Posted on 06/04/2012 2:40:56 PM PDT by SoFloFreeper
Zimmerman's defense team will file a motion today for a second bond hearing. While Mr. Zimmerman acknowledges that he allowed his financial situation to be misstated in court, the defense will emphasize that in all other regards, Mr. Zimmerman has been forthright and cooperative. He gave several voluntary statements to the police, re-enacted the events for them, gave voice exemplars for comparison and stayed in ongoing contact with the Department of Law Enforcement during his initial stage of being in hiding. He has twice surrendered himself to law enforcement when asked to do so, and this should demonstrate that Mr. Zimmerman is not a flight risk. He has also complied with all conditions of his release, including curfew, keeping in touch with his supervising officers, and maintaining his GPS monitoring, without violation.
The audio recordings of Mr. Zimmerman's phone conversations while in jail make it clear that Mr. Zimmerman knew a significant sum had been raised by his original fundraising website. We feel the failure to disclose these funds was caused by fear, mistrust, and confusion. The gravity of this mistake has been distinctly illustrated, and Mr. Zimmerman understands that this mistake has undermined his credibility, which he will have to work to repair.
At the point of the bond hearing, Mr. Zimmerman had been driven from his home and neighborhood, could not go to work, his wife could not go back to a finish her nursing degree, his mother and father had been driven from their home, and he had been thrust into the national spotlight as a racist murderer by factions acting with their own agendas. None of those allegations have been supported by the discovery released to date, yet the hatred continues.
It must be noted that, when attempting to interpret George's actions regarding the funds, that he did disclose the existence of the funds five days after the bond hearing, during his first conversation with the defense about the fund. When the defense team learned of the funds, we disclosed this to the court and to the State Attorney's Office, and the money was transferred to the Legal Defense Fund which is now independently managed.
Of the original $204,000 raised by Mr. Zimmerman's fund, approximately $150,000 was transferred to the Legal Defense Fund. $30,000 was used to make the complicated transition from private life in Sanford, FL to a life in hiding as a defendant in a high-profile court case. The balance of approximately $20,000 was kept liquid to provide living expenses for the first several months as the legal process unfolds.
Since the independently managed Legal Defense Fund was established on May 3, supporters have contributed more than $37,000. Of this amount, $2,000 has been designated for household expenses. Less than $300 has been designated for fund management and fees associated with maintaining the conditions of the bond. None of the funds have yet to be allocated to legal expenses. Neither Mr. Zimmerman or the defense team has direct access to the independently managed Legal Defense Fund.
The passport issue was admitted in open court, by O'Mara. O'Mara tendered one Zimmerman passport to the court on April 20, and received the second one from Zimmerman on April 26th.
I think Zimmerman was intending (from April 12 or so, when he was jailed, until sometime after April 23, when he was freed from jail) to keep his "illegal options" open. Hence keeping the valid passport, and not instructing his wife to submit it to O'Mara.
But, Judge Lester has no issue at all with the passport, at least not now; and the fact that Zimmerman surrendered it of his own volition, albeit late, speaks to Zimmerman's current intentions.
IIRC, There was a website out there. Mr Zimmerman closed it. Fired his lawyers. Then he set up a new site and hired new legal defense.
His new defense may not have been up to date with the new or any website. Everything seemed to have happened so quickly.
I don’t see how Mr Zimmerman could have been hiding anything. Nothing is hidden on the internet!
Are you saying O'Mara lied to the court on April 20, when he declared the May 2012 expiry passport "this is my client's current passport and only passport that he has"?
Bad lawyer!
The lawyer in this communication mentions fear, mistrust, and also confusion. The confusion portion of that could well be Zimmerman not knowing how much was donated, what of that amount was available to be used, and how to go about figuring out what it could and couldn’t be used for. The lawyer says that Zimmerman disclosed it to him (the lawyer) as soon as he asked about it.
With electronic monitoring on him I don’t see how he’d be a flight risk anyway.
I think it should be asked what Eric Holder’s “just us department” has done to protect Zimmerman and his family from those who have called for violence against him - specifically to CATCH THEM and CHARGE THEM WITH FEDERAL CRIMES. I think the lawyer’s point here is that Zimmerman had every reason to be afraid. I would add that he has every reason to be afraid OF THE SYSTEM LED BY ERIC HOLDER.
This is “To Kill a Mockingbird” all over again. What would any of us do if we were Jim Robinson? George Zimmerman is Jim Robinson.
Now I’m second-guessing myself. Did I get the name of the falsely-accused guy in “To Kill a Mockingbird” right?
The old passport wouldn’t have any notation that it was non-valid and since Zimmerman didn’t give the valid one until April 26th, O’Mara wouldn’t have known about it. So he’d have thought that WAS the only passport Zimmerman had.
What I want to know is why the judge revoked bail if it was clear as soon as Zimmerman reported the money to O’Mara (and O’Mara set up an independent manager for that account) that they have all his passports, he has no money to access from that website, and he has obeyed all the terms of his bail including wearing an electronic monitor. How did the judge or anybody else think he was going to be able to run away?
Holy Crap! I love the book, you need to read the book. The name of the unjustly accused black man is Tom Robinson. Tom was accused of raping Mayella (sp) daughter of the local drunk. Tom put his faith in the judicial system and Atticus, (his attorney) and the system failed him. Tom was later killed trying to escape from prison to get back to his family. This was not a “reasonable doubt” case as there was indisputable evidence that Tom was innocent. The jury was racist to the core. Tom was a nobel character caught in circumstances beyond his control. Zimmerman is no hero, he instigated the events that happened that night. He is no Tom Robinson.
Just as you instigated a flame war here on FR, you moron. If you had kept your post to yourself, none of this would have happened.
Thanks for the reply. I had not thought about old vs new passport. (duh) Guess I thought it he had a passport from another country...say as in having a French passport AND a US Passport. Didn’t cross my mind about having two from the US. Wouldn’t you think you would remember you had two? Not casting aspersions...just seems like something I would remember.
The moron is the person who compared Zimmerman to a nobel character in a classic american novel. There is a big difference between someone (Tom)who had no control over the situation that ultimately killed him and a wanna be cop who caused a tragedy. This was too much for me to stomach. BTW, this is a great book and also a great movie with Gregory Peck. (The movie only covers part of the book) Makes for a great movie night with your kids.
I would have thought the money contributed to his defense fund was strictly for legal fees (i.e. his defense). It wasn’t his money to spend as he saw fit. Wouldn’t it seem an improper breach of faith with contributors to use this money to secure his release from custody? Might that be why he didn’t mention it as an asset?
The state asserts Zimmerman instigated the event, either by getting out of his truck when he didn't need to, etc. You make a similar argument, that Zimmerman instigated the incident - wrongly setting events in motion.
I was taking advantage of a parallel to the Zimmerman/Martin confrontation, in this posting context between you and me. You play the part of Zimmerman by making an unnecessary post, and I play the part of Martin by flaming you for your post. If you hadn't posted, I wouldn't have flamed. Whose fault is the flaming? Yours, for instigating it?
Zimmerman instigating the fight with Martin is like you instigating my insult.
Zimmerman was looking out for his neighbors and neighborhood. And you conclude the blame is on Zimmerman, for causing a tragedy.
Sorry, I missed Post 7. Same thought.
Florida Statutes
CHAPTER 496
SOLICITATION OF FUNDS
496.413 Contributions solicited for or accepted on behalf of a named individual.—
(1) Contributions solicited for, or accepted by or on behalf of, a named individual must be deposited in a trust account opened by a trustee named in a properly established trust document or must be deposited in a depository established in accordance with s. 69.031. The circuit court has jurisdiction over the contributed funds placed in such depository accounts.
(2) Disbursements of contributions may be properly made from a trust account only upon written verification from the trustee that the disbursement is in furtherance of the purpose for which the funds were solicited, with documentation reflecting the identity of the proposed payee and the justification for the proposed payment. Disbursements of contributed funds from a depository account may be made only as allowed by the court. When a trust account is to be closed and a balance remains in that account in excess of the amount needed for the benefit of the named individual, such excess funds may be transferred to another trust account for the benefit of another named individual who is in the same or similar circumstances.
(3) Any person or organization that violates the provisions of subsection (1) or subsection (2) is guilty of a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. History.—ss. 12, 26, ch. 91-208; ss. 15, 19, ch. 94-287.
Please stop calling me a moron. And your analogy is obscene to say the least. You are equating a forum for the free exchange of ideas to a situation where ones’ actions led to a death. Words on this forum don’t kill, the most damage done is hurt feelings. We all accept we have things in common and we may have differences. I can argue with you about the neighborhood watch program and how zimmerman violated many of their policies. But that was not my point, I love the book, To Kill a Mockingbird” and I, for the life of me, can not see any connection between Robinson and Zimmerman. And I take exception to anyone trying to argue otherwise. That was all I was trying to say.
I’ve read the book lots of times; I just had a senior moment and called him Jim instead of Tom.
I’d say the physical evidence for George Zimmerman is about equal to that for Tom Robinson. There was no way for Tom to rape and beat Mayella when the arm that would have to give injuries to that side of the face was amputated. Likewise, there’s not much way that Zimmerman gave himself a broken nose and lacerations to the back of his head - especially with the witnesses saying that Trayvon was on top.
This is VERY, VERY similar to “To Kill a Mockingbird”.
The evidence suggests that Trayvon initiated the confrontation. Conservative Treehouse has a lot about this subject.
If you see no parallels then you must not know much about the Zimmerman case. What have you read about it?
Don't they assign a new number for the new passport, making the old one useless (other than as a souvenir)?
You started it.
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