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| Robert Zimmerman Jr., left, the brother of George Zimmerman, the accused shooter of Trayvon Martin, talks with defense attorney Mark O'Mara, during a pre-trial hearing, Tuesday, May 28, 2013 in Sanford, Fla. George Zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder for the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin. He was not in court for the hearing. |
SANFORD, Fla.
(AP) -- Attorneys won't be able to mention Trayvon Martin's drug use,
suspension from school and past fighting during opening statements at
the trial of a former neighborhood watch volunteer who fatally shot the
teen, a judge ruled Tuesday.
However, Circuit
Judge Debra Nelson left open the possibility that the defense could try
again later during the trial if it could show relevance.
George
Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder in the 17-year-old's
killing and has pleaded not guilty, saying he acted in self-defense. He
did not attend Tuesday's hearing.
In another
key motion Nelson refused to allow jurors to travel to the shooting
scene during trial, and rejected a defense request to delay the trial
set to begin June 10.
The judge called the request to let jurors see the crime scene "a logistical nightmare."
Zimmerman's attorney, Mark O'Mara, said Nelson's decisions would not affect how he presented his case.
"We
were hoping that we would have some limitations on people commenting
upon information that is not yet relevant," O'Mara said. "So the idea
that the state will have to be careful about how they present their case
- and certainly we're going be careful about how we present ours - is
exactly what we were hoping for."
He
acknowledged, however, that with the judge not delaying the trial the
defense would "have a lot more work to do than we can get accomplished
between now and June 10."
The judge also ruled
that some of the Martin's texts and other social media statements won't
be allowed in opening statements, though it, too, could be allowed
later with a ruling from the judge depending on how the case progresses.
O'Mara
told the judge that Martin's marijuana use and past fighting was
central to the argument that Zimmerman used self-defense when he
confronted Martin last year at a gated community in Sanford, Fla.
"We
have a lot of evidence that marijuana use had something to do with the
event," O'Mara said. "It could have affected his behavior."
An
attorney for Martin's family, Benjamin Crump, said the teen's parents
were pleased with the judge's rulings on information they consider
immaterial to the February 2012 shooting.
"Trayvon Martin is not on trial," Crump said.
The
judge ruled against a defense request that the pool of 500 jury
candidates be sequestered during jury selection. She said jurors will be
referred to by their jury numbers and prohibited their faces from being
photographed. Nelson denied a prosecution request for a gag order that
would prohibit attorneys from talking about the case.
O'Mara said he is concerned potential jurors could be affected by publicity the case is receiving.
The
defense attorney had asked to push back the trial date because he said
prosecutors had delayed turning over evidence as required. O'Mara is
seeking sanctions against prosecutors, but a hearing on those sanctions
was delayed until next week.
Before the judge
decided to postpone the hearing on sanctions, a former prosecutor who
used to work in the same office as the attorneys prosecuting Zimmerman
testified he had told O'Mara about photos and text messages from
Martin's cell phone that hadn't yet been turned over to the defense.
Former Assistant State Attorney Wesley White resigned last year from the State Attorney's Office that covers northeast Florida.
