A judge has rejected a motion to delay the second-degree murder trial of George Zimmerman, the man facing murder charges in the death of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin.
According to reports, Zimmerman’s attorneys needed more time to research one of the state’s witnesses.
Circuit Judge Debra. S Nelson says both sides have had enough time to prepare. Jury selection is set to begin on June 10.
Nelson also denied the state’s third attempt at a gag order on Tuesday as pretrial publicity generated with a court filing by Zimmerman’s attorney. Attorney’s say the teenager’s text messages show he was “hostile” and had been arguing with someone on the day he died.
Judge Nelson ruled that Martin’s text messages and school records are not admissible; however, she left the possibility open if the defense could show relevance later during the trial.
In an interview on MSNBC’s “Politics Nation,” Former U.S. Attorney Kendall Coffey says Zimmerman’s attorney is attempting to try the case in the court of public opinion.
“It’s inflammatory, it’s damaging, and frankly potential jurors are going to find it very hard to unsee what they are already seeing on television, the Internet and in newspapers,” said Kendall Coffey.
Prosecutor Paul Henderson says the information could be harmful.
“They only reason that they are including it as evidence that they would like to introduce, when they know that it won’t be introduced, is to try to and taint the jury pool, and to try and change public perception with this information that they have.”
In the interview, Coffey and Henderson discuss the role of the 911 tapes in the case.
Watch the rest of the interview here.
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