLOL u beat me to it, for certain Z is a republican, just like romney says obama will end medicare, even though the ryan budget is right there before our eyes to see that it is the republican plan to end it.

Actually, Zimmerman is a registered Democrat

Is not! are you a Troll?

So we democrats are not defending the stand your ground muderer, The proud republicans are, to defend their bad law.

And yes, u dumb azzes, he was a REGISTERED DEMOCRAT!

George Michael Zimmerman, born Oct. 5, 1983, registered as a Democrat in Seminole County, Fla., in August 2002, according to state voter registration documents.

It is unclear whether he voted for President Barack Obama in 2008.

Some in the media have sought to blame Republican politicians and conservative activists for Martin’s death.