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.

Kendall Coffey "Spinning The Law" segment on Newsmax TV

Former U.S. Attorney Kendall Coffey will now appear in a new weekly segment called “Spinning The Law.” The segment which runs on Newsmax TV’s “The Steve Malzberg Show” provides legal commentary and insights on high profile cases just like Coffey’s book also titled “Spinning The Law.”

In the first segment of “Spinning The Law”, Malzberg and Coffey discuss recent comments made by former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O Connor over the Florida Election recount of 2000. In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, O’Connor expressed regret over the Bush vs. Gore ruling.

“Obviously the court did reach a decision and thought it had to reach a decision,” she said. “It turned out the election authorities in Florida hadn’t done a real good job there and kind of messed it up. And probably the Supreme Court added to the problem at the end of the day.”

Kendall Coffey said he disagrees with the Supreme Court’s decision but it isn’t a good look for the image of the court to be second-guessing itself. He believes the system has to move on.

“It’s all about accepting and respecting their decisions and accepting finality when it’s a final decision. I appreciate her candor, but I’m not sure if it’s a great thing for the institution of the Supreme Court,” said Kendall Coffey.

Coffey and Malzberg also discuss the possibility of capital punishment in the Boston Marathon bombing case and California’s new legislation that could potentially make non-citizens eligible for jury service.

Watch the rest of the “Spinning The Law” segment here.

Kendall Coffey on the Boston Marathon Bombing suspect

GOP leaders are calling for the Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to be treated as an  “enemy combatant,” but the White House says Tsarnaev will be Kendall Coffey on MSNBC

Republican Rep. Peter King of New York and GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, John McCain of Arizona, and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire believe it would help authorities gather intelligence.

"By declaring him an enemy combatant, there would be by virtue at least 30 days of unlimited interrogation,” King told MSNBC earlier in the day. King insists once the interrogation is over, Tsarnaev would be tried in a civilian court.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein argues that it would be unconstitutional to do so.

"I do not believe under the military commission law that he is eligible for that. It would be unconstitutional to do that," Feinstein said on "Fox News Sunday."

"Let me say this … one of the great things about America is that we come together at times of trial," said Feinstein. "I very much regret the fact that there are those that want to precipitate a debate over whether he's an enemy combatant or whether he is a terrorist, a murderer, et cetera."

Former U.S. attorney and MSNBC legal analyst Kendall Coffey on Twitter says he agrees with the White House’s decision. Kendall Coffey says you have to be part of an enemy force to be considered an enemy combatant.

“I don’t think being part of a general hatred of the United States is nearly enough…If we start throwing the Constitution out, we’re going to lose the real war for our values.”

"The Obama administration is trying to demonstrate civilian tools are adequate and tough enough to make everybody safe," Kendall Coffey stated, but that has included extending the public safety exception for Miranda rights. Mr. Coffey believes the administration is using this case to establish that “we don’t need to ship everyone down to Guantanamo.”

While liberals and constitutional scholars may not agree, Mr. Coffey said, “the administration may see it as something that’s needed to preserve civilian jury trials.”

Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, called Graham’s rhetoric “alarming.” MSNBC’s Chris Matthews asked if he could be swayed by evidence in the future that may possibly show that Tsarnaev is linked to terrorist groups, Turley said “”No. He’s a U.S. citizen. He has presumption of innocence.”

Kendall Coffey Comments on Casey Anthony's Bankruptcy Case

Casey Anthony, the mother acquitted of murdering her toddler daughter Caylee in 2011, appeared in federal bankruptcy court in Tampa. Anthony made her first public appearance in nearly two years the bankruptcy hearing, returning to a media frenzy. George Stephanopoulos of “GMA” said Anthony is “living a narrow life deep in debt with no job, no home of her own, almost no cash.”

Casey Anthony told the court on Monday that she doesn’t pay rent or utilities and survives off the kindness of others. She said she has $484 cash to her name and has no job or car, NBC affiliate WESH in Orlando reported.

Back in January, her lawyer Charles Greene said that Anthony wanted to stop people from coming after her with lawsuits, and she would be filing for bankruptcy. 

ABC's Matt Guttman said, "As for the mountain of money she and many others thought might follow her acquittal, those book deals, the movies ... never materialized."

Prosecutor Jeff Ashton's book became a Lifetime movie.

Former U.S. Attorney Kendall Coffey, serving as a legal analyst for NBC, said: “The biggest potential source of income is a book deal and a movie deal someday, and that’s why it would be vitally important from her standpoint to keep that asset away from the creditors that she owes money to.”

Anthony was convicted of four misdemeanor counts of lying to investigators who were looking into Caylee’s disappearance in 2008. She got a four-year sentence, but was released less than two weeks after the conviction, counting the time served and for good behavior.

Kendall Coffey Compares Prosecutions of Financial Fraud and Fatal Safety Cases

In a report with the Associated Press, Former U.S. Attorney Kendall Coffey compares the prosecutions of financial fraud and fatal safety cases in the 2010 West Virginia mine explosion. 

Don Blankenship, the chief executive at the time of the explosion was implicated by a former longtime subordinate and Former White Buck Coal Co. president, David Hughart. Hughart admitted in federal court that it was a widespread corporate practice of warning coal miners about surprise federal inspections.  The warnings allegedly allowed miners and managers to conceal potentially deadly conditions that could have lead to a shutdown in production. The miners at his company and other Massey mines got advance warning about inspections between 2000 and 2010.

Outside the courtroom, Hughart’s wife confirmed her husband had been threatened several times in his career. “Anyone that did not comply was threatened. We lived under fear.”

Mr. Hughart pleaded guilty and faces up to six years in prison and a $350,000 fine when sentenced June 25. Hughart is the highest-ranking Massey employee involved in a criminal case since the investigation began. 

The CEO, Mr. Blankenship retired about eight months after the mining disaster and several victims’ relatives have demanded he be prosecuted.  He’s being accused of putting profits before people throughout his career as a union-busting operator.

When President Hughart was charged last fall, several former federal prosecutors told the AP it wouldn’t be easy to prosecute Blankenship.  Former U.S. attorney in Miami, Kendall Coffey said prosecutions of financial fraud have been more successful, but in fatal safety cases it’s difficult to prove a crime as committed.

"It's historically been difficult to move to the top of the pyramid. Typically a chairman or CEO has multiple layers and relatively few fingerprints on the operational issues that directly cause a tragedy," Coffey said.

Experts say investigators would most likely need documents or other hard evidence to match the witnesses’ testimony or they’ll need multiple witnesses. 

Kendall Coffey on Social Issues and the Fall of the Silent Majority

Earlier this month, Richard Nixon would have celebrated his 100th birthday.

In Kendall Coffey's latest tweet, he discusses changing demographics from 1972 to 2012, social issues and the fall of the silent majority in the latest presidential election. He discussed how Nixon was usually demonized by Baby Boomers but how he has nevertheless had a profound role in shaping America’s political landscape.

Particularly, his role in shaping the so-called "Silent Majority," a term which is usually used to describe the foundation for Republican success that has lasted until fairly recently.  The term encompasses value issues, including "faith, patriotism, and law and order, as well as a shrewd manipulation of attitudes concerning intellectualism." It is this "Silent Majority" that allowed the Republican Party to attract the blue collar voters that had been a mainstay of the party of FDR for decades.

Kendall Coffey also discusses the change of this silent majority to a "Vocal Minority" and how this is due in part to changing demographics.