W Post Zimmerman judge says jury can’t see Trayvon Martin’s text messages By _Manuel Roig-Franzia_ (http://www.washingtonpost.com/manuel-roig-franzia/2011/03/04/ABl65uN_page.html) , Updated: Wednesday, July 10, 2013 < SANFORD, Fla. — A Seminole County Circuit Court judge dealt a blow to George Zimmerman’s defense Wednesday, blocking jurors from seeing _text messages_ (http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/social-media-infiltrates-zimmermans-murder-trial-both-inside-and-outside-the-courtroom/2013/07/07/89657ef4-e71 3-11e2-818e-aa29e855f3ab_story.html) from Trayvon Martin’s cellphone about fighting and guns. Zimmerman’s attorneys had waged an intense battle to get the text messages admitted as evidence, arguing late into the night Tuesday during a tense and emotional evidence hearing. The debate grew so heated that Judge Debra Nelson walked off the bench and ended the hearing shortly before 10 p.m., while Don West, one of Zimmerman’s defense attorneys, was still pleading with her. The texts might have been used to portray Martin, the unarmed teenager shot to death in February 2012 by Zimmerman, as a skilled and aggressive fighter. The defense has attempted to convince jurors that Martin was the attacker and that Zimmerman fired in self-defense. Prosecutors have emphasized that Zimmerman, then a 27-year-old neighborhood watch volunteer, was heavier than Martin, a slender 17-year-old. But defense attorneys called a local gym owner to testify that Zimmerman was unathletic and “soft.” _Zimmerman _ (http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/george-zimmerman-trial-race-is-a-subtext-not-the-focus/2013/07/02/a296611e-e262-11e2-a11e-c2ea876a8 f30_story.html) is charged with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Martin. In one of the text messages on Martin’s phone, a friend writes, “Babe, why you always fighting?” according to Richard Connor, a computer forensics expert who testified for the defense during the evidence hearing. Connor testified that Martin wrote about fight opponents. “I lost the first round,” a message that he punctuated with a smiley face. “I won the second and third.” “You need to stop fighting, for real,” the friend texted back, Connor said. “Nah, I’m not done with fool. He gonna have to see me again,” Martin responded, according to Connor. Connor also said Martin’s half-brother, Demetrius Martin, posted a Facebook message asking, “When you gonna teach me how to fight.” In addition to the text messages about fighting, Connor said he found messages in which Martin discussed buying a gun. Prosecutors fought back vigorously, arguing that the messages could not be authenticated. Nelson seemed receptive to their arguments, saying that anyone could have used Martin’s phone to send the messages. She added that even a 7-year-old might have been able to bypass the phone’s pass-code protections and send texts. The judge also ruled against the defense’s attempt to introduce an elaborate, animated reenactment made with a “wireless motion capture suit.” Prosecutors pounded the creator of the reenactment about imprecise measurements used to position the images of Martin and Zimmerman. Nelson said the reenactment showed Martin throwing a punch with his left hand, even though his mother, Sybrina Fulton, had testified that he is right-handed. The high-stakes showdown over the evidence comes in what appears to be the final stages of the trial, in its third week of testimony. Defense attorneys have said they might conclude their case Wednesday, but prosecution rebuttal witnesses could push final arguments until late Thursday or Friday. -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
