A solemn George Zimmerman, wearing gray jail
coveralls, appeared before a Seminole County, Florida, judge Thursday, speaking
only a few words as his arraignment was set for next month.
All matters including bond and further motions in the case
will be handled by the circuit court, Judge Mark Herr said. The case will be
assigned to Judge Jessica Recksiedler going forward.
As the short hearing was concluding, Zimmerman's attorney,
Mark O'Mara, asked that records containing personal information on witnesses,
including addresses and telephone numbers in some cases, be sealed. As nothing
else besides the probable cause affidavit had been filed in court Thursday,
Herr said Recksiedler will address a motion to seal the file.
O'Mara did not ask that Zimmerman be released on bond,
although he said earlier in the day he wanted his client released as soon as
possible.
He did note, however, that being out on bail could
jeopardize Zimmerman's safety.
"I think nobody would deny the fact if
George Zimmerman is walking down the street today, he would be at risk,"
he explained.
O'Mara said earlier Thursday he is "truly hoping that
there will be a receding of the frustrations or anger now that the process is
moving forward."
Zimmerman's
attorney no stranger to high-profile cases
Zimmerman, 28, who had been in hiding, turned himself in
Wednesday after authorities said he would be charged in the case. He faces a
second-degree murder charge in the February 26 shooting death of 17-year-old
Trayvon Martin.
Blog:
Updates on charges and arrest as they unfolded
The development marks a turning point in a case that
triggered a nationwide debate about race in America and about Florida's
"stand your ground" law -- which allows people to use deadly force
anywhere they feel a reasonable threat of death or serious injury.
O'Mara said Zimmerman, who will plead not guilty at his
arraignment, is worried about getting a fair trial in Sanford -- where
thousands have converged to join in protests calling for his arrest and
decrying the police department's handling of the case.
But O'Mara said he does not share those concerns.
"
Martin's family, meanwhile, expressed satisfaction that
Zimmerman has been charged and is in custody.
"We simply wanted an arrest; we wanted nothing more,
nothing less," the teen's mother, Sybrina Fulton, said Wednesday.
Natalie Jackson, an attorney for Martin's family, said
Thursday the family has only asked "for justice to apply equally for all.
If a judge decides (Zimmerman) has a right to bail, then that's the system, and
we'll respect the system."
On Thursday,
"I made a comment to the media that was later
mischaracterized," she said. "When I referenced the word 'accident'
today with regard to Trayvon's death, in no way did I mean the shooting was an
accident.
"We believe that George Zimmerman stalked my son and
murdered him in cold blood,"
"My son was profiled, followed and murdered by George
Zimmerman, and there was nothing accidental about that," she said.
Earlier,
She told "Today," "I would ask (Zimmerman),
did he know that that was a minor, that he was a teenager and that he did not
have a weapon? ... I understand that his family is hurting, but think about our
family that lost our teenage son."
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views of the Trayvon Martin story
Why second-degree murder
The special prosecutor assigned to the case announced the
charge against Zimmerman Wednesday -- 46 days after the shooting.
During that time, the calls for "Justice for
Trayvon" had grown louder and louder, with Martin's supporters taking to
the streets in cities across the nation and on the Internet.
Prosecutor Angela Corey said whether the case is decided by
a judge or jury, "I can assure they will only get the relevant, admissible
evidence on which they can then base their decisions."
"Let me emphasize that we do not prosecute by pressure
or petition. We prosecute cases based on the relevant fact of each case and on
the laws of the state of
Trayvon
Martin prosecutor lives up to 'tough on crime' mantra
Prosecutors usually level a second-degree murder charge when
they accuse someone of a killing that is not premeditated or planned. It
carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
In severity, the charge falls between first-degree -- when a
person is accused of killing someone deliberately -- and manslaughter, when an
act results in an unintended death.
"I did think that was certainly the highest charge I
ever thought they would charge," O'Mara said. "It seemed like it
might be manslaughter, but ... I don't want to prejudge something when I know
nothing about the facts. I would rather that come out the way it's supposed
to."
"It's actually a very brave charge of Angela Corey and
really shows that she conducted an independent, impartial and fair
investigation in this case," the attorney said. "She could have
easily charged this as a manslaughter to try to appease everyone. She didn't.
She did what prosecutors do. She charged it to the hilt."
Jurors, however, will have several options under
Read charges against Zimmerman (PDF)
Charge amid conflicting allegations
Corey did little to put to rest questions that have swirled
around what happened the night Martin was killed in the suburban
What is known is that Martin, wearing a hoodie, left his
father's fiancee's home in
From there, the case has evolved into conflicting
allegations from Zimmerman's supporters, Martin's family and authorities.
Zimmerman says he killed Martin in self-defense after the
teen punched him and slammed his head on the sidewalk.
One of the responding officers saw a wound on the back of
Zimmerman's head, and surveillance video appeared to show an injury.
Martin's family and supporters say Zimmerman, who is
Hispanic, racially profiled the teen, who was African-American, and called 911
to report a suspicious person in the neighborhood.
A recording of the 911 call includes a police dispatcher
asking Zimmerman, "Are you following him?"
"Yeah," Zimmerman replied.
"OK, we don't need you to do that," the dispatcher
said.
The recording also captured someone pleading for help.
Zimmerman's family says it was him yelling for help;
Martin's relatives have said they are certain the voice is that of the teen.
Martin's family has also said a
Neither
The two sides have also debated what Zimmerman whispered
under his breath during his 911 call.
Martin's supporters said he uttered a racial slur; one of
Zimmerman's former lawyers said he told them he whispered "punks."
O'Mara not a stranger to high-profile cases
O'Mara replaces Zimmerman's previous lawyers, Craig Sonner
and Hal Uhrig. They told reporters Tuesday that they had lost contact with
their client and could no longer represent him.
O'Mara said the family contacted him after referrals from
other lawyers.
He is a well-known criminal defense attorney who is no
stranger to high-profile cases and TV cameras.
In 2004, he successfully defended Shamir Suber, who was
charged with second-degree murder for plowing into the back of a car and
killing its driver while trying to evade police. Suber was eventually convicted
of the lesser charge of manslaughter.
Zimmerman was alone Wednesday when he turned himself in to
the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's office in
O'Mara said Thursday he spoke to Zimmerman by telephone
several times during the day Wednesday and spent about an hour with his client
Wednesday night.
"He is stressed. He's tired. He's been through a lot
with the way this case has been handled to date," he said of Zimmerman.
"I'm just hoping that his mental health stays well and
we can move forward with getting the case figured out."
George Zimmerman's brother, Robert Zimmerman Jr., told CNN's
"Piers Morgan Tonight" that the family was "devastated" by
the development.
"There were no winners in this already," the
brother said.
Zimmerman had been in hiding since shortly after the
shooting. His family and former attorneys said he feared for his life.
The case has drawn comments from President Barack Obama -- a
father of two girls, who said, "If I had a son, he'd look like
Trayvon" -- and led to protest marches in cities and campuses across the
country.
At one point, the New Black Panther Party offered a $10,000
bounty for Zimmerman's capture, despite vehement opposition from, among others,
Martin's family. He stopped reporting to work at a mortgage risk management
firm after the shooting.
"There's a lot of issues and there's a lot of emotions
and we need to calm this down," O'Mara said. "It needs to be tried in
a courtroom, which is the only place it's supposed to be tried, and that's what
I'm going to try help get done."
Officials urge restraint
O'Mara asked there be no rush to judgment.
"Nobody, after all, wanted Trayvon Martin to be
pre-judged as he was walking down that street," he said. "I ask you
not to pre-judge George Zimmerman, and please do not pre-judge the criminal
justice system. It's going to work. We just need to let it work."
O'Mara told CNN and sister network HLN on Thursday he
expects it will take at least six months, and possibly as long as a year,
before the trial is held. But, he said, that's speculation, since he hasn't had
an opportunity to review evidence in the case yet.
Gov. Rick Scott, who appointed the special prosecutor on the
case, issued a statement Wednesday calling on Florida's residents to
"allow our justice system to reach an appropriate conclusion in this
case."
Meanwhile, Attorney General Eric Holder pledged Wednesday
that the Justice Department, which is running a concurrent investigation
launched three weeks ago, will "conduct a thorough and independent review
of the evidence."
"I know that many of you are greatly -- and rightly --
concerned" about Martin's death, Holder said -- "a young man whose
future has been lost to the ages."
Zahra Umansky, an attorney who represented Zimmerman on 2005
charges of assaulting an officer and resisting arrest after an incident in a
local bar -- charges which were later dismissed -- recalled he was actively
involved in his defense, more so than other youths at that age might be.
"He was very concerned," she said.
She characterized Zimmerman as having a tendency to not
accept what he's told at face value. "He wants to take things and find out
what's going on. ... He's curious," she said.
At a barber shop in west Sanford, an area that has served as
a gathering point for Martin protesters, Demetrius Hastings watched a live
broadcast of Corey's announcement of the charge against Zimmerman.
"It's good to see they are doing what they finally did.
I don't know who is to blame," Hasting told CNN. "But this shouldn't
happen again."
CNN's Martin Savidge and Vivian Kuo, and InSession's Beth
Karas, Jessica Thill and Aletse Mellado contributed to this report.
