Watch Me on ID Investigation Discovery Tonight

 Tonight at 9:00 PM EST, I will appear on the nationally broadcast program Motives & Murders: Cracking the Case | Not Again on ID - Investigation Discovery.

In 1997, Carla Larson was murdered near Disney property, where she worked as an engineer for a construction company. Her husband became an immediate suspect in the public’s eyes (not to mention law enforcement) because of his lack of emotion when interviewed on local television stations. He was downright indifferent. However, there was much more to the story, so please watch tonight to find out why…

From the ID Website:

When Carla Larson leaves work to grab lunch, she never returns. The all-American wife and mother is discovered naked and strangled to death in a nearby swamp. The investigation stalls…until a random love triangle provides a clue to finding her killer.

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I will be featured on this program because of a two-part series I wrote and published on September 5 & September 8, 2010:

When karma strikes twice

Slowly, the wiles of justice churn

Motives & Murders: Cracking the Case will appear on the Investigation Discovery channel on Saturday night, December 8, at 9:00 PM EST. It will be repeated at midnight, at 4:00 AM, and Sunday afternoon at 5:00 PM. You can find out if your TV Service Provider carries the channel by clicking HERE and typing in your information. 

Newly elected State Attorney Jeff Ashton was also interviewed, along with Carla’s husband, Jim Larson. The interview took place in June of this year.

I don’t know how much I’ll figure into the program, but I do know about cutting room floors. In any event, it should be a very good show because I remember the crime so well. Please take a little time to read my two posts to familiarize yourself with the case.

Retreat at Twin Lakes Walk Through, Part Two

One month ago, I presented a video walk-through of The Retreat at Twin Lakes from George Zimmerman’s perspective — from the moment he stepped out of his vehicle to the time he says he was punched in the face by Trayvon Martin. 

This is part two of that video. It explores the fateful night of February 26 from Trayvon’s point of view. How accurate is it? I don’t know, but it should help you to better understand the area and the path the young man may have taken.

I received several e-mails from people; each with their unique requests for footage. I wish I could have accommodated you all, but I couldn’t. What I can tell you is that, as of today, two fences are erected along the northwest side of the complex, running south from Oregon Avenue and parallel to the western edge that keep people from entering the way Trayvon allegedly did as described by Zimmerman. There is a locked pedestrian entry alongside the main gate, so there is no reason to access the Retreat from anywhere else, other than the southeast gate. Also, clubhouse parking is restricted to tenants that are using the facility at the time, including the community pool. There is a street sign at the intersection of Retreat View Circle and Twin Trees Lane upon entering from the north, off Oregon Avenue. It is located atop the stop sign on the same corner as the clubhouse. Look for it in the video. It’s interesting to note that Zimmerman could not remember the name of the street, Twin Trees, nor did he notice those signs.

If you have any questions or thoughts, please add them in comments or e-mail me by using the “Contact Me” form located on the lower left sidebar. I hope you enjoy the music…

Also posted on the Daily Kos

More Proof Zimmerman Lied...

… And the Sanford Police Department was Duped

Take a look at the results of George Zimmerman’s CVSA Truth Verification test administered by SPD. It only takes a third grader to understand the test is fatally flawed. Or is it? Zimmerman passed the test with flying colors, but look again…

To this simple question, check out his response:

HAVE YOU EVER DRIVEN OVER THE POSTED SPEED LIMIT?

NO

He passed! Is there a legally licensed driver alive who has NEVER driven above the speed limit? Not even once, perhaps? Yes! George Zimmerman. So he claims. This proves he knows how to lie and get away with it. Obviously, this guy is a seasoned pro.

PLEASE CLICK ON LINKS TO ENLARGE

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From the defense Motion To Take Additional Deposition

Motives and Murders: Cracking the Case

When Carla Larson leaves work to grab lunch, she never returns. The all-American wife and mother is discovered naked and strangled to death in a nearby swamp. The investigation stalls…until a random love triangle provides a clue to finding her killer.

I will be featured on this program because of a two-part series I wrote and published on September 5 & September 8, 2010:

When karma strikes twice

Slowly, the wiles of justice churn

The program will appear on the Investigation Discovery channel on Saturday night, December 8, at 9:00 PM EST. It will be repeated at midnight, at 4:00 AM, and Sunday afternoon at 5:00 PM. You can find out if your TV Service Provider carries the channel by clicking HERE and typing in your information. 

Newly elected State Attorney Jeff Ashton was also interviewed, along with Carla’s husband, Jim Larson. The interview took place in June of this year.

I don’t know how much I’ll figure into the program, but I do know about cutting room floors. In any event, it should be a very good show because I remember the crime so well. Please take a little time to read my two posts to familiarize yourself with the case.

Thank you,

Dave

The Heart of the Matter

I don’t think anyone will ever be able to connect  the racism dots when it comes to George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin. The really creepy part about the two names is that they will forever be interconnected, like Abraham Lincoln and John Wilkes Booth. While not of the same magnitude as a presidential assassination, a life is still a life is still a life, and none is more valuable than another, whether red, yellow, black, white or any shade in between. We’re not talking red state/blue state; we’re talking about life and death, and it’s not a game.

Let’s take a quick look at the sad case of 45-year-old Michael Dunn. News reports say he “allegedly” fired 8-9 shots into an SUV parked at a convenience store on Friday night. I say there’s nothing alleged about it. He did it. The question is why. He said he didn’t mean to kill anyone. 8 or 9 bullets and he didn’t mean to what? The fact that he fired at all is a tragedy.

From all accounts, Dunn and his girlfriend had just left his son’s wedding reception and stopped at the Gate Food Post convenience store at 8251 Southside Blvd. in Jacksonville on the way back to their hotel room. He pulled up next to the SUV that had music booming LOUDLY. When he got out of his vehicle, he confronted the four occupants and complained. TURN IT DOWN, he screamed. An argument ensued and Dunn pulled out his gun. Some of the shots struck and killed 17-year-old high school student Jordan Davis, who was sitting in the backseat. No one in the SUV was armed, according to initial reports. Lt. Rob Schoonover with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said, “They were listening to a little music. It was loud, they admitted that, but, I mean, that’s not reason for someone to open fire on them.” (See: Many unanswered questions in loud music killing)

I hate to drag Florida through the coals again because shootings happen all over the world. Texas is a great state for shooting from the hip, so we are far from alone. Taken at face value, this seems to be your typical white-on-black shooting, and in some circles, the killer would be considered justified because of two simple “reasons” — the shooter owned his gun legally and the victim was black. Or African-American, if we need to be politically correct. Need more ‘splainin’? Talk to the hand. Yet it seems that the mere fact of being white and owning a gun somehow legitimizes a killing, but only if the victim is of color. God forbid that two white boys with concealed carry permits gun each other down. That would never make the news because there’s no worthy angle, and angles are the nature of news; black/white or white/black. Just like Hispanic/Hispanic doesn’t go far. There’s no racial edge.

We may question the motives of an angry white man leaving his son’s wedding reception where, I’m sure, alcohol flowed freely. We don’t know if Dunn even had a drop to drink, but we do know that a defenseless 17-year-old boy is dead. What sort of threat could any of the young men have been to the gunman? Why, if the shooter was so innocent, did he leave the scene and return to his hotel, only to drive home to Brevard County in the morning, where he was found and arrested? No one EVER shoots up a vehicle and leaves the scene unless they hope there are no witnesses.

Dunn entered a not guilty plea on Monday to charges of second-degree murder and attempted murder. His attorney said he acted responsibly and in self-defense. Shades of stand your ground! I can see it coming! At the precise second Dunn pulled out his gun, he felt threatened.

I feel that people like George Zimmerman and Michael Dunn make a mockery of the stand your ground law, but some dynamics are at work. While its intent may be all well and good, there are idiots who interpret SYG as a license to kill. They take more than the law into their own hands because, in both situations here, the shooter was the instigator, the judge, the jury and the executioner. It seems as if people like them believe they are wearing SYG armor and are impervious to prosecution. It’s called an arrogant sense of entitlement. Go figure.

Mark my words, Dunn’s defense team will subpoena Jordan Davis’s cell phone records. If the boy owned a smart phone, the defense will collect information from it; who he talked to, sent text messages to, and where he visited online. Rest assured, if he listened to Hip Hop music, used Hip Hop text language and visited gangsta sites, like all of today’s youth, he will be painted as a no good degenerate, just like the picture Mark O’Mara will try to portray of Trayvon Martin. It’s called character assassination. This leads me to an obvious segue. Please allow me to ‘splain. Yo, Yo, Yo…

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Word on the street (and in the Orlando Sentinel) is that law enforcement has failed to download all of the data from Trayvon Martin’s cell phone, particularly what’s stored on the chip residing inside the phone. Why? Because the phone is still password protected. Tracy Martin, Trayvon’s father, knows the PIN, but he has yet to turn it over to authorities. There may be a few reasons for withholding that number, too, but what’s important to note first is that the defense does have information regarding the last few calls, according to Mark O’Mara. We’ll get back to that.

The gist of the matter is rather plain and easy to understand, but first the problem about perception. If Tracy Martin is keeping the PIN away from law enforcement, he must be hiding something, right? I mean, what else could the reason be? This would prove the kid was up to no good and deserved to be shot. George’s mission from God that night was to take out a boy who was clearly on a path of evil and destruction. Who knows how many people he would have harmed had he not been stopped right then and there; the night of February 26?

Yeah, right. How delusional.

If the Sanford police came to my door, showed me a photograph of my dead son and said he was killed in self-defense, only to find out later that the circumstances might not have been as law enforcement presented them; that my son was actually the victim instead, would I be inclined to trust them with any evidence at all? Remember, it was the Sanford police that insisted the screams for help came from Zimmerman, and when pumped for an answer to that very question at a most inopportune moment, Tracy said he didn’t think it was Trayvon’s voice. Is it? Is it? Well, is it? The man was in agony and denial at the time. What would anyone expect from a grieving father after recently finding out his son was killed and never coming back?

As time went on, it became apparent to Trayvon’s parents that the police were doing nothing to seek the truth regarding the death of their son. Things had deteriorated to the point that, on March 5, Sgt. Joe Santiago asked Tracy for the PIN, and his response was, at best, less than obligatory. He told the sergeant he’d check with his attorney. Three days later, during a March 8 news conference, Martin told the media he would not help the police because they were of no help to him. “My son left Sanford, Florida, in a body bag while George Zimmerman went to sleep in his own bed.”

What we must remember is that, while the PIN has been elusive, gaining important information from the phone has not. It was eventually sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, where crime lab specialist Stephen Brenton was able to analyze the contents of the SIM and SD cards. Without the PIN, the data on the phone’s internal chip remains a mystery, but the two cards were revealing enough. From the Orlando Sentinel:

The information downloaded by Brenton at the FDLE lab “tells me the last few phone calls, but that’s about it,” [Zimmerman defense attorney] O’Mara said. “It looks like there is other information that I should have.”

This leads me right back to the heart of the matter. What difference does it make to anyone about the phone calls, text messages and Website visits Trayvon made days and weeks leading up to his death? O’Mara has records leading up to the shooting. What more does he need? Well, just like what I expect any criminal defense team to do, O’Mara’s goal will be to assassinate the character of Trayvon Martin. To what other end would it serve? That would mean Trayvon would die twice — once in real life and once in the courtroom — and if I were his parents, I’d do nothing to help the defense team. Absolutely nothing. Because everything will be taken out of context in a world where half-full becomes half-empty, and innocent texts between Trayvon and his mother could readily turn into a new and freakier Casey Anthony sideshow; where simple words become innuendo, perversions, and complete distortions of the truth. That would truly be heartbreaking.

Cross posted on the Daily Kos

Anatomy of a Filicide

Tony Pipitone from WKMG just reported that a search for “foolproof suffication” was performed on the Anthony family computer on June 16, 2008, the day Caylee Anthony died. Jose Baez claims that George did it, but Pipitone says that, according to the timeline, it couldn’t have been him. He was already at work. At the time, Casey’s cell phone was pinging in the immediate area of the house. 

Baez wrote about this in his book. He waited for the information to be admitted during the trial, but the procecution never produced it. While it’s true the defense was part of the dicovery process, this was evidence each side had the opportunity to examine. It was not something Baez had to share since the State could have readily concluded the same thing. Unfortunately, OCSO missed it. Had it been introduced, the prosecution would have argued that the death could not have been an accidental drowning and it may have impacted the jury. Sadly, there’s nothing that can be done. Double jeopardy, you know. To most of us, this just adds to what we’ve believed for a long time — that Casey Anthony murdered her daughter and she’s still the most hated woman in America, if not the entire world.

This is a story I wrote and published on March 27, 2009, over three years before the trial. Take from it what you will. Originally, I put a disclaimer at the bottom, calling it a work of fiction. Today, I’m not so sure…

CAUTION! CONTAINS LANGUAGE NOT SUITABLE FOR ALL AGES

It’s a perfect day for a murder

Dear Diary,

Last night I had a terrible fight with my mother. I hate her guts. It’s the worst fight we’ve ever had. Sometimes, I can’t decide who I hate the most, her or Dad, but I am so pissed off, I wish she was dead. Him too. Why, oh why, does she think I am a bad person when it is her? She sucks. I want her out of my life. I need to get away from this house and these people forever.

If Tony would only take me away. He must. He’s got to help me. Why do I feel my life is such a mess? If only I didn’t have the brat. She is nothing more than a pain in my ass. Today, I will start my life all over again. With Tony. Or Ricardo. Or… OK, Jesse. If not Jesse… and SHE will never be with us, whoever I’m with. Jesse? If only you didn’t love her so much, we might still be together. Maybe not.

Mom? You think you can take her away from me, but I will never let you. She would make you so happy because she could be the daughter you’ve always wanted. It was never me. You never loved me. What do you think I should do with her? It’s too late. You can’t have her and I don’t want her. I’ve made my mind up and today is it. That little shit will never, ever ruin my life again. She is dead. Screw you all and you will never find out about her. You think I’m crazy, do you? I’ll show you what crazy is all about. You got it. I’ll get even with you. You won’t ever be able to spoil her again.

Dad? Eff you, you weak son of a bitch. You are such a pussy. You let Mom run all over you. I’ve had enough of you and you think you were such a hotshot cop. Oh yeah? You are nothing and you will never figure out what I did with her because I am way smarter than you. You can rot in Hell. Besides, you always loved Lee more than me. You both did.

Lee? Just go on living in your simple little world. God, if you only knew how much I’ve used you over the years, you’d realize just how stupid you are. So’s your girlfriend. Too bad you’re not here to say good bye.

Brat? Today is the day. You will never see me again. Better yet, I will never see you again. Even better still, your grandmother is going to really, really suffer and in the end, I will laugh at you all. Sleep late. I don’t want you seeing Ci Ci before she goes to work. That’s why our door is shut. OK, here, take Mommy’s nanny Zani pill.

I’ve been planning this day for a long time. It didn’t have to be today, but after last night, this is it. It had to come sometime, because I was going nuts. Today, I feel liberated. My mind is made up. What? You wonder why Mommy is in such a good mood? Quick, go see Grandpa Jo Jo before we go. I need to get ready.

OK, Baby, let’s get going. I’ll see you later, Dad. I’ve got some errands to run. C’mon, let’s go. Say good bye to Jo Jo. Tell him you love him. Yes, we’ll see you later. Wave to him as we drive away. Go ahead, Sweetheart.

12:40 pm

She didn’t really need to go anywhere early that afternoon. She just wanted to get out of that house, away from the pain of the night before, so she drove around, chatting endlessly on her cell phone with her boyfriend, Tony, her ex-boyfriend Jesse, and her then-best friend, Amy, never paying any attention to her daughter. She headed down Chickasaw Trail to Lee Vista Boulevard, where she killed some time, about a half hour, at the shopping plaza; then she took off up Narcoossee to Goldenrod. From there, she headed north to Curry Ford and turned into the Winn Dixie shopping center just to kill more time until her father left and the coast was clear. OK, let’s go home for a minute. Mommy forgot something. It was easy to tell her toddler that they needed to go back home. Besides, the little girl always felt safe and secure in that house. Maybe, she messed her pants and Mom forgot the pull-up diapers and the pack of Nice’n Toddler wipes and that angered her. Oh, Come on. You’re too old for this. Whatever, this was the day she had been planning for a long time. She was starting to feel happy again, something she hadn’t been since before the day her daughter was born. She started the car and drove east on Curry Ford until she turned south on Chickasaw to return to the neighborhood where she grew up.

3:00 pm

When they got back to the house, they went into the bathroom where she cleaned the little girl and dried her off . Then, she led her into the bedroom. Mommy will be right back.  She went out to the garage to get the duct tape and a couple of trash bags. Then, she walked back in, took the bags into the bedroom and began peeling a swath of tape off the roll. Here, Mommy wants to play a little game. Come on, you little brat. She started to stick the tape around her head, from the left side of her face and far into her hair.

Mommy, what are you doing? the little girl wondered, unable to really speak like an adult and too tired too fight. Mommy, Mommy, Murfurlbalbl… The tape was now wrapped around the toddlers head and Mommy tore it off the roll, making sure it was stuck firmly to her mouth. She picked the small child up, who was lightly kicking and breathing through her nostrils, wimpering like crazy, as if begging for her life, but the pill had begun to take its toll.

Stop kicking, you little shit! Tears of fear were rolling off the little girl’s face as she struggled to free herself, but she was no match for her mother, as slight of build as she was. Finally, the Xanax she had given her earlier kicked in and the precious bundle of joy gave up. She set her daughter down and hurried into the bathroom to grab a bottle from under the sink. She poured the homemade chloroform onto a wad of folded up toilet paper, returned and held it against her daughter’s nose, just to make sure. All of the faith and trust this girl had in her mother was as weak as her now shallow breaths. What was so different this time as her mother picked her up, was how much heavier she seemed. I guess she never knew much about dead weight. Well, she was never as bright as she thought she was.

She carried her out into the back yard and walked up to the above ground swimming pool. The body made a light splash as it was dropped in. She held her under water until the bubbles stopped. It didn’t take long. The child-like breaths that once smelled like a field of fresh flowers on a breezy Spring day were forever silenced. The life she brought into this world was now dead by her own hands. To her, it was the most exhilarating, the most liberating feeling in a long, long time - until she tried to lift the child out of the water. Wow! This kid is heavy. She hadn’t thought about how much the water would log her down. She propped her little body against the edge of the pool, pulling her arms out and over the side. That gave her a chance to go get the pool ladder that would act as leverage as she struggled to pull the girl out of the water.

One of the things she’s known for is that she doesn’t like to follow directions. She’s never been good at finishing jobs, either. If her mother hadn’t been around to lecture and complain, her bedroom would have been a mess. When she pressed the ladder against the swimming pool, she never attached it firmly. That’s why the ladder was left next to the pool and it explains why she never closed the gate behind her. She never followed up on anything unless someone like her mother was behind her every step of the way and that angered her so.

3:30 pm

Fortunately for her, the pet dogs were napping when she re-entered the house. Casey always demanded that her parents stay out of her room. They always granted her wish for privacy. She was, after all, an adult woman and she needed her space. She walked into the bedroom, dropped her daughter onto the floor and put her soiled clothes into one of the bags. She dried the body and opened the other bag to put her little girl inside. Then, she pushed her under the bed, grabbed the bag of clothes and walked out of the room, shutting the door firmly behind her. She had to be very careful about making sure the door was properly closed. For one night, her bedroom was to be Caylee’s mausoleum. When she walked out the front door with bag in hand, she took one more brief look inside the house before locking the door. Good bye, she thought. Eff this house. No more fights. No more nagging. I am free, but she knew she had to come back tomorrow. This was enough work for one day.

LLMPapa's Video Depiction Could Cook Up A Zimmerman Conviction

LLMPapa has made quite a name for himself, particularly in video production, since the Trayvon Martin tragedy began making headlines. He’s got such a sharp eye and uniquely analytical mind that complement each other so well, nothing seems to escape him. His work is a gourmet blend of just the right ingredients.

While I fancy myself more of a writer than a videographer, I did manage to get my hands on footage from inside The Retreat at Twin Lakes the other day. I think most of you have probably seen it by now. If not, you can view it on YouTube, where I’ve uploaded some 40 videos. LLMPapa, on the other hand, has produced and uploaded nearly 300. In his latest video, he, once again, pokes holes in one of Zimmerman’s stories now reaching the size of a city block made of Swiss cheese. That would be row after row of thinly sliced fromage piled as high as the Orlando skyline.

The video I put together begins where Zimmerman allegedly parked his vehicle the night of February 26, got out and walked in search of a street name. Or was it a house number? Or was he pursuing Trayvon? I use the word “allegedly” lightly because you can’t trust one word that comes out of his mouth. Did he actually park his SUV where he said he did? Was he really looking for an address when he acknowledged following Trayvon after the dispatcher asked and scolded him for doing so? Something he later denied? That the dispatcher asked for an address that was, in fact, never asked for? You get the picture.

Anyway, LLMPapa, affectionately known as Papa, is like a five-star chef. He has a blank check when it comes to my grocery store of video vittles. He is free to mince, dice, chop and slice any and all elements in order to cook up a crowd pleasing platter of truth when it comes to the rotting lies of George Zimmerman. Low and behold, he did just that! For sure, you can always count on a real treat because he really knows how to dish it. Feed your eyes and ears on this. It’s a veritable mind feast…

To be fair, I think it’s only right to acknowledge a separate video put together by Trent Sawyer, under his pseudonym of stateoftheinternet, that also used part of my footage from The Retreat at Twin Lakes complex.

Finally, I want to thank Frederick Leatherman for posting and promoting my video on his blog, and Xena for helping to put it all together. This is truly a concerted effort. We are seeking nothing more than justice — without skipping dessert or running from the truth.

Retreat at Twin Lakes Walk Through

Just like the title says, this is a video shot at the Retreat at Twin Lakes, including some bonus footage. The video is a little pixellated. I think the camera and video editing resolutions and frame rates are different. I may try to fix it and upload it again… 

After viewing the video, simple questions arose. The evening of February 26, 2012 was cold, rainy and wet. It was a dreary night. Why would anyone get out of their vehicle to search for an address that no one asked for? Why get out of the vehicle at all? Addresses were quite visible all around. Wouldn’t driving to the other side have been much more convenient? And drier? In my opinion, this only leads to one thing — searching for a suspect on foot. George Zimmerman never looked for an address. He was stalking his victim.

Cross posted on the Daily Kos

Call Me A "Gagnostic"

 As a writer and journalist, I don’t particularly believe in gag orders, so when the second gag order motion was filed by the State on October 18, I had a feeling it, too, would be turned down, just like the first one on April 30. Sure, the first one was denied by a different judge, but the law is pretty clear about what a gag order is, and George Zimmerman’s defense team has not reached the brink of breaching the legal levee to a point of overflowing; when the public is flooded with pre-trial information that may possibly prejudice a jury down the road. Of course, this is assuming that the State passes its first hurdle — the ‘not yet filed’ defense motion for immunity. We won’t go there. Not now, anyway.

The definition of a gag order is quite simple. Law.com describes it as “a judge’s order prohibiting the attorneys and the parties to a pending lawsuit or criminal prosecution from talking to the media or the public about the case.” The description further states that a gag order “has the secondary purpose of preventing the lawyers from trying the case in the press and on television, and thus creating a public mood (which could get ugly) in favor of one party or the other.” A gag order would apply toward law enforcement officials and include all witnesses.

The second part of the description is intriguing because attorneys have been trying cases in the media since the first stone tablet announced something of legal merit thousands of years ago. Before then, it was grunt of mouth that spread the news, and I’m sure that, back then, there were lawyers that hung their slate shingles over cave entrances advertising their services. In those days, they probably wore custom-tailored saber-toothed fur ensembles to court instead of more mundane beaver skins.

Back to the present. The only thing that’s new about the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin case is that the Internet has evolved over the years. We didn’t see it during the O.J. Simpson era of the mid-90s because, unlike today, there wasn’t really a huge need for it. Cell phones were the size of bricks, they were very expensive, and most people were still content with their beepers, fax machines and copiers. I went online sometime in the mid-to-late-90s, but I was in information superhighway diapers until the early 2000s. That’s the way it is in the courtroom now because most laws regarding trial publicity were written prior to the massive explosion of the digital age. If we only go back four years, we witnessed it with the bombastic blast of information regarding the Casey Anthony case, the likes of which we’ve never seen. Thousands of documents were released to the public due to Florida’s liberal Sunshine Law. It wasn’t without problems, though. Case in point: If two different sized tires were found in the woods where Caylee was found, you’d better bet the public retreaded them and overinflated their minds to believe that Casey threw those tires there for a reason. They dissected everything. Why were those tires there? What was Casey hiding? Who helped her? Roy Kronk? God forbid that they might have been there since 2003. Yes, they became Casey’s tires, yet they never swayed the jury one way or the other. There’s a reason for that. They weren’t hers and they were never introduced as evidence at trial. Those woods had been used as a dumping ground for years. That’s the problem with evidence. It’s not always evidence.

Granted, the Zimmerman defense had been publishing all sorts of information on its site, the gzlegalcase, about their client and some of the evidence that’s been released to date, but it was nothing more than what’s been released to the public, anyway. The defense has merely been offering their own interpretations, and some conflicts with the way the State thinks. While the State has been very tight-lipped, that doesn’t mean the defense must play the same game. Most certainly, it doesn’t mean that we have to believe what anyone says, either.

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During the gag order aspect of the hearing on October 26, Bernie de la Rionda rambled on. At times, I found him to be inconsistent and somewhat disheveled, wordwise. He asserted that the defense Website had been somewhat unethical. Zimmerman & Company called witnesses liars and tried to bypass the media by offering their own version of the case instead of how the media might interpret it. I disagree. We are given the same information in discovery. We can write our own commentary. For instance, Zimmerman’s medical records indicate he may have sustained a broken nose during the fight with Trayvon the night of February 26. O’Mara clearly said it’s a fact and undisputed that his client’s nose was broken. I don’t have to believe O’Mara and neither do you, and that’s the whole point.

Discovery impacts potential jurors a heck of a lot more than anything the defense throws out, in my opinion, and no proof exists either way. His nose was broken, his nose wasn’t broken. You decide. Ostensibly, both sides will offer tons of rhetoric at trial. It’s the name of the game. There is one point where I may agree with de la Rionda. It’s when he commented about the defense site’s quote asking for donations from those who would do the same thing if they were in Zimmerman’s shoes. That’s pretty tasteless and crass, not to mention cold-hearted and grossly opinionated. SEND MONEY IF YOU THINK TRAYVON DESERVED TO DIE. Never mind that O’Mara’s job is to defend his client, not bark for money. If O’Mara has a fault, it’s that he can be overtly insensitive at times.

When O’Mara got up to explain why he had done nothing wrong to warrant the gag, I agreed with him until he asserted that the attorneys for Trayvon’s parents were using the race card. Yes, early on, it turned ugly in a racial kind of way, but O’Mara practically accused Benjamin Crump of inciting a race war. That’s just not true. I attended the National Rally for Justice on Behalf of Trayvon Martin in Sanford on March 22, and all I heard from the speakers, including Rev. Al Sharpton, was nothing but justice, justice, justice. Take it through the court system! That’s all they have been seeking. Not retribution. O’Mara claimed that Crump called Zimmerman a racist murderer and, I’m sorry, but I never heard that. If you can show me where Crump did, in fact, say it, I’ll eat my hat.

He also accused Crump and Natalie Jackson of being surrogates for the State. That’s not true, either, any more than saying that Robert Zimmerman is working for the defense. O’Mara claims that, as a surrogate for the State, Crump must be as bound to Florida Rule 4-3.6 as the immediate attorneys involved in the case. I disagree. Crump does not represent the State. His represents Trayvon’s family. Period. Even if a gag order were in place, it would have no bearing on him. I feel that the intent of this sort of strategy in the courtroom was to throw the judge off course. “They went thataway!” It didn’t work because Judge Nelson didn’t blink. She would not budge, and she often had to remind the defense and prosecution to stay on the road.

§

I was fairly certain before the hearing began that Judge Nelson was going to rule against the gag order motion. While I had some problems with the defense, did anything ever rise to the level that I would consider iffy? No, but I can understand some of the issues at hand. For instance, what separates bloggers from mainstream media? The Huffington Post is a blog, but it’s the media. Daily Kos is as much a part of the media as the New York Times Website. So is NewsBusters. Then there’s Marinade Dave. We won’t go there, but my point is clear. There’s no single distinguishing line that separates media outlets, so why can’t the defense have a blog?

When O’Mara slightly belittled de la Rionda by reminding him this is 2012 and that law books are no longer on shelves, it reminded me of the final presidential debate on foreign policy, when Obama ridiculed Romney about the armed forces no longer fighting with bayonets. While I understood the president’s point, I knew he was wrong. Marines still carry bayonets. In that vein, not all attorneys are Internet savvy. The last time I checked, Office Depot and Staples still sell legal pads and writing instruments with ink, not just digital tablets and capacitative touch screen pens.

But now that we are in the midst of a technology frenzy that continues to skyrocket into the future, at a time when my six month old 3rd generation iPad is already obsolete, I question what good a gag order would do in today’s world. Just how would it impact a jury seven months into the future when we live in an age of lightning LTE speed? The old saying, today’s news is at the bottom of tomorrow’s birdcage, no longer applies because you can’t clean up birdpoop with the Orlando Sentinel dot com. This morning’s news is already old and who can remember what happened yesterday? Other than something that impacts us tremendously, like Superstorm Sandy, who cares? By the time George Zimmerman goes to trial, no one will remember O’Mara’s ramblings from last month, let alone care. Trust me on that one (but I do find it peculiar that nothing new has been posted on the gzlegalcase site [as of this writing] since October 23.)

Ultimately, Judge Nelson denied the motion because alternatives are available to the court to “ensure that an impartial jury can be selected. Those tools include a change of venue, a larger than normal jury venire, individualized voir dire, and stern instructions to the jurors as to their sworn duty to decide the issues based only upon the evidence.” I fully concur, but I think the best news to come out of her order was one simple, yet important, thing. Had a gag order been placed, other than Benjamin Crump, the media would have had no one else to talk to but Robert Zimmerman, Jr, and no one but the media and his own family care about him. And he only matters when there’s nothing better to report. Count your blessings. It’s good to be a gagnostic.

[Prior to the start of the hearing, I wasn’t sure I could get an Internet connection on my iPad. I did, but in the meantime, I asked Rene Stutzman, senior reporter at the Orlando Sentinel, if she had any paper to spare. She gave me her legal pad without hesitation. That was very kind and generous of her. Of course, I gave it back.]

Cross posted on the Daily Kos

Sandy

This is a song from Bruce Springsteen. You can’t get any more New Jersey than The Boss. New Jersey is my home state and I am very proud of it.

The name of this song is 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) and it’s from the 1973 album The Wild, The Innocent and The E Street Shuffle. It was released when I was in the prime of my life and very much in love with my NJ girl. We spent our summers on Long Beach Island, down the shore. Sandy has been one of my favorites since it hit the airwaves. It’s a very melodic tune. For nearly forty years, it’s conjured up wonderful memories of times spent along the Jersey shore. Sadly, I must add something painful to those memories in the aftermath of the hurricane with the same name that devastated my state. My heart aches tremendously.

This particular video showcases Danny Federici on the accordion. Danny died of melanoma on April 17, 2008. It was his final performance, when he briefly appeared with his E Street Band band mates onstage at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on March 20. Danny was from my hometown of Flemington and we both graduated from Hunterdon Central High School.

Here’s to all my friends and relatives in New Jersey, whom I love very much. I have family and friends in New York City and Westchester County, New York. I have a very special friend in Pennsylvania. Most are still without power. My thoughts and prayers are with each and every one of you.

Cross posted on the Daily Kos

The Calm After the Storm

 I grew up in New Jersey. I still have a few relatives and many friends living there that I keep in touch with. Hurricane Sandy really concerned me, so, this morning, when I found out that everyone I know survived the mess safe and sound, I was quite relieved. Yes, there are massive power outages and downed trees all over the northeast, but no one I know was hurt. As of this writing, 89% of the population of Hunterdon County, where I was born and raised, is without electricity. Thank goodness for gas stoves, although not everyone has them.

Speaking of stoves, I spent eleven years in the restaurant business in the Garden State. I, quite literally, worked my way up from sweeping floors and dumping trash to, what my old boss once told me, becoming the best manager he ever had, and I did it in record time. I took great pride in that due to one thing; one person. I had the utmost respect for my boss, Jack Little, and I still do. He was the best boss a person could ever have and he helped raise me, whether he knew it or not. If I was his best manager, it was because of what he taught me as an employer, a father figure, and a decent and honest human being. It was the respect he showed others that was instilled in me. And from him, I learned how to be as cool as a cucumber under fire. Don’t panic! Think fast on your feet.

Inherent in any business, in order to be successful, is customer service. That’s the single most important factor, especially in a restaurant, where a customer wants to walk into a clean place, filled with smiling faces eager to serve you. It’s one of the cardinal rules of the service industry; service with a smile — and what you serve had better be just as good.

I was much younger then and it was not unusual for me to put in 80-hour workweeks; nominally, 60. I was quite sharp in those days, too. There was a time — I kid you not — that a series of events (call them major breakdowns) hit me all at once and I had to render split-second decisions. In the middle of a lunch rush, of all times, a deep fryer stopped working, a toilet overflowed, a customer complained that their order wasn’t prepared right, and two of the front counter girls decided it was the proper time to pick a fight with each other. Yup, in front of hungry customers, anxious to get their food and go back to work; customers who couldn’t care less about Debbie and Sue, nor their boneheaded boyfriends and who they flirted with.

From Jack, I learned how to work under pressure — how to deal with the daily events in the life of a restaurateur. Find ‘em and fix ‘em fast. He also taught me how to deal with people at all levels. After all, that’s what customer service really is, but it doesn’t stop there. It also includes the interaction between employees. How can a business run smoothly if there are underlying problems?

On that particular day, I called each girl to the back room, one at a time. By taking them out of the argument, I accomplished the first thing; they couldn’t fight. I told them that if I heard another word, I would fire them on the spot and handle the lunch rush without them. I had other boys and girls working at the time and we’d just have to work harder. Most importantly, they would be out of a job and I stressed that a thousand other kids were banging at my back door begging for work. Yes, they were kids.

“But, but, but,” they tried to explain in their whiny voices, “Debbie did this” and “Sue did that” and each boyfriend was somehow involved. I didn’t want to hear about it. 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” I said, “but this is not the time or place. Customers don’t want to listen to your petty fights, do they?”

Basically, all it took was a minute to talk to each of them alone and things quickly settled down. I had learned a long time ago not to take sides, too. That was most important. NEVER TAKE SIDES because, in the end, I would be the only loser. And darned if it wasn’t the truth. After the lunch rush was over and things got cleaned up, wouldn’t you just know those two girls had already patched things up? There they were, taking their lunch break together, sitting at one of the tables and laughing up a storm. It was as if nothing ever happened. Had I taken sides, I would have been the real bonehead and worthy of the title.

§

Since those days, I don’t know what happened. I left the restaurant business in the early 80s. Today, at 60, I’m no longer interested in running a business, nor am I healthy enough to open one, but, somehow, I seemed to have lost that touch. While I still know a thing or two about customer service, something is amok on my blog and only I am to blame for not keeping it under control. No one else. Understandably, I must grab the bull by the horns. Right now.

As with any business that deals with the public, it’s the meet and greet people who make your business successful. While management works diligently behind the scenes, it’s the front counter people that make and break a business. While I was all about hands-on management, I couldn’t do it all. No one can.

I understood, and still do, that I could serve the best hamburger in the business, but all it would have taken was a couple of employees to throw it all away; not by being mean to customers, but by what the customers saw and heard coming from the front counter. If I walked in off the street, I wouldn’t care if you’ve got the best burger on the planet. By running a sloppy ship, I would wonder if your kitchen was just as messy, and I seriously doubt I’d want to come back, let alone order anything. Do you wash your hands?

While no one on my blog is an employee and readers are not customers, please remember that half of Marinade Dave is what I write and the other half is what commenters have to say. That’s the entire menu – the recipe for success and it’s the beauty of blogging. Failure is not an option.

I realize that tomorrow is Halloween, but coming here should not be a frightening experience. I want more readers! I want more comments! I don’t want people to be afraid of anything. While I would never expect everyone to agree with one another, let alone what I write, hiding behind the mask of anonymity does not give anyone a right to be uncivil. Be nice to each other. I realize that many years of writing comments about the Casey Anthony case (and now this one) has hardened us. Today is the day to wipe our slates clean! At least, on this blog, because it’s all that’s left to do. Please believe me when I say this…

Marinade Dave is not the name of a hurricane and now is the time for calm after the storm. I refuse to write if it ends in a fight. We are a team and that means all of us!

A Facebook Face-Off?

I don’t think there’s a person in the world that doesn’t know a big election has been brewing in the United States. Perhaps there’s a handful who don’t know, but that’s not my point. What we have is a voting population that’s very split on the two presidential candidates, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. Republicans and Democrats alike are extremely adamant about their man to a fault. Obama has the right ideas! No, Romney is best! It’s a real lesson in American civics; a true look into the theoretical and practical aspects of our citizenship. Each side is right, of course, and their constituents are convinced of it. The other side is dead wrong. That’s the problem with people. We tend to only see virtue in our candidate and vice in the other. 

If we look into the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin tragedy, it seems as if civilized society is divided the same way, like the parting of the Red Sea, and depending on which side of the fence we’re on, our guy was the victim. The other guy started it. As in politics, it’s a mixed up, muddled up, shook up world; only this one reeks of racism, gun rights and a sense of morality that’s unique to each of us. And as sure as the upcoming election, the truth is not somewhere in the middle. Someone is going to prevail; someone is going to be right, whether it’s the truth or not.

§

I arrived at the courthouse about a half-hour or so early on Friday. As I approached the entrance, an SUV with tinted windows was parked nearby and the media were standing close enough (with microphones and cameras in hand) in hopes that George Zimmerman would emerge. I glanced but continued to walk. Once inside, I passed through security and began the standard ritual of putting my belt back on and putting all my stuff back in the correct pockets. That’s when I looked up and, there, within inches, was George. As he walked by me, we looked into each other’s eyes, but it was for a mere second. As he continued to head toward the elevators, I turned and followed him with my eyes. My, my, I thought, George put on quite a few pounds.

Less than a minute later, I was ready to go up to the fifth floor courtroom. A local TV journalist accompanied me on the ride up. She asked if I had seen him. Yes, I responded, he just walked by me. She said he looked like he gained a hundred pounds! I figured he must be pretty lethargic these days, I told her; not being able to go anywhere for the most part. That, and all the pizza and Chinese takeout he probably eats. We both chuckled briefly, but then the door opened and we were ready for business.

Before you go into the courtroom, you must pass through another security check. Unlike the last hearing, this time we didn’t have to remove our belts and shoes — just what was inside our pockets. Moments later, I entered the double doors and took a seat near the back.

When court came to order, Judge Nelson got right down to business. I don’t want to give you a blow-by-blow account of what transpired during the next hour-and-a-half. After all, most of you watched it on TV, saw it on the news or, marginally, read about it on a Website. Right now, I’m more interested in the ramifications of some of the judge’s decisions. I will say that, from what I and most of you observed, Judge Nelson will be a perfect fit for this case. She’s quite adept and strict enough to keep both sides in check. No nonsense, in other words, but she’s not without a sense of humor, either, which is great for calming nerves and abating tense moments from legal disagreements.

I didn’t get the sense that any of the attorneys were all that familiar with her style. Certainly, with Bernie de la Rionda, I could understand, but Mark O’Mara and Donald West didn’t seem to feel right at home, either. One thing is clear, she will not allow her courtroom to veer off course one bit. When O’Mara and de la Rionda started to whine and snap at each other like yappy little dogs, she told them to heel, and heel they did. She wasn’t gentle, nor was she harsh. She just made it clear enough to let them know what she expects from them. It was exactly what I anticipated at the heat of the moment. She recognized how it could have easily gotten out of control and made an “adjustment.” West, on the other hand… he’s a pitbull, and even when the judge admonished him, he kept going. This guy has a chip on his shoulder and he makes O’Mara look like a saint, with de la Rionda somewhere in between. I am sure George would freak if West were working for the other side. Big Boi Don West.

§

With no fanfare or special order, here’s the way I saw the judge’s orders. She granted the State’s request for George’s medical records, but limited how much the prosecution would get. How much? O’Mara was willing to give them 30 days before the incident and 30 days after. However, he handed the court all documentation that was available to him. Judge Nelson said she would look at the logs and dates and decide what is appropriate based on privilege. Personally, I think the State should get everything, but it’s just my opinion.

I’m not going to bother with the phone call recording that Benjamin Crump turned over to the FBI. After a discussion, that one will be resolved, and most of the nitpicking issues over evidence will be cleared up, too, so I’m not going to write about them unless they become problematic down the road.

What was interesting was the motion filed by West asking for regularly scheduled hearings. In that motion, he also asked for a second judge; a senior judge to oversee docket soundings, but Judge Nelson never entertained the thought. I think, by that time, West knew better than to address it. She had pretty much made it clear at the docket hearing earlier in the week, which she reiterated, that her schedule would remain wide open for them, including weekends and holidays. She will do whatever it takes to move this case forward. 

This leads me to the meat of the hearing — Citing prior case law, the judge granted the defense motion seeking Trayvon’s Facebook and Twitter records. Since Zimmerman is mounting a self-defense claim, he has a right to see evidence that may support any aggressive and/or violent behavior by Trayvon. It will be tough, though, because they’ve got to go through Facebook and Twitter to get those records. Not an easy task.

Here’s where some of you may not agree with me. I think the defense has a right to see it and I will explain why. Just like in this heated election, we have a propensity to take sides. Not only do we take sides, we fervently believe our man is right and the other guy has got to lose. That’s all there is to it. Only it doesn’t work that way in a court of law. No matter how you feel, the way our system works, George is innocent until proven guilty. The law favors him, not Trayvon. Sad, but true. Florida law states:

90.404  Character evidence; when admissible.

(1)  CHARACTER EVIDENCE GENERALLY.—Evidence of a person’s character or a trait of character is inadmissible to prove action in conformity with it on a particular occasion, except:

(a)  Character of accused.—Evidence of a pertinent trait of character offered by an accused, or by the prosecution to rebut the trait.

(b)  Character of victim.—

1.  Except as provided in s. 794.022, evidence of a pertinent trait of character of the victim of the crime offered by an accused, or by the prosecution to rebut the trait; or

2.  Evidence of a character trait of peacefulness of the victim offered by the prosecution in a homicide case to rebut evidence that the victim was the aggressor.

(c)  Character of witness.—Evidence of the character of a witness, as provided in ss. 90.608-90.610.

O’Mara cited Dwyer v. State, 743 So. 2d 46, 48 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 5th Dist. 1999):

Generally, evidence of a victim’s character is inadmissible, but a defendant who alleges self-defense can show, through the testimony of another witness, that the alleged victim had a propensity for violence, thereby inferring that the alleged victim was the aggressor. Smith v. State, 606 So. 2d 641 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992); see also Ehrhardt, Florida Evidence § 404.6 (1999 ed.); Graham, Handbook of Florida Evidence § 404.1 (1987).

A defendant’s prior knowledge of the victim’s reputation for violence is irrelevant, because the evidence is offered to show the conduct of the victim, rather than the defendant’s state of mind. Ehrhardt. Accordingly, evidence of one of the victim’s reputation for violence was not prohibited by Dwyer’s lack of prior knowledge of that victim’s character traits. 

Here’s where I am rather confident, though. Let the defense have at it. When I was 15-years-old, I called out a kid in school. He never showed. There was no fight and nothing was reported. Suppose we did fight. Would that be enough to render me a violent youth? A “gangsta” in today’s world? Would Mr. O’Mara use that against me? You bet he would. But the point is, I never got close to a fight again in my life, and that kid I called out has been my best friend ever since. You’d better believe that Mr. de la Rionda would be quick to point that out, too.

O’Mara said that videos exist showing Martin’s involvement in MMA (mixed martial arts) fighting. I say, let him find them. Trayvon’s parents will counter that their son never took MMA lessons. O’Mara will tell the court that Trayvon boasted of beating up other kids. I will tell you right now that male children and young adults readily tell their peers how tough they are, but does that make it true? They will boast about their manhood and brag about prouesses sexuelles, outstanding abilities in bed and incredible lasting power, not to mention a long list of nameless conquests — nameless because they don’t exist. I know, because I heard them all growing up. So did O’Mara, and if he plans to use this sort of thing to trash Trayvon, it would be a real disgrace. It’s braggadocio, and everyone does it. Besides, it doesn’t prove a thing.

O’Mara was also granted power to subpoena the Facebook and Twitter accounts of Trayvon’s girlfriend because he’s convinced her online posts will contest the story she gave police about being so devastated by his death that she couldn’t attend his funeral. Like she got over him in record time. Judge Nelson told de la Rionda that he can contest this part of the ruling in writing if he wishes.

Let me tell you, I have a friend with a 15-year-old daughter and she flits around hourly. Friends come and go on a mere whim. Adults forget the mind of a teenager, when hormones rage. Besides, people mourn in their own way. Put the girl’s mother on the stand and see what she’s got to say. While O’Mara shreds the children, why not look at what the Zimmermans told each other about being rich and famous while he sat in jail. “It’s gonna be a great life!”

Did Trayvon’s death bring her a great life?

I will say this. If Trayvon was such a tough and violent gangsta, how come no one has come forward? So far, I haven’t heard a peep out of anyone he went to school with. I think the defense is going down a dangerous and slippery slope; one that could backfire if handled improperly. You’d better be able to prove what you say, Mr. O’Mara, or your name will be sliding down an ugly and vicious path.

One final thought… I wouldn’t put it past ANY defense attorney to make their client look sickly and weak in court, hoping that the judge takes pity. Just look at the poor, poor boy and what he’s been through. Instead, I hope the judge keeps Trayvon’s memory alive. He’ll never have an opportunity to get fat, and by the time O’Mara gets into his character assassination mode, Trayvon is going to be transformed right before your eyes and ears — from a momma’s boy into a horrible monster. Just remember, monsters aren’t real. George is.

 

Cross posted on the Daily Kos

October 19 Post-Hearing Photos

 Instead of spending my evening writing on the hearing that went on in the courtroom, I’ll publish some of the photographs I took. This will give me time to write my thoughts on the day’s events over the weekend. There were, obviously, some very interesting things that were argued over and decided in the courtroom. Judge Nelson is a fantastic judge. She’s stern, but fair, and she has a sense of humor. More on her later.

Click on photos to enlarge

In the next two photos, Robert Zimmerman, Jr. responds to a question posed by NBC national correspondent Kerry Sanders

Mark O’Mara during post-hearing press conference

WFTV’s legal analyst Bill Sheaffer and Zimmerman defense attorney Donald West

WFTV’s legal analyst Bill Sheaffer and Mark O’Mara

All Photos © David B. Knechel - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Nelson Acts Admirably - Sets Trial Date

The new judge in the George Zimmerman murder case, Debra S. Nelson, wasted no time when she set a June 10, 2013 trial date at a routinely scheduled docket sounding this morning. The hearing lasted a whole six minutes.

This ends months of speculation over whether it would follow in the footsteps of the Casey Anthony case, which took nearly three years to end; from her arrest in mid-July of 2008 on a first-degree murder charge to her being found not guilty on July 5, 2011.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, “Zimmerman attorney, Mark O’Mara, was noncommittal about when he’d be fully prepared.”

One of Zimmerman’s defense attorneys, Donald R. West, filed a motion on October 12 asking the new judge to consider assigning a senior judge to assist in the hearings.

MOTION TO SCHEDULE STANDING HEARINGS TO ADDRESS DISCOVERY AND OTHER CASE MANAGEMENT ISSUES OR IN THE ALTERNATIVE TO REQUEST ASSIGNMENT OF A SENIOR JUDGE TO MANAGE DISCOVERY

The motion cited several discovery problems to date:

Upon reviewing the discovery provided it became apparent that the state had failed to include information it had or should have had, or provided the information in a form that was useless for review by [defense] experts or investigators. The defense made specific oral, then written requests to the state to clarify or to produce this discovery.

It also includes other complaints, such as accusing the state of groveling over expert depositions and witness sketches, among other assorted frustrations and delays. While I can understand the frustrations, I fail to see why the problems couldn’t be handled by one fell sweep. In other words, the judge could issue a stern warning that both sides (to be judicially fair) produce discovery in a timely and organized manner. Why the motion goes beyond that by suggesting the “Appointment of a Senior Judge to Handle Discovery Matters Including Problems that Arise During Depositions” is beyond me.

It’s almost as if the defense is hinting that Judge Nelson might not be qualified to handle the whole case. Why?

Remember, Zimmerman waived his right to a speedy trial and the wheels of justice turn slowly, and at this morning’s hearing, O’Mara flatly stated that he had no idea whether he’d be ready by June 10 or not, so why is there a hurry now, and is the defense sending mixed signals?

This Court has a heavy docket, it may be weeks before the Court can schedule sufficient hearing time to address the many issues that have already arisen and will most certainly arise as the discovery phase of the case continues. In order to promote an orderly progression of the case toward a realistic trial date, promote an economy of resources and avoid delay and disruption of this Court’s docket it is suggested that the Court, at a minimum, schedule regular hearing time to address case issues. But, recognizing the heavy time demands this case will require, this Court is asked to consider requesting assignment of a senior judge to preside over discovery and related matters during the pretrial phase of the case.

Senior judges are retired judges, like O.H. Eaton, who serve on an on-call basis to assist in the absence of a judge, or to help one with a heavy docket. In this situation, Nelson wasn’t even given an opportunity to get her feet wet before this motion was filed. If I had gotten a letter like that, I’d dare say someone was blatantly questioning my competence before I had a chance to prove my worth. As a writer, I’d more than likely lambaste the person, but as a judge, I’d gracefully turn down the request and proceed on schedule. Judges, after all, are more thick-skinned than ordinary people like me.

In the quote from the motion, West wrote, “… promote an economy of resources…” I interpreted those words as meaning that regularly scheduled hearings and/or adding another judge to the case would save the county oodles of money. It really caught my attention, so I called the Chief of Court Services in Tallahassee. Is it cost effective to bring on a senior judge? No, right? Well…

Yes, it is.

Senior judges are paid a flat fee of $350, plus change, per day. That means you utilize a judge for the full 8 hours, if possible, which turns into a much more manageable $43.75 per hour. It would be foolish to have a judge show up for a 15 minute hearing because they would still earn $350.

Judge Nelson has two options. She can outright deny the request or she could take the motion into consideration. If she chooses the latter, it would set off a dynamic that would involve the administrative judge and the chief judge of the circuit. It would mean a mini-conference of sorts, moving up the circuit ladder directly above her. She wouldn’t be able to assign a new judge on her own, in other words, but she would be part of the decision-making process.

What I didn’t take into consideration with “… promote an economy of resources…” is that each circuit gets an allotment of senior judge days from the state. They are built into the fiscal budget, which runs from July 1 through June 30 of each year. If a circuit needs to go over that allotment, the state understands that courts are not going to make frivolous requests. There are checks and balances and formal mechanisms in place and the court would petition the chief justice for more days, so it’s not as if the taxpayer is going to be on the hook for wasted funds. There is also the option to have a magistrate handle some of the docket, but in most cases, they are limited, too, because of heavy workloads.

Nothing personal, but here’s the way I see it. If anything, this defense is responsible for a majority of the delays because of the motions filed to recuse two judges, including an appeal. This gave the defense time to square things with the state, and if these problems do exist, this is the matter that the defense should request the court address — not whether the judge can handle the docket. George Zimmerman already removed two judges and before the new one had a chance to sit on the bench, he questioned whether she is up to the job or not. Well, she is. At this morning’s hearing, she noted that she will be reassigned to the civil court in January, and that will free up her schedule and give her more time to continue with this case. Remember, Judge Strickland was in civil court when he was handed the Anthony case. There is nothing unusual about retaining cases.

Senior judges, for the most part, fill in when judges fall ill or a vacancy opens up. In the new judge’s case, it is neither. My questions are simple. What kind of message is George Zimmerman trying to send to the court? That he will never be happy no matter who sits on the bench? Or is he still gunning for one judge in particular? Either way, he’s out of options. Damn the torpedoes, Judge Nelson, full speed ahead. You are at the helm and George is downstream searching for a paddle.

 Cross posted on Daily Kos

NBC: Liable for Libel?

The very first thing that struck me as exceptionally odd in this George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin fiasco came almost immediately after the news broke that he had shot a teenage boy dead. It had nothing to do with whether he or the victim were black, white, brown, yellow or red. It had nothing to do with color at all. It was simply the fact that he got out of his vehicle with a loaded gun. He knew as soon as he slammed the door shut that he was entering a very dangerous territory; one that immediately compromised his own common sense and sanity. Given what I know today, I feel the same way.

Forget the recording with the dispatcher for a moment. Initially, I paid little attention to it. Whether Trayvon attacked him first or not was not that important to me because, as far as I was concerned, Zimmerman knew exactly what he was capable of doing with that gun when he steadied himself and sidled into the unknown. No one walks with a gun without understanding the possible consequences, and that Kel-Tec PF9 pistol empowered him. It enabled him to play police officer, judge, jury and executioner with all of the bravado of Paul Kersey, and that’s precisely what he did. Paul Kersey was the character played by Charles Bronson in the Death Wish movie franchise. Take away the weapon and George Zimmerman would never have moved stealthily into the darkness, confronting a fictional fear that was as frightful as the shadow he cast on that dreary Sunday night. There was no real danger lurking about; it was created by his need and strong passion to become some kind of legendary hero that haunted his soul for years. He had to prove to himself and others just who he was. To that end, he succeeded, but at a huge loss.

Trayvon Martin was a nobody in the sense that none of us are, but you cannot put a price tag on life. He was a typical teenager who would have spent his teen years in obscurity, like most other boys and girls his age — listening to the songs from Mac Miller’s Blue Slide Park and kickin’ to the rhythmic beats of Akon. His world was different from ours as adults and unless we are in step with the minds of today’s youth, we just don’t get it. Right on and out of sight were as out of sync to him as lunchin’ and tizzle are to us. Certainly, when Zimmerman was lunchin’ that night, Trayvon was in a tizzle. (See: Hip Hop Slang.)

Because of what George Zimmerman did on the night of February 26, Trayvon is classified as either a martyr or a gangsta, when all that really matters is that he should have been left the hell alone. Because of Zimmerman, this child will never walk in his father’s footsteps. He will never become what he aspired to be, whether his mind was made up or not. After all, he was still quite young. He was at an age when aspirations are supposed to run wild. Sadly, he was snuffed out by a thief in the night, whose only screams were for power and glory.

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My thoughts on this matter have nothing to do with NBC or any other media organization. I think on my own two feet, thank you, and if racism ever crossed my mind because the victim was African-American and the perpetrator was not, I never jumped to that conclusion. Most certainly, had I, it would NOT have been because of something that appeared on the Today show. I’ve learned, like most people, that you cannot trust any one news source. Where the Wall Street Journal runs on the conservative side, for instance, the New York Times is at the opposite end of the spectrum; and since the advent of reporting on newsworthy events, from thousands of years ago, opinions have been an integral part. It’s the nature of the beast. Who remembers the tears flowing from Walter Cronkite’s eyes as he announced the death of JFK on live television? Who could possibly be neutral on the day the Twin Towers fell? As objective as media are supposed to be, they are not, and the only advice I can proffer is to consider all options; listen to every side, considering that all sources are multi-faceted and not always reliable. Remember when WFTV reported that George and Cindy Anthony inked a book deal with Simon and Schuster? Did you ever read that book? Was the story ever rescinded?

This leads me to whether or not NBC should be held accountable for a story that skewed the events of the night of February 26. Quietly, I will tell you that skews and news are pretty much interchangeable these days, but in this case, the report that originated at an NBC affiliate station in Miami, WTVJ, before it aired on the Today show, ran perpendicular to the actual event, where Zimmerman purportedly said:

“This guy looks like he’s up to no good. He looks black.”

The New York Post reported a slightly different version on the NBC coverage:

“This guy looks like he’s up to no good or on drugs or something. He’s got his hand in his waistband. And he’s a black male.”

The actual transcript of the conversation between Zimmerman and the Seminole County emergency dispatcher clarified the error. Zimmerman did not say it like it was reported:

Zimmerman: This guy looks like he’s up to no good. Or he’s on drugs or something. It’s raining and he’s just walking around, looking about.

Dispatcher: OK, and this guy — is he black, white or Hispanic?

Zimmerman: He looks black.

I will agree that the televised segment made George Zimmerman look like a racist because it appeared that he pointed out Trayvon’s color without being prompted, and that’s simply not true. However, does it rise to the level that warrants a lawsuit and monetary settlement? 

I’m not here to defend Zimmerman, but I’m not going to condemn him, either; certainly not on this one. Why? Because I have experience in this field and I can genuinely empathize with him. NBC clearly did him an injustice. The network does, however, have more going for it than meets the press, so to speak. For one thing, did George Zimmerman have a “good” name at the time of the report? While the incident happened over three weeks prior, the news of the event actually broke over a week before the NBC story aired. By then, Zimmerman’s name was already festering, and rumors of racism had already abounded.

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Many of you are aware of what happened to me during the Casey Anthony case — that I was attacked ferociously and voraciously by a fringe element that labeled me as gay, with AIDS, an alcoholic with DUI convictions, and a convicted felon. Convicted of what felonies, I do not know, but the list didn’t end there, nor did it end with me. My friends and family were insulted and accused of crimes, as well. Names and addresses were published. Online documents, such as tax records, were altered. My parents were supposedly card carrying gay communists with AIDS. Several of my e-mail accounts were hacked. I saw counterfeit documents with my own eyes, so I completely understand why Trayvon’s family shut down his social sites.

I went to the police with what I thought was hardcore evidence on my computer. Granted, it’s not easy to identify creeps that call themselves “DEAD DAVE” and other anonymous names, but they can be found. That’s what computer crimes units are for. While it went nowhere, I also contacted a defamation attorney who helped me tremendously. Ultimately, between the two resources, I gathered comprehensive knowledge of what constitutes libel and what can legally be done about it.

First of all, here’s a quick primer. If it is written, it’s libel. If it is spoken, it’s slander. Both are considered defamation. In NBC’s case, it could be all of the above because it was seen, read, and heard. The problem is, it’s tough to prove and the laws in the United States make it a very difficult nut to crack.

In my case, there was a genuine malicious design. The objective of those people was to destroy me, physically and emotionally. They wanted me dead and said so. That’s what trolls do. In NBC’s case, there was no such intent. Was there bias? Yes. Or maybe no. It depends on which side of the fence you’re on. The media are supposed to remain truthful, but we know that, in today’s world, it’s far from reality; where even reality shows are well-choreographed. While Zimmerman’s supporters will tell you NBC’s report was so slanted against him it was sickening, Trayvon’s people will tell you the complete opposite. NBC will tell you it was a matter of time constraints — editing a story to fit in a defined time slot.

While my trolls wanted me dead, I had no direct threats. No one said they were going to kill me and without any real menace, veiled or otherwise, law enforcement was powerless to act. That’s when I decided to contact a defamation attorney. While I had no money to mount any sort of lawsuit, the attorney did tell me he would freely advise me if I found a local attorney to take on my case. I never did pursue that venue, but he continued to help. One of the key aspects of proving libel deals with search engine standings. A lot hinges on how search terms stack up in the hierarchy, and engines differ in their results. If you do a search for “marinade dave”, how long do you have to scroll before something nefarious shows up? The higher the defamation in the pecking order, the more of a case you may have. Still, in my situation, I couldn’t go after any one person or even a group because no such entity existed. There was no structured organization; no corporation and no headquarters. In Zimmerman’s case, there’s NBC.

So what does Zimmerman have stacked in his favor? Not much, really. When the news broke, he automatically became a public figure. Actually, it began the moment he squeezed the trigger, whether he knew it or not, and just because it wasn’t reported right away, which it was, locally, he was no longer a private citizen. While I was merely a bit player in the Casey Anthony case, he became the star attraction; the center ring in a vast media circus. While media outlets could have looked at me as a culprit in my situation, they chose not to. In Zimmerman’s case, he is either guilty or he’s not, and there’s no in between. I think we’ve already established that the media is not always fair and impartial, and to be frank, there’s no law that forces them to be.

According to The Florida Bar, the “mere fact that a person does not like the way an article portrays him does not entitle him to damages. Rather, a defamatory communication, in its classic definition, is one that tends to hold a person up to hatred, contempt, or ridicule or causes him to be shunned or avoided by others.”

If people are shunning Zimmerman, could it be because of his own doing, not NBC’s?

In Florida law, there’s also the element of substantial proof: 

While “truth is a defense” to a claim of defamation, Florida common law has taken that notion slightly further by permitting publishers of allegedly false statements to show those statements are “substantially true” or that portions that are untrue are so insignificant that a typical reader neither would realize the difference nor draw a different conclusion about the plaintiff if the false statements had not been included. In determining, then, whether an article is libelous, Florida courts review the article as if the allegedly false statements had been omitted. If the article purged of the error would not affect the mind of the reader differently, the article is not libelous. This test allows a defendant to demonstrate the general truth of the report, even though some portions may contain inaccuracies.

If we remove the NBC report from what we know to date, would it change our minds about George Zimmerman? Did the report motivate anyone (or enough people) to turn against him by altering their opinion (at that time) regarding whether or not he was a racist, and what kind of adverse effect  could it have on his future? Who or what is more to blame, NBC or George himself?

It’s very difficult to prove libel. It’s very expensive, too. Who or what is prompting the defense (or George) to file a suit? Robert, Jr.? Where will the money come from? Because this would be a civil matter, how would his criminal defense attorneys fit into the equation? Zimmerman would be up against a huge corporation, so, unless he is hoping for a quick out of court settlement, what kind of risk is he willing to take considering his odds of winning or losing?

I understand that this situation is far removed from what I went through, but in the case of media, there are issues concerning time constraints that would work in their favor. I question how difficult it would be to prove that the network set out to destroy George Zimmerman’s reputation. One other thing to take into consideration is the competitive nature of an industry where advertising revenue is based on ratings. Scoops are what count. Yes, news outlets should strive for the truth, but tell me honestly, aren’t shocking stories what we really want ? Aren’t they called headlines?

I have one more question that I’d like to address, and this one goes to George Zimmerman’s most ardent supporters. It deals with the goose and the gander. If NBC should be held responsible for destroying his “good” name, who should be held accountable for the horrible smear campaign against Trayvon Martin? What Website(s) wrote: “TRAYVON MARTIN WAS A DRUG DEALER” and “A YEAR OF DRUG USE CULMINATES IN PREDICTABLE VIOLENCE…” with nothing to legally substantiate the claims? Do they fit the description of defamation?

Incidentally, George Zimmerman was on drugs, and that’s the truth. You can’t sue me. Whether he took them that day is something else, but why not try Googling “trayvon martin was a drug dealer” and see what you get on the first page? Hmm… Could that be a lawsuit just waiting to happen?

Cross posted on the Daily Kos

Family Response To Motion for School Records and Social Media and Why Trayvon's Facebook Page and Twitter was taken down after his Death

From Benjamin Crump, attorney for Trayvon Martin’s parents:

“Trayvon’s parents maintain that his school records and Facebook page are completely irrelevant to George Zimmerman’s decision to get out of his car to profile, pursue, and shoot their son in the heart on February 26, 2012.  How does George Zimmerman’s review of Trayvon Martin’s high school and middle school records and Facebook page bear any relevance to Zimmerman’s decision to pull the trigger and kill a seventeen year old child?  Is this going to be a new legal standard we are setting- for a murderer to review the school records and Facebook page of his teenage victim to determine whether or not he should have killed him?

 

“After Trayvon’s death, there was a small group of hateful and racist people, who attempted to destroy his legacy, reputation, and image.  These people hacked this dead youth’s social media accounts, his email account, and stooped as low as to plaster the internet with photoshopped and fake images purporting to be Trayvon. On the advice of counsel, and with the intent to preserve Trayvon’s public reputation, Trayvon Martin’s parents deactivated all of his electronic accounts.”

Suburban Drive - Four Years After

Suburban Drive is not far from Orlando International Airport, so as I left the Gun Rights Policy Conference early Saturday evening, heading for home, I decided to take a peek at where Caylee Anthony’s remains were found. What does it look like today? It’s been over four years since that steamy night in mid-June of 2008, when her tiny body and personal effects were thrown into those woods like a bag of trash.

What I expected to find was something akin to what it looked like back then, dumped beneath a tree in kudzu infested woods, a mere 19’ 8” from the curb. From all of my trips to the site, I never sensed the spirit of Caylee, but I was aware of all sorts of vermin, like snakes, that call the place home. I never wanted to go near it at night because of what may be lurking about.

What I saw Saturday was pretty much what I expected. Soon after law enforcement, anthropologists and forensic teams moved in on December 11, the day she was found by Orange County water utility meter reader Roy Kronk, the place was rendered as bald as the top of my head, as if an exfoliant like Agent Orange had been sprayed throughout. I knew the place would take a number of years to spring back to life and I didn’t expect it to ever look quite like it did that fateful day, before investigators began their work. Mother Nature has taken back what is hers, and for six short months, Mother Nature was more of a mother than Caylee ever had.

To anyone who questions whether she was purposely killed, I will tell you what I heard from prosecutor Jeff Ashton on more than one occasion — you don’t make an accident look like a murder.

You don’t throw a precious little girl into dark and murky woods, either; dead or alive. 

Caylee Marie Anthony. Born 8/9/05. Found at 8905 Suburban Drive.

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To the right of the cross is a tree wrapped in kudzu (Photo 4.) At its base was where Caylee’s skull and personal effects were found, along with other bones. The rest of her skeletal remains were scattered over a half-mile area.

Click photos to enlarge

Mark O'Mara's Speech at the Gun Rights Convention

I think I’ll pretty much just let this speak for itself. Bear in mind that  the video does go in and out of focus, so you may get aggravated occasionally. Maybe not. The sound is intact, and that’s the main thing.

I have two more speeches that were introductions to this one, by attorneys Eric Friday and Jon Gutmacher, but they are giving me some problems. I know this is the one you want to see the most, though. However, I do feel it’s important to bring you the other ones, and when (and if) I can fix them, I’ll present them here and on YouTube.

I hope this video generates great discourse. I must say that, while sitting in the room with him, he does give a good speech. At least, I think so, but you can see for yourself…

Also posted at the Daily Kos

Cindy Anthony's Mother Passes

  From the Orlando Sentinel:

Shirley Marie Plesea

PLESEA, SHIRLEY MARIE, 85 of Mt. Dora, passed away Thursday September 6, 2012, after enduring metastatic breast cancer. Born Shirley Marie Giddings, a native of Warren, OH, she and her surviving husband of 66 years, Alexander retired to Florida in 1989. She leaves behind three sons, Daniel of Fort Meyers, Gary of Port St. Lucie, Rick of Murfreesboro, TN; a daughter Cynthia Anthony of Orlando; five grandchildren; and her sister Mary Lou Lillicotch of VA. She is preceded by her mother Velma Lucille Giddings; her brother Robert Giddings; her sister Anne Markle; and her great granddaughter Caylee Marie. Shirley was a devoted wife, loving mother and grandmother, a cherished sister and friend. She will be sadly missed. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting a donation be made in her memory to Susan G. Koman for the Cure. Donations can be made online or mailed to:

Susan G. Koman

Attention Donor Services

PO Box 650309

Dallas TX 752650309

To everyone who followed the Casey Anthony case, we all had a soft spot in our hearts for Shirley. At this time, I would like to extend my condolences to her entire family. Take comfort in knowing that she is holding on to Caylee Marie.

Holstering a Lie

 

Frantically, White-Hispanic Man fought for his life, screaming, kicking and shimmying, as the mighty monster, Big Black Gangsta Boy, grabbed the gun from its holster, nestled along the right backside of our legendary hero, George ZZZIMMERMAN. Tossing and turning they went, as Trayvon Martin, gripping George’s head with both hands, smashed it over and over and over against the sidewalk pavement, in what must have been at least one-hundred times. CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! People on-scene heard the muted sounds of breaking eggs. Trayvon was better than the best Ninja fighter, everyone later described, as he took his third and fourth hands and covered George’s nose and mouth. Good thing he was still able to blow those desperate cries for help out his rear end. Better yet that, as Trayvon held onto George’s arms with his fifth and sixth hands while grappling for the deadly gun with his seventh, super-duper ZZZimmerman was able to break his arms free from the gangsta’s vice-like grasp and pry the gun away in the nick of time, single-handedly taking precise aim and firing it directly into our enemy’s rapidly beating heart. POP!

Yes, God was on our mighty hero’s side that night because, Trayvon, who stood 5-feet taller and 300 lbs. heavier than the demure, yet pudgy George, ended up losing the war after knocking the man 40-feet south with one single blow. KAPOW! Through the air ZZZimmerman went, in the opposite direction, too, as the young teenage Trayvon, with one giant leap, landed viciously on top of his stunned target, like a lion lands on its prey.

HA! HA! HA! PFFFT…

That’s the way some people like to describe the way it happened, but in reality, it didn’t. As a matter of fact, I believe the gun’s recoil hit George in the face, not Trayvon’s fist, but speaking of blows…

In a huge blow to the defense, forensic tests made public today show that Trayvon’s DNA WAS NOT found on George’s gun. The only DNA that could be identified was George’s. That means Trayvon NEVER touched the gun. PERIOD. Or you can buy into the Zimmerman spin on it, I’m sure, and excuse it this way: Just because it’s not on the gun means nothing. George’s super-clean DNA wiped off dirty Trayvon’s. George’s is much more powerful. Besides, Trayvon was just “going” for the gun. George stopped him from ever touching it. Our hero! End of story.

Sure.

Just remember that, in a court of law, evidence that’s not evidence is no evidence at all. That means the DNA found on the gun is real evidence. George’s DNA. The DNA that wasn’t, isn’t. Get it? The lack of Trayvon’s DNA on the gun will do nothing to help the defense. It may, however, be argued earnestly on pro-Zimmerman blogs and forums, but that’s it. Call it damage control. My advice is to ignore them. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement tested samples from the gun’s grip. Just George. No one else, and with more tests performed on other parts of the gun and holster, technicians were only able to positively identify that he had control of it. Was George too fast on the draw for Trayvon to try to defend himself?

Does that mean Trayvon never fought for the gun? Does anyone really believe he had a seventh hand? How about a third?

I rest my case.

Links:

Case Part 5: Gorgone FDLE Complete Report

FDLE Reports R

GZ State’s 7th Supplemental Discovery (Redacted)

Cross-Posted at Daily Kos