Zimmerman's Lawyers Ignore the Law to Paint Trayvon as a Brawling Pot Head

Alexander Abad-Santos May 28, 2013 

 

With less than two weeks until George Zimmerman goes on trial for second-degree murder in the killing of Trayvon Martin, the judge in his 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 George 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.
The pre-trial hearing dealt with a number of defense requests — Zimmerman's motion to delay was denied, and the trial will begin June 10 — but the defense lost almost all of them. The Orlando Sentinel's Jeff Weiner has the play-by-play on Judge Debra S. Nelson's key decisions:

The judge already has ruled this morning on several key issues: The defense may not bring up Trayvon Martin's past marijuana use at trial, or his past school suspensions or participation in fights, without clearing several legal hurdles and another ruling granting permission.
The attorneys also cannot mention during their opening arguments that the active ingredient of marijuana was found in the teen's system, the judge ruled.

Zimmerman's defense team has long sought to establish that Martin may have been high and that his judgment may have been impaired on February 26, 2012 — the night he was shot and killed after buying some Skittles. "We have a lot of evidence that marijuana use had something to do with the event," Zimmerman's lead attorney, Mark O'Mara, said during today's pretrial hearing. "It could have affected his behavior."  READ MORE