So George Zimmerman wants a reasonable bond?
This in itself is not surprising, most every client I have ever represented wanted a reasonable bond.
However, few of my clients ever had a quarter million dollar defense fund, and most importantly few of my clients have ever been caught blatantly misleading a judge about the nature of their assets. (Although I am sure many a defendant before George Zimmerman has lied about their actual assets.)
Does George Zimmerman deserve a bond, in my humble opinion, before his misleading of the court, yes and he deserved a bond much lower than what it was set at. The evidence against him is severely underwhelming. And I believe that the $150,000 bond initially imposed was four times what would have been imposed in a less newsworthy case.
However, I also have little sympathy for the way George Zimmerman allowed the court to be misled regarding his true finances. Killing someone, no matter what the circumstances, should never be a reason to come into a financial windfall and then lie about it.
But more importantly, if the financial windfall is for purposes of defending yourself, it should only be used for that reason; not hid so that you can maximize the amount you get to keep when all is said and done.
So with that said, here are a few things to consider about today’s bond hearing:
The Integrity of the Judicial System
As Mark O’Mara points out, Article 1, Section 14 of the Florida Constitution provides that:
Unless charged with a capital offense or an offense punishable by life imprisonment and the proof of guilt is evident or the presumption is great, every person charged with a crime or violation of municipal or county ordinance shall be entitled to pretrial release on reasonable conditions. If no conditions of release can reasonably protect the community from risk of physical harm to persons, assure the presence of the accused at trial, or assure the integrity of the judicial process, the accused may be detained.
As you can see, in Florida there is a presumption that a person is entitled to bond and only under three limited circumstances can a judge deny a person bond.
So dispensing with irrational argument for the moment, which would be pure hyperbole and speculation, there is no evidence that George Zimmerman poses a threat to the community or that he will not appear at trial.
To the contrary, the evidence seems to suggest that certain segments of the community pose a threat to George and that he has gone out of his way to cooperate with law enforcement. (In a million years, I would never believe a person who thought they were guilty would willingly scream help for police so they could get voice samples).
So that leaves us with assuring the integrity of the judicial system; the most troubling issue Judge Lester must grapple with today.
Interestingly, Wells Fargo v. Reeves (Fla. 1st DCA June 13, 2012) is a mortgage foreclosure appeal that recently discussed a similar scenario where the integrity of the judicial system was at issue. (And although this opinion speaks in terms of dismissal of a foreclosure suit as a sanction, the corollary sanction in George Zimmerman’s case would be a denial of bond.) In this decision, the First DCA said:
Fraud upon the court is an egregious offense against the integrity of the judicial system and is more than a simple assertion of facts in a pleading which might later fail for lack of proof. Rather the requisite fraud on the court occurs where it can be demonstrated, clearly and convincingly, that a party has sentiently set in motion some unconscionable scheme calculated to interfere with the judicial system’s ability impartially to adjudicate a matter by improperly influencing the trier of fact or unfairly hampering the presentation of the opposing party’s claim or defense.
To support dismissal for fraud on the court, the party alleging fraudulent behavior must prove such by clear and convincing evidence. Inartful pleadings, inconsistent testimony, and even lying to the court by a witness are generally insufficient to support a dismissal for fraud upon the court.
However, the power to dismiss a case for fraud upon the court is an extraordinary remedy found only in cases where a deliberate scheme to subvert the judicial process has been clearly and convincingly proved. A court certainly possesses the authority to protect judicial integrity in the litigation process. The authority to dismiss actions for fraud or collusion should be used cautiously and sparingly, and only upon the most blatant showing of fraud, pretense, collusion, or other similar wrong doing.
While ultimately the Court reversed the dismissal of the foreclosure action, it seemed to do more on the possibility of good faith defenses that were ignored by the trial court, rather than explicit findings of fraud.
However in George Zimmerman’s case, the judge explicitly made findings of fraud. And so even if George Zimmerman admits his failure to come clean at the initial bond hearing was “wrong” and he “accepts responsibility” (does he have a choice), I believe Judge Lester would be well within his rights to deny George Zimmerman a bond based upon he and his wife’s collusion.
The Trust Fund Defendant
A lot has been made by Mark O’Mara about the defense trust fund, which George Zimmerman supposedly has no control over.
While I don’t doubt that the intent is for Mark to spend the donated money on George Zimmerman’s defense (and by definition his lawyers’ fees), make no mistake at all – that money is George Zimmerman’s. George Zimmerman has complete control, authority, and final say as to where any of that money is spent. If there is any doubt as to the truth of this conclusion, one need look no further than Florida Bar Rule 5-1.1, Rules Regulating Trust Accounts.
On a side note, I have heard of trust-fund babies, but never trust-fund defendants – just saying.
Might Mark O’Mara Secretly Hope Lester Denies Bond
First, Mark O’Mara is one of the most professional and ethical attorneys I am acquainted with, so I discuss this more for hypothetical sake than anything.
With that said, we also know that Mark O’Mara originally was going to represent George Zimmerman Pro Bono, even though he claimed to normally charge in the $400/hour range. He was also going to ask to have Zimemrman declared indigent for costs, in which case the state would pick up the defense costs (due process costs).
But then he found out about that George Zimmerman had in the neighborhood of $250,000 stashed away in his defense fund. While that is less than what the accused acquitted baby killer had available, it is still more than 99% of criminal defendants will ever have available to defend themselves.
Needless to say, Mark O’Mara was probably pretty relieved about his decision to take on the case pro bono, but also pretty happy. Because I don’t care how much you claim to charge an hour (you listening Foghorn Leghorn?), the truth is that clients that can actually afford such an hourly amount are few and far between. More often than not, a criminal lawyer agrees to a flat fee that is paid regardless of how many hours are put into a case.
However, if Judge Lester now set an extremely high bond, say two million dollars, it will likely put Mark O’Mara back in the pro bono category and the State back on the hook for George Zimmerman’s defense costs. Why?
In Florida, and most states, when a person is granted bond, they can satisfy the bond in one of two ways:
- Post a Cash Bond for the Full Amount; or
- Post a Surety Bond through a bondsman.
Obviously, if the bond is set at more than what George Zimmerman defense fund has, he would have to post a surety bond. However, the posting of a surety bond comes with a hitch: the defendant must pay the bondsman 10% of the bond value. This is known as a Bail-Bond Premium.
Therefore, if Judge Lester sets bond at the two million dollar mark, 10% of the bond premium will be $200K. While not a bad day’s work for a bondsman, it’s a real bad day for the person paying the premium unless the money was never yours in the first place (or at least earned).
So you can bet your bottom dollar that George Zimmerman is not going to hesitate using his donated money to get his butt out of jail as quickly as he can; and there is nothing Mark O’Mara can do or say to stop him from using the defense fund money to pay the Bail-Bond premium.
On the other hand, if the judge denies bail, finding that the integrity of the judicial system cannot be assured, then Mark O’Mara can continue to bill his $400/hour (I wonder if George Zimmerman ever negotiated a contract before he told Mark about the defense fund) and the state of Florida will avoid spending a ton of money on George Zimmerman’s defense while Mark O’Mara spends countless days deposing witnesses that Ben Crump has already gotten a hold of.
21 responses to “Poor George wants a Bond”
Mr. Hornsby, I have always enjoyed your legal analysis since I started following your blog near the beginning of the Casey Anthony trial. With that said however, I feel your analysis of this case is extremely biased. While you stick to legal aspects in your article the last sentence/link you provide at the bottom is clearly political (and quite tactlessly written). I think this degrades your ability to do otherwise superb legal analysis.
Your articles on this case seem to
Avoid certain facts: such as Travon’s Grilfriend’s statement that Travon was fearful and fleeing from Zimmerman (not attempting to escalate the situation).
Assume certain facts: for example in your previous article you favored Zimmerman’s story that his head was being pounded into concrete when that is at best speculation (having had my head pounded into concrete I can tell you that it would look a lot worse the next day, you’re not going to be able to grab your gun aim and fire, and it doesn’t feel like your head is “splitting open”, it feels like you’re going to pass out).
Bias to believing Zimmerman’s statements: He clearly lied in his bond hearing (something you stipulate to), and his story has a few “problems” (see above).
Anyway I enjoy your writing and hope you continue to do so… just my general thoughts on the article.
-A frequent reader.
tl;dr version:
Your blog is probably more popular than you think (Aloha btw!)
Your legal analysis is great, and your political analysis poor.
Zimmerman is (probably) Guilty.
Thank you for your hard work first and foremost. I am with the commenter above. There is not one stitch of evidence so far that links young Martin to Zimmermans injuries. He is the author of this novel he has written and in this novel he has told many tall tales in which compete with the likes of a childrens book. Zimmerman has been treated delicately and has been allowed to lie and lie and lie. Zimmerman said himself that Martin ran, this tells us right then that he didnt want any trouble and was obviously scared. There are phone records to prove Martin and his girl friend were on the phone most of the time. Where is Zimmermans proof? Where is the bloody pavement photos? The xrays, The head injuries not scrapes.,Who elses Dna is on the hand gun? Where is the man in the white shirt? Zimmerman has been made a hero, and Trayvon made out to be a thug when we all know Zimnerman has a criminal record. Martin was only 17 yrs old but Omara wants us to think of his client as the child, all the while begging for funny from people who would have shot Martin too.,You speak of him as rightous, upstanding but for the almighty dollar he has prostituted himself. He doesn’t carw how low the blow is, just so he gets his client off and makes out like a bandit. I fuess I am nieve I thought you could represent somwone without defaming a dead child. He caters to the likes of people who call Martin, Trayturd, teamskittles,coon,etc. My mother always said, ” All money ain’t good money”. Thank you for letting me rattle on.
Zimmerman does not need any proof of his innocence, state needs to prove he is guilty. We have one man with a single gunshot to the chest and and another with a bleeding busted face.
The state has nothing. The charging affidavit was a laughable joke of a document. It was mocked by a harvard law school professor. There were no elements of the crime established at all.
To me the situation in which a 6+ football player starts wailing on Zimmerman and gets shot in the process is a lot more realistic than a convoluted Zimmerman chasing Martin and Martin fighting for his life.
a)You have every right to ask someone what he/she is doing in the community you live in at night. Just because the dispatcher told him “we don’t need you to do that” does not mean cease and desist.
b)Zimmerman does not fit the profile of a cold blood murderer. How many murders begin with the alleged murderer calling police asking how to proceed?
c)To me the most fatal “game over” statement was when an investigator during the first bond hearing under oath said he had NO evidence of who started the fight. If you don’t know who started the fight you don’t know anything.
There is a witness who said he saw Treyvon on top of zimmerman kicking the crap out of him MMO style. Subsequently under FMLE pressure he forgot MMO style part but still maintained Treyvon was on top.
There is a lot of evidence pointing to self defense. What points to murder? Nothing.
Massively Multiplayer Online Game style? I’m confused… alliance or horde?
I miswrote MMA and FDLE Mixed Martial Arts and Florida Department of Law Enrocement
You sound like those misguided banks that at first thought they didn’t need to prove they had the right to foreclose on real estate and kick people out of their homes. Funny thing happens when lobbyists (orgs) write and promote bills. Oddly, the mortgage foreclosure debacle was a big boon for misguided lawyers practicing in Florida just like SYG.
There are FOUR witnesses to the fact that Trayvon Martin was on the cell phone chatting up his girlfriend after RUNNING from Zimmerman.
1) DeeDee (“RUN!”)
2) DeeDee’s cell phone records.
3) Trayvon Martin’s cell phone records.
4) George Zimmerman (“he ran”)
“To me the situation in which a 6+ football player starts wailing on Zimmerman and gets shot in the process is a lot more realistic than a convoluted Zimmerman chasing Martin and Martin fighting for his life.”
A: You’re right the whole story about Martin being chased by Zimmerman was Zimmeran’s and Trevon’s girlfriend’s statement… he’s definitely a liar, she’s black and a teenager (emphasis on sarcasm) we therefore cannot believe it.
B: Profiling is ALWAYS correct (see Ted Bundy, Green River Killer, btk, ect).
C: Yep you’re right we don’t know who started the fight… no evidence… except Travon’s Girl Friend… and the eye witness statements… and the fact that Zimmerman’s story doesn’t add up with the known facts of the case.
Btw what is mixed martial arts? I’m from Hawai’i, we don’t know anything about that (massive emphasis on sarcasm).
tl;dr: This is why you always shoot to kill, because if there are no witnesses you can claim it is self defense. Just ask Scott Peterson (Come on Mr. Hornsby do a article on him for fun’s sake)!
You had an investigator under oath telling in open court that he had NO evidence of who started the fight.
Actually you are incorrect. According to his girlfriend she allegedly told him to run he said he would just walk faster. That would nuke “treyvon was afraid” theory.
It is not a crime to walk up to someone and ask what they were doing in the neighborhood you live in. People seem to concentrate on irrelevant worthless data (skittles ice tea, running chasing etc). You have evidence treyvon was on top of zimmerman and zimmerman bleeding from his head. Do you suppose zimmerman should have stayed pinned down on the ground? You don’t have a right to restrain someone without their consent unless you are a police officer or you are performing citizen’s arrest.
The only facts we have worth anything are nobody can say beyond reasonable doubt who started the fight and the only marks of being hit are on zimmerman.
People from “no justice no peace” seem to believe it is ok to punch someone repeatedly for wanting to ask you a question.
I’ve run into a puzzler. Witness #6’s credibility needs to be examined a little more carefully. On his 911 call he starts by saying, “I just heard a shot right behind my house.”
The shot was fired at 7:16:56 pm and he connected with 911 at 7:18 pm so this is an accurate statement. Exactly 1 min. & 4 sec. earlier, he had heard the shot. Part of this one minute delay could have been because his fiancé (or someone) was already on the phone. It is a significant interval however, because he had just warned the combatants that he was going to call 911.
But here’s the real mystery. On Witness #6’s sworn police statement dated March 20, he says that after he went back inside he first told someone to get off the phone. He then locked the door and dialed 911. The statement he signed explicitly says “while on the phone with 911 he heard a gunshot or what sounded like a rock hitting the window,” This, according to the statement, was as he started to run upstairs while on the phone with 911.
The oral statement he gave the same day is in concordance with the written statement released by the police. Orally he says that as soon as he picked up on 911, a couple of seconds later, is when he heard the shot. There is no doubt in either statement that he says he had already connected to 911 when he heard the shot.
Witness #6 made his 911 call starting at 7:18 pm. This was 1 minute and 4 seconds after Treyvon Martin was shot. He’s sworn the shot was fired at 7:18+ pm, both orally for the police tape, and in his signed evidence statement. He stated this almost a month after the shooting and therefore had ample time to get his facts straight. How can we believe anything else he says?
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What was Witness #6 doing at 7:16:56 pm when the shot was actually fired? It’s easy to prove that he was not calling 911. Witness #6 has already recanted and changed other testimony. How credible is he when he wrongly continues to swear to something as important as the time of the gun shot?
This witness is all George has. Those defending George continuously cite the MMA style fighting quote as proof that Treyvon had George subdued. But how can we believe Witness #6? We don’t know what happened from anybody else’s testimony at the time of the actual gun shot, and now we can’t trust Witness #6 either.
“This witness is all George has” NO it is not all george has. George has something called presumption of innocence and a standard called beyond and to the exclusion of every reasonable doubt.
You people continually approach this from the point of view that George has to prove his innocence or explain or prove himself. George does not have to do jack. The prosecutor has to do everything and so far I have not heard a single shred of evidence pointing to murder as opposed to self defense. People dispute George’s account but Al Sharpton’s account is not any better nor is the account of Martin’s girlfriend.
There is absolutely NO evidence and no witness testimony concerning the “commencement of hostilites”. Nobody can tell you what precipitated the confrontation and who threw the first punch. Without that information you cant prove beyond and to the exclusion of every reasonable doubt that it was not self defense as opposed to murder.
Michael, since Zimmerman stated he punched him repeatedly then why is it that Martins hands were clean, Martin had no Dna evidence on his hands,under his fingernails,etc. I would even think Zimmermans face being punched over a dozen times would look far worse. There is not one bit of evidence that says Martin caused those injuries to Zimmerman. I can tell you are sticking with your story regardless because you just want Martin to be the aggressor. There is no chance in this world the teen was minding his business. Harvard law professor?? Relevance? Ok Harvard is a prestigious school, we all know that!! I would love to know how a person who was punched 2 dozen times could get up for a reenactment the next day then seek a return to work excuse…bwahaaahaaa. He cant be the aggressor seeing how he had run in with the law over his anger, no way no how because everybody knows ALL black people are the aggressors. Perhaps you read evidence, you even got Martins height wrong according to the autopsy report. P.s. Zim is a former bouncer and had about 15-20 lbs on Martin, yet he himself has no defensive wounds, nothing but a fable that he himself is telling. You may want to pay attention to his reenactment. He even lied on the non emergency person but of course he thought he was in the clear and had not heard his NE CALL. To bad you could care less because its not your kid or whatever else you are thinking. Omara is fishing for dollars to get paid, he has to keep cry weak case, weak case so you will continue to donate.
Martin’s knuckles were bruised according to the undertaker. So yes, there is evidence martin caused those injuries. The EMT at the scene testified under oath during 2nd bond hearing that Zimmerman’s nose was busted and suspected broken/fractured and was bleeding profusely.
Angela Corey as a prosecutor is highly controversial. She decided to try a 12year old kid as an adult. She sent a woman to jail for 20 years because she shot a gun up in the air to protect herself from her husband who had a track record of abuse.
You people come at this from the wrong point of view. You think Zimmerman is a liar and want to create an alternative universe where facts just fall into place according to your desire. That is not how the process works.
You have to be able to prove that Zimmerman’s shooting of Martin was unjustified by PERCEPTION of threat to life or bodily injury to Zimmerman.
Since there is no way of knowing who started the fight, there is nothing you can do to satisfy beyond and to the exclusion of every reasonable doubt standard. You can say Zimmerman is a liar all you want but you can’t prove he was not justified in killing Martin.
One witness who saw Treyvon on top of Zimmerman (a blackboy btw) nukes this whole case.
Oops I am on my phone, excuse typos. Zimmerman elluded to hitting his head on sign he also elluded to not being punched but hit in the face with an object. This would help with his claim except he had already said he was hit repeatedly and pummelled repeatedly. No defensive marks to Martin, Martin covered his mouth, held him down and was beating him MMA style, how is that possible. John recanted because he lied, he is a liar. He was not under pressure, he was trying to help Zimmerman but it seems he has realized that its not worth it. You cant just say he was under prezssure, where are your facts?
“Actually you are incorrect. According to his girlfriend she allegedly told him to run he said he would just walk faster. That would nuke “treyvon was afraid” theory.”
“I think i lost him”- Trayvon Martin. These might be famous last words, but not the type I would expect from someone who is about to start beating a man who has 50 pounds on him massively multiplayer online game style. But sure he was race walking… you got me… want a cookie?
“Angela Corey as a prosecutor is highly controversial. She decided to try a 12year old kid as an adult. She sent a woman to jail for 20 years because she shot a gun up in the air to protect herself from her husband who had a track record of abuse.”
I agree with you here, however Corey being the prosecutor has nothing to do with Zimmerman’s guilt.
“You people come at this from the wrong point of view.”
Who are “you people”?
“Since there is no way of knowing who started the fight, there is nothing you can do to satisfy beyond and to the exclusion of every reasonable doubt standard. You can say Zimmerman is a liar all you want but you can’t prove he was not justified in killing Martin.
One witness who saw Treyvon on top of Zimmerman (a blackboy btw) nukes this whole case.”
First, “blackboy” is not a word and it’s a bad choice for a new one. Second, you seem to think that someone punching you in the face = fear for your life. A reasonable person would not believe they were about to die simply because they were in a fight, otherwise attempted murder and simple assault would be considered the same thing. Considering Zimmerman’s wounds add up to him being punched in the face and falling over, NOT Zimmerman having his head slammed into concrete, this was not a case of justifiable homicide.
“I agree with you here, however Corey being the prosecutor has nothing to do with Zimmerman’s guilt.”
A prosecutor with an established reputation for overcharging has nothing to do with a case of alleged 2nd degree murder that many believe should not even exist in the first place…
Original investigator wanted Zimmerman charged with manslaughter, first prosecutor said nothing, Angeal Corey comes in and snatches 2nd degree murder case out of thin air.
“A reasonable person would not believe they were about to die simply because they were in a fight, otherwise attempted murder and simple assault would be considered the same thing.” I don’ t know how many fights you have been into but unless you are in a sanctioned match in a boxing ring, you don’t know the intention of the other party. If you get your face beaten you don’t know whether the other person wants to kill you or not. Not only stand your ground but classical self defense comes into play.
As a side note since you brought up the Marissa Alexander case would you agree that if she had killed her husband rather than firing a warning shot she would have gone free? Seems to be your theory from my understanding.
“Original investigator wanted Zimmerman charged with manslaughter, first prosecutor said nothing, Angeal Corey comes in and snatches 2nd degree murder case out of thin air.”
Ok… then lay out the case that you think he’s overcharged; you’re not. Instead you’re laying out the case that the shooting of Trayvon was a case of justifiable homicide.
As per your second point, you seem very paranoid. Considering your agreement with Zimmerman’s actions:
You see someone in your neighborhood who you don’t know so you:
A) Call 9-11
B) Ignore the 9-11 dispatcher and chase they person down on suspicion of holding skittles.
C) Try to Grab this person (this is speculation)
D) Get punched in the face (also speculation but it’s your idea)
E) Decide getting punched in the face = fear for your life
F) Shoot and kill this person.
So we can only assume that if you were being chased down by a man twice your age (when you are a child) and size, you would not attempt to defend yourself in any way because he’s clearly in the right and justified in shooting you.
I can’t tell if you are a troll, a racist, a gun nut, or just extremely stupid (I suspect a combination of more than 1). I don’t say that because of your conclusion I say it because of your logic.
“People dispute George’s account but Al Sharpton’s account is not any better nor is the account of Martin’s girlfriend.”
Al Sharpton has what to do with this case? You really take the word of Zimmerman who’s defending his own interest on par with Trayvon’s girlfriend who has none? I’m guessing you’re a racist… Anyway I think I made my point. I’m going to stop addressing you for now unless you post something relevant.
– Peace and chicken grease.
How can anyone say anything to you if you genuinely believe martin’s girlfriend is impartial and has “no interest”. So if your boyfriend/girlfriend got killed by someone you would be all like “self defense man more power to you”. She is highly biased and she was not there.
“Ok… then lay out the case that you think he’s overcharged; you’re not. Instead you’re laying out the case that the shooting of Trayvon was a case of justifiable homicide.”
If you read the charging affidavit it would be like “harry saw sally, harry profiled sally, sally died”. Charging affidavit shed absolutely NO clues and established absolutely NO elements of 2nd degree murder in the state of florida.
I have not seen many murderers dream of being cops all their life, obtain legal permits to carry concealed weapons, make a lot of calls to non emergency lines about their neighborhood because they care(never mentioning race first), not leaving the scene of “alleged crimes”, talking to cops on demand without a lawyer, going over and doing a recreation of the scene, surrendering to authorities without a hitch. There is no consciousness of guilt, there is just one man who is being railroaded as a sacrificial lamb to prevent race riots (thanks to sharpton and his ilk)
Considering Martin’s Girlfriend is not on trial for second degree murder, I’m going to take her word over Zimmerman’s.
“Charging affidavit … established absolutely NO elements of 2nd degree murder in the state of florida.” – Michael
“Murder with a Depraved Mind occurs when a person is killed, without any premeditated design, by an act imminently dangerous to another and evincing a depraved mind showing no regard for human life.
The primary distinction between Premeditated First Degree Murder and Second Degree Murder with a Depraved Mind is that First Degree Murder requires a specific and premeditated intent to kill.” – Richard Hornsby
This is what I assume the prosecution is attempting to prove, the charging affidavit reflects that.
“There is no consciousness of guilt, there is just one man who is being railroaded as a sacrificial lamb to prevent race riots (thanks to sharpton and his ilk)”
Al Sharpton is not the prosecutor in this case, he does not represent the Martin family either… he’s about as relevant as Sean Hannity (NM he might be called as a witness).
I’m going to end this with you are racist as shit… or an idiot… probably both.
P.S. I decided to donate to the “Trayvon Martin Foundation” just to piss you off, link here: https://www.wepay.com/donations/3819.