Appeal court grants George Zimmerman's request for new judge

[Baitball Blogger]

Source: Orlando Sentinel

The Fifth District Court of Appeal in Daytona Beach today ruled that second-degree murder suspect George Zimmerman should get a new judge.

A three-judge panel of that court voted 2-1 that Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester Jr. in Sanford went too far when, among other things, he wrote that Zimmerman is a manipulator.

"… this is admittedly a close call," wrote Judge C. Alan Lawson, but Lester's actions, taken in total, meet the legal standard requiring him to step aside.

A second judge, Jay Cohen, agreed. The third panel member, Kerry Evander, disagreed.

Read more: http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-08-29/news/os-george-zimmerman-appeals-ruling-lester-20120829_1_george-zimmerman-trayvon-martin-mark-o-mara

[FarPoint]

1. I know George Zimmerman went too far!

He murdered Trayvon...cold blooded murder. Judge Lester...he was factual and honest.


So, the Court manilipulation begins to unfold.....next thing we will hear is Zimmerman only had a BB gun and Trayvon had a beer.

[JDPriestly]

6. Perhaps the judge was right, but that is a subjective assessment of character, of a question of fact

that the judge should not express in the court or in writing in my opinion.

Don't worry, the next judge, confronted with Zimmerman's personality may be even tougher.

[cstanleytech]

13. FarPoint...relax.

Replacing the judge may be a good thing now because it will leave fewer grounds for an appeal later on down the road.

[greiner3]

2. Damn it;

But I do have to agree with the decision. If Lester did say Zimmerman was a manipulator then if nothing else, even if Lester gave a 100% unbiased trial, then this would be good grounds for an appeal if Zimmerman was found guilty.

[crim son]

18. Precisely. n/t

[2Design]

3. He is a murderer and they want to hide the fact he stalk Travon first

before Travon stood his ground against this person

[KamaAina]

4. If this guy walks, it'll be like L.A. times 100

all across the country this time.

And if that should happen before the election...

[FiveGoodMen]

8. If he walks, then it SHOULD be LA x 100.

[slackmaster]

9. I'm sorry, but that's a horrible thing to wish for.

Our criminal justice system is intentionally biased so that guilty people occasionally get off. The reason for that bias is to minimize the likelihood of an innocent person being convicted.

Having a criminal occasionally slip through the system is simply one of the recurring costs of all of the important protections we have for criminal defendants.

The Los Angeles riots of 1992 resulted in many people being injured and widespread property damage - Mainly to areas of the city that were already in poor shape economically. The people who were hurt most were mostly those who could afford it the least. Worst of all, the "justice" that the rioters claimed to be demanding never happened.

I really don't want to see us go there again. It was terrible.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

11. This is a different country now

I would not expect riots and anything that starts would be harshly put down

[neohippie]

21. WHAT... are you serious

Have you not seen the reactions by law enforcement to peaceful protest, and you think that they would react less aggressively to actual riots? I'm not sure that you were not being sarcastic, but unless you were, you clearly haven't been paying attention

[ProgressiveProfessor]

29. What was hard to understand

This is not the same country we were before the last set of LA riots.

Any violence would be beaten down harshly before it spread

[Blue_Tires]

14. I don't see him walking

I predict he'll eventually make a deal...

[hack89]

17. I didn't expect to see Casey Anthony walk either

that the thing about trials - they unpredictable.

[Blue_Tires]

19. I can't imagine he'd even want this to go to trial

unless he was pretty sure he could get an all-white jury...

[hack89]

20. It depends what evidence the prosecution has

with Martin dead and no eyewitnesses to the actual shooting it is not a slam dunk for the prosecution.

[Blue_Tires]

22. Not an easy slam dunk

but if the prosecution asks the right questions, (and if Zimmerman is actually ignorant enough to take the witness stand), then their chance of success is pretty high, imo

[hack89]

23. If Zimmerman has a competent lawyer and because there were no eyewitness to the shooting

"beyond a reasonable doubt" becomes a high bar. With the burden of proof on the prosecution Zimmerman won't take the stand unless the government comes up with a strong case.

And don't forget that Florida self defense law allows the aggressor to still use deadly force in certain circumstances. In my opinion, the entire case will be decided on who threw the first punch and whether or not Martin was actually pounding Zimmerman's head into the ground.

I don't know what the evidence shows. I know even less about what evidence will actually be presented to the jury. And I don't know what instructions regarding the law the judge will give the jury as to how they must interpret that evidence. Which is why I say it is more difficult prosecution then many here think.

[Blue_Tires]

24. I think the prosecution starting with the focus on who hit who first

is a fool's errand and plays into the defense's hands...The defense wants to sidestep the race factor and break everything down into a simple "fight" between two men...

The prosecutors need to spend a good, long chunk of their time hammering the racial profiling angle, along with why Zimmerman followed him, and why he felt the need to call police (break down each line of that call transcript), and finally why he decided to chase on foot...Also add in the laughably slow police response along with their attempted cover-up since they couldn't be bothered to care about another black ghetto gangsta dead on the street...Sprinkle in a lot of Zimmerman's past history of general jackassery, and paint him into the person who could very easily do something like this...

[hack89]

25. That would all be irrelevent

if the prosecution can't prove that Zimmerman assaulted Martin first. Remember - Zimmerman could have done all those things you write about and still have the right of self defense under Florida law.

If the prosecution can't undermine Zimmerman's defense then they can't meet the reasonable doubt bar. They will have to address the who hit who if it is the key to Zimmerman's defense.

[Blue_Tires]

27. I don't know how anyone could prove who struck first...

but for argument's sake if the defense wants to say Martin struck first,the prosecution needs to frame it as some scared, unarmed kid walking at night, breaking no laws, who goes into 'fight or flee' mode and lashes out at some strange weirdo stalking him... Zimmerman of course is scared/embarrassed at being overpowered and cowardly shoots Martin...That's how you make it stick...

You also attack Zimmerman's psychological/emotional state in the months leading up to the incident, including his mental health history. Because what set this whole chain of events in motion?? Zimmerman saw Martin walking down the street, and instantly saw a criminal to apprehend...Then you examine the "why" and watch it sink Zimmerman like a boat anchor...That's how you make it stick...

[hack89]

28. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

not looking forward to nonstop Nancy Grace though.

[Hoyt]

26. He only needs one bigoted gun lover to get off.

It will be hard to select a jury there, without at least one who will fall for the all the defense's BS that Zimmerman was justified in protecting himself against an unarmed "black" teenager.

[Octafish]

5. Funny how Zimmerman can get what Siegelman cannot.

http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/08/hbc-90000762

[JDPriestly]

7. Good point. I sure hope that Obama pardons Siegelman.

[DallasNE]

10. Florida "Justice" Is A Basket Case

This will be the 3rd Judge on the case and that doesn't count the one that stepped aside due to conflict of interest issues. And this Judge may not last either, especially if Zimmermans's wife if found guilty of perjury. Should that happen it would be 5 Judges on this case. And Zimmerman is out on bond this whole while. My guess is that a trial cannot begin until some time in 2014. How can things be so out of control in Florida?

[Blue_Tires]

12. I don't think it will change the outcome of the case...

[magical thyme]

15. it eliminates one possible appeal down the road

which is a good thing.

[Baitball Blogger]

16. I don't know if this is a good thing or note.

Judge shopping was quite common around here at one time, which is why they put judges on a roster to cut out that sort of thing.

They would have known who was next on the roster.