Billy Martin and Kendall Coffey Analyze the Potential Reaction from the Jury in the Zimmerman Trial

The friend who was on the phone with Florida teenager Trayvon Martin just moments before he was shot and killed finishes two days of testimony in the George Zimmerman murder trial. Key witness Rachel Jeantel spent more than five hours under cross-examination by the defense.

Zimmerman is facing second-degree murder charges and claims he shot Martin in self-defense.

In a recent appearance on MSNBC’s “PoliticsNation,” criminal defense attorney Billy Martin and MSNBC legal analyst Kendall Coffey discuss Rachel Jeantel’s performance on the stand and whether the jury finds her as an unreliable or a sympathetic witness.

In the court of public opinion, people have come to her defense or ridiculed her as she admitted she’s unable to read cursive. Jeantel claims that she wrote the letter with a friend, describing what happened on the night of the shooting and sent it to Martin’s mom several weeks after his death.

Former U.S. Attorney Kendall Coffey told MSNBC's Al Sharpton, the jury may not be able to relate to Jeantel, but her testimony is consistent.

“What I think the jury is seeing, is somebody who is there, doesn’t want to be there was brought in by a horrific twist of destiny and tragedy to have to talk about what happened in the final minutes of the life of a friend of hers. And who is by and large being truthful and being truthful is a lot more important than sympathetic than any other word when it comes to the key witness for the prosecution,” said Coffey.

Jeantel said that Trayvon Martin used slurs when describing Zimmerman in their final conversation. As a former chief prosecutor in Washington, D.C.'s homicide unit, Billy Martin says the jurors typically look past the language.

“This is not unusual in a homicide case to have vulgar language and activity that people feel and fund uncomfortable. I think a juror and jurors look right through that and look at what are we trying to determine. They’re not trying to see if one was a good person or a bad person. There are facts here. Who was the aggressor? Who had the ability to flee? And who had the gun? I think they’ll look right past these slurs and find the facts that will really help them decide this case."

Miami Teen Returns to Stand in the George Zimmerman Trial

The friend of Trayvon Martin returns to the stand in the George Zimmerman trial saying she believes the encounter was racially charged. Rachel Jeantel is a crucial witness for prosecutors as she was on the phone with Martin before his fatal fight with George Zimmerman in February 2012.

Jeantel said Martin complained to her that a man described as “creepy” was following him through the community.  Martin said Zimmerman was behind him and she heard him ask: “What are you following me for?”

"He kept complaining that a man was just watching him," Jeantel said.

She heard Martin say, “Get off! Get off!” before the phone went dead.  Jeantel said she thought race was an issue because Martin told her a white man was following him. It has been reported that Zimmerman identifies himself as Hispanic and his family claims the confrontation had nothing to do with race.

Cross-examination continues today, but the major question is whether George Zimmerman will testify. Defense attorney Mark O’Mara says he’s not sure if his client will take the stand.

In an interview on MSNBC, Former U.S. Attorney Kendall Coffey says the prosecution’s strategy will have to prove that there are inconsistencies and falsities in George Zimmerman’s statements.

“We all know that innocent people don't have to lie if someone is caught and trapped in a number of untruthful comments, it strongly indicates guilt…the young woman who was on the cell phone with Trayvon Martin in the final minutes of his life, those could be the major parts of the prosecution's evidence,” said Kendall Coffey.

For the defendant, Former U.S. Attorney Zachary Carter tells MSNBC that Zimmerman’s story must stay consistent. “If he did something at a certain time and you listen to 911 recordings in which certain things actually occurred and you can verify it, on a different timeline that is inconsistent with what he says then you can disparage his story.”

Zimmerman Trial Reaches Final Stages of Jury Selection

Jury selection has narrowed down to 40 finalists in the high-profile trial of George Zimmerman. In a second round of questioning, potential jurors were asked about their attitudes toward gun issues, neighborhood watch groups, and guns.

On MSNBC’s “PoliticsNation” Reverend Al Sharpton spoke with Former U.S. Attorney Kendall Coffey about the make up of the jury.

“I think in a controversial case like this which has an acknowledged racial divide, the composition of the jury is extremely important. And from the standpoint of a verdict that's going to have broad acceptance, the closer it is to represent the demographics to the community, I think the more fundamentally acceptable the verdict's going to be. One of the biggest challenges the judge is going to have in this case is what if the defense begins to use its preemptory challenges to strike African Americans from the jury panel,” said Coffey.

Strike for cause is a method of eliminating potential members from a jury panel. In this trial, each side will get six.

Looking at demographics of Seminole County 66 percent identify as White, Non Latino, 18 percent Latino and 12 percent African American. Despite all of the intense pretrial publicity, Kendall Coffey believes they decided to stay in the same county due to demographics.

“There's a whole process, actually a protocol and formula that Florida uses if either side prosecutor or defense strikes individuals of a special protective group. If that starts to happen in the next couple days, you can expect to see some sidebars. You can expect to see maybe even some fireworks over the issue,” said Coffey.

Reverend Al Sharpton raised the issue of dealing with potential jurors pre-determined opinions. Mr. Coffey said there would be some attempts to renew the challenges for cause on some of the jurors.

“The thing the judge will articulate is to have a fair and unbiased jury to let the defense and prosecution exercise their strikes. But in the back of the judge's mind, if I’m the judge, I want whatever the verdict is. I want a verdict that is going to have public credibility and acceptance. I think that means not only the fairest possible jury, but a jury that has some diversity,” said Kendall Coffey.

Zimmerman Trial Jury Selection

In day three of the George Zimmerman trial, attorneys have interview over two-dozen potential jurors. At least 70 jury candidates were dismissed.

Potential jurors have revealed they’ve had some kind of exposure to the details in the shooting.

The father of Trayvon Martin, the Florida teen who was shot and killed by Zimmerman in February 2012, said his family was encouraged so far by what they had seen in the jury selection.

Former federal prosecutor Kendall Coffey spoke to Rev. Al Sharpton on MSNBC’s “PoliticsNation” to discuss the deciding factors in the jury selection process.

Mr. Coffey said it would be challenging to find people who could be fair and haven’t been influenced by what they have seen already.

 “People that are basically gun owners are going to be much better jurors for the defense. People on the other hand people who just aren’t comfortable with the idea of guns and violence, that think that something has to be done about it, those are going to be the best people for the prosecution,” said Kendall Coffey.

No decision has been made on whether the voice experts can testify about the screams in the 911 call made during the confrontation.

Martin’s family believes it was the teen that was screaming for help, while it was Zimmerman’s father saying it was his son. Audio experts have given mixed conclusions.

Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty to a second degree murder charge, telling police he fired the fatal shot that killed Trayvon Martin in self-defense during a fight initiated by 17-year-old.

Analysis of 911 Call in George Zimmerman Trial

An FBI speech scientist testified in court today that current technology couldn’t determine the voice on a 911 tape being used in the George Zimmerman trial. The recording is a critical piece of evidence to determine who was screaming for help just moments before Florida teen Trayvon Martin was killed in February 2012.

If the screams were Zimmerman’s, it would support his claim of self-defense. If they were Martin’s it would weaken Zimmerman’s claim that he felt his life was in jeopardy when he shot the unarmed victim. Zimmerman says he acted in self-defense after Martin punched him in the face, knocked him to the ground and threatened to kill him.

“It’s a critical piece of evidence for the prosecution,” Kendall Coffey, a former Miami U.S. Attorney, said in a phone interview. “If the prosecution can convince the jury that it is the voice of Trayvon Martin, the jury might conclude that Trayvon Martin is the true victim and George Zimmerman is the killer.”

Coffey believes the prosecution’s strategy would involve following what Zimmerman says and if he is untruthful. For the defense strategy, Coffey believes the best strategy would be to argue that the new technology isn’t sufficient scientific acceptance and expert testimony.

Among the other things the judge has to sort out in this trial, there are other twists and turns. Coffey says the standard for whether you admit evidence based on new technology may be about to change as of July 1 in Florida.

Zimmerman’s trial is scheduled to begin on June 10, but lawyers are in court this week to determine the rules for the proceedings.

George Zimmerman Trial Update

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.

MSNBC questions atypical police protocol in Trayvon Martin case

The widely publicized Trayvon Martin killing raised some serious questions about police protocol, the ‘stand your ground’ law in Florida, and the friction that racial and ethnic boundaries are causing in the state.

Originally, the night the event took place, the police chose not to arrest George Zimmerman for the killing of Trayvon Martin, despite the recommendation of the lead investigator, Chris Serino. The case was initially deemed a self-defense case because of the ‘stand your ground’ law that would allow Zimmerman to forcefully defend himself without the obligation to flee from the alleged attack.

In an interview with MSNBC following the news of the incident, legal commentator and former US Attorney Kendall Coffey discussed the case while examining data gathered by the news team.

The reaction from the authorities was atypical, especially considering that those who overruled the leading investigator were officials who were not at the scene of the crime. “…The lead investigator, the person that normally law enforcement would say is in the best position to assess whether or not there’s probable cause [for arrest, was] effectively overruled by people sitting back at the office,” said Kendall Coffey, adding that the scenario raised questions.

Though new information has unraveled since Feb. 26, the night of the incident, the case proceeds, unraveling new facts and triggering profound emotion and concern. 

'Stand your ground' controversy spikes in Trayvon Martin case

Hypothetical Situation:  A young man wanders around an area with which he is unfamiliar. It’s nighttime and he has somewhere to be but he’s not quite sure how to get there. His eyes meet with those of a stranger, wary of his presence. They exchange unfriendly words. Words give way to actions and soon the young man is dead. The older man killed him.

According to Florida’s ‘stand your ground’ law, someone who is being attacked or is facing an imminent threat may forcefully defend himself without the requirement to flee. Therefore, the older man, the one who’s still living in the above scenario, can invoke ‘stand your ground’ and pass the murder off as self-defense without facing any backlash. Many would consider this scenario an unfortunate encounter when an adolescent boy messed with the wrong man.

However, consider that this was perhaps not the older individual’s first run-in with the law. Would his claim of self-defense become less credible if he had a criminal history? What if this history included robbery, assault, or battery? Would he still be capable of cloaking himself in ‘stand your ground’ if he had one previous arrest? Two? Three?

Reporters at the Miami Herald uncovered the statistics behind who exactly was benefitting from ‘stand your ground.’

According to the Herald, “Nearly 60 percent of those who claimed self-defense had been arrested at least once before the day they killed someone… More than 30 of those defendants, about 1 in 3, had been accused of violent crimes, including assault, battery or robbery. Dozens had drug offenses on their records… Killers have invoked ‘stand your ground’ even after repeated run-ins with the law. Forty percent had three arrests or more. Dozens had at least four arrests.”

Legal experts like Kendall Coffey are skeptical of the controversial law. Of course, it is an inherently problematic law, because, as Coffey noted, “It would be impractical to try and apply the law differently between those who do and don’t have records. And frankly, it would be unfair.”

Obviously having a previous criminal record shouldn’t preclude someone from protecting himself when the situation warrants it. However, a guilty man should not be able to so easily invoke a law designed to protect the innocent, and run free.

“The legislators wrote this law envisioning honest assertions of self-defense, not an immunity being seized mostly by criminal defendants trying to lie their way out of a murder,” said Kendall Coffey.

Though the law would work well to protect an innocent person defending himself, it appears as though more guilty individuals have benefitted from its enactment. Legal experts like Kendall Coffey and a significant amount of Florida citizens would prefer that the law be curtailed. Time will tell whether ‘stand your ground’ has a future in Florida.  

How long did the police spend investigating Trayvon Martin?

Did the Trayvon Martin investigation run its course too quickly?  This seems to be one of the biggest issues that protestors return to again and again, the fact that it only took seven hours and 50 minutes for Sanford police and the state attorney to decide to let George Zimmerman to go home, not charging him with the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.

 

According to MSNBC, nearby Lake Mary is a similar town with the same number of detectives (five).  Two years ago a shooting happened in Lake Mary and although eventually no charges were filed that city’s homicide unit called in the county sheriff’s department with its fully staffed crime lab to assist.  That investigation lasted for 16 days. 

 

Was seven hours too quick of an investigation?  Kendall Kendall Coffey, former United States Attorney thinks so.  “When a man with a gun kills someone who is unarmed, certainly should take a lot more than seven hours to reach the bottom line as to whether there's a crime,” he explains.

                                                                                                                                    

The special prosecutor examining the case will be the one to determine the truth of the matter, and is expected to report to the grand jury soon.

It doesn't take much to get away with murder

There a lot of different issues at play in the Trayvon Martin case.  There are the pictures of George Zimmerman’s injuries.  There’s the fact that he refused to stay in his car after the police dispatcher instructed him to.  There’s the mere seven hours that the police held him.  There’s Martin’s innocence and complete right to be exactly where he was.  There’s the confusion over who was calling for help in the 911 call. 

 

But the only issue that matters, according to Kendall Coffey, is who threw the first punch. 

 

This is because the case comes down to a strange Florida law called Stand Your Ground which allows someone to meet force with force if they aren’t engaging in unlawful activity and are attacked in someplace where they have the right to be. 

 

As Kendall Coffey explains, if Martin threw the first punch, no matter if he was scared of Zimmerman, Zimmerman would have had every right to shoot him.  If Zimmerman threw the first punch then he would have been taking part in unlawful activity and could not seek protection under the SYG statute.

 

With such a strange law, apparently all it takes in Florida to get away with murder is getting the other guy to attack you first.

 

Does all the evidence bolster Zimmerman's claim of self defense?

A great deal of evidence has been released in the Trayvon Martin case.  Several weeks ago the case seemed very different, before the stories, the pictures of the injuries, the witnesses accounts, all of which seems to bolster Zimmerman’s claims of self defense.  But does it?

 

Kendall Coffey was asked that very question on MSNBC.  Author of Spinning the Law, he’s an expert at trying cases in the court of public opinion.  But Coffey doesn’t think that the public reaction will change much, although it could affect the case all the same.

 

“This does more good for Zimmerman than it does for the prosecution because it tells us there are very important unanswered questions,” he explains.  “Enough unanswered questions mean unproven facts and... those are the tools of a defense lawyer trying to establish a reasonable doubt.”

Will Zimmerman have to take the stand at his trial?

Read more at Kendall Coffey Celebrity Cases

 In the current climate it might make more sense if he didn’t.  After all, the public is following every bit of information with bated breath, see-sawing from one opinion to another, and him taking the stand will only feed the rumor mill- which is something that his attorney’s office seems determined to avoid.

“The O'Mara Law group stresses that while the George Zimmerman case will be explored deeply in the media and by the public, the only proper place to determine the guilt or innocence of George Zimmerman is in court,” a posting on Zimmerman’s legal defense website posted recently.  “And indeed only the jury will have all the evidence required to make such a determination.

But one of the prosecutors, Bernie De La Rionda, has hinted that Zimmerman’s story to the police varied, bringing up the possibility that he gave false testimony. And according to Miami attorney Kendall Coffey, this means that Zimmerman might very well have to take the stand.

“The most critical information in the trial could be his believability," Coffey says. "This defendant is asserting self-defense and it would be very difficult to assert self-defense without taking the stand to explain how it happened. All the more difficult if the police are holding in their hands contradictory accounts."

Zimmerman's former attorneys' actions baffling

The Atlantic Wire has an interesting piece analyzing the actions of George Zimmerman's former attorneys, an piece that comes to the conclusion that perhaps they were the ones that went rogue, not their client.  Some of the reasons include:

They gave a press conference.  Dropping a client isn't unusual, lawyers do it every day.  But quitting via press conference is highly unusual.

Kendall Coffey, a former U.S. Attorney in Miami and author of Spinning the Law, said Uhrig and Sonner's decision to hold a news conference was baffling. "The lawyers have every right to withdraw, but it's highly unusual," he said. "In the court of public opinion, the press conference was not helpful for George Zimmerman."

They discussed George Zimmerman's mental state: Describing Zimmerman as "emotionally crippled" and posssibly suffering from PTSD is not only in bad taste, it's unethical.

"It's unbelievable that you would get on television and talk about your client's mental state," Jose Baez, a criminal defense attorney told CNN last night. "What you have here, as an attorney, you have an ethical obligation to not only not post attorney-client communication but attorney-client confidence. Things you learn in the process of representing a client are considered confidential so any conversations they have are completely protected and the holder of this privilege is George Zimmerman ... It's reprehensible."

Other concerns include the fact that they only waited three days after not hearing from Zimmerman before having a press conference and that, through explaining this, they implied that Zimmerman might be a flight risk, therefore damaging his reputation. 

George Zimmerman arraignment is set for May 29

George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watchman who shot and killed Trayvon Martin, is scheduled for an arraignment on May 29th.  So far, he has not entered a plea.

His lawyer has requested that any future records in the case, including witness statements and identifying information, be completely sealed in order to prevent the case from being tried in the media.  The prosecution agreed, but will release a two-page affidavit supporting the state's second degree murder charge.

Of course, that's assuming that the charge sticks.  According to the Miami Herald, former Miami U.S. Attorney and author of Spinning the Law Kendall Coffey suggested the prosecution might not stay with the charge through trial. Mostly because a jury could, under some circumstances, toss the second-degree murder charge and convict of a lesser charge, such as manslaughter.  This is because in order to prove Zimmerman guilty of second-degree murder they will have to show that he acted with a depraved mind when he shot Trayvon.

“This is an aggressive charge,” Coffey said. “And there are times when an aggressive charge gives more incentive for the defendant to seek a plea. The vast majority of cases don’t go to trial and end in a plea.”

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/12/v-fullstory/2744193/george-zimmerman-charged-with.html#storylink=cpy

Zimmerman Bond Not Unusual

Kendall Coffey, partner with Coffey Burlington and former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, was featured in theGrio recently discussing the Trayvon Martin case and George Zimmerman-  especially the bail recently set by the judge in the case.  The amount of the bond was much lower than teh $1 million requested by the prosecution, and many are calling it a travesty.

"It shows you the worth of a 17-year-old black boy in America, who's been unjustly murdered and whose life is taken for granted," said Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, an MSNBC contributor and Georgetown University professor.

However, Kendall Coffey explained that the cost of a bail is based on the presumption  that defendants are innocent until proven guilty.

"Obviously, if this were Donald trump or Bill Gates accused of a crime, that would be grossly inadequate, but you cannot set a bond that a person could not possibly come up with," Coffey told theGrio. "From everything we saw, George Zimmerman is broke. His wife doesn't work, they don't own a home [they were renting the townhome in the Retreat at Twin Lakes gated community where Martin was killed.] There's no reason to believe that he could even bond out with $150,000."

 He also corrects the common misconception that Zimmerman would only have to come up with 10 percent of the $150,000 in order to be released.  While that 10% is the premium you pay the surety company most defendants still have to "fully collateralize that $150,000, meaning that either George Zimmerman or his parents have to come up with a $150,000 second mortgage on their house or from a bank. The bonding company is not a charity. They stand to lose the money. They have more than just fugitive hunters [to track down a defendant who flees.] They get collateral up front."

 Despite all the criticism, Kendall Coffey believes that the prosecution did the right thing.  "The prosecutor knew exactly wheat he was doing," Coffey explained. 

Kendall Coffey Speaks about George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin Case

Kendall Coffey talks about the legal developments in the Trayvon Martin case and Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law with MSNBC:  

Kendall Coffey urges public to be patient in Martin Case

Kendall Coffey on the Trayvon Martin Case

According to MSNBC George Zimmerman is likely to be tried before a jury in Sanford, Fla., where the killing took place Feb. 26, though defense attorneys may argue that the trial should be moved to another jurisdiction, according to NBC News. Two attorneys who earlier worked with Zimmerman quit the case on Tuesday.

In an interview, NBC News legal analyst Kendall Coffey a former federal prosecutor and author of Spinning the Law, called the charges "aggressive," and Corey's presentation of seeking justice in the case "masterful" for emphasizing that she was following the law. Shortly before the charge was announced, Coffey said prosecutors likely face a difficult time at trial.


“Bottom line is there is very big difference between a righteous prosecution and an easy prosecution,” Coffey told msnbc TV. “I think she believes in her heart and in her mind that this is a righteous prosecution and the chips are going to fall where they may.”