Attorneys in Trayvon Martin case make arguments

People hold up signs and bags of Skittles candy during a rally in support of Trayvon Martin at Freedom Plaza in Washington, on Saturday, March 24, 2012. Many people in attendance brought candy, cans of ice tea, and wore hooded sweatshirts, or hoodies, in support of the slain teenager. / AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

(AP) MIAMI - Attorneys for the family of Trayvon Martin and the Florida neighborhood watch captain who fatally shot the unarmed teen joined the national chorus of voices calling Saturday for justice in the case.

As demonstrators took to the streets in major cities such as Washington and Chicago to voice outrage over Martin's death, an attorney for the Martin family told board members of the National Association of Black Journalists that federal and local officials have assured the family that the case is a priority.

Meanwhile, an attorney representing the neighborhood watch captain, 28-year-old George Zimmerman, broadly defended his client and said he believes evidence will show that Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law was properly applied.

Zimmerman has not been charged in the Feb. 26 shooting that has ignited racial tensions and raised questions about the Sanford police's handling of the case. Martin was black, and Zimmerman's father is white and his mother is Hispanic.

"Is George a racist? The answer is no, absolutely not. He's not a racist," attorney Craig Sonner said about his client. "The incident that transpired is not racially motivated or a hate crime in any way. It was self-defense."

Sonner said he's spoken with several of Zimmerman's friends, including some who are African-American.

Arrest for death threat to Sanford police chief
Zimmerman lawyer: No racial issue with client

"They only have good things to say about him," Sonner said.

They're reluctant to come forward, though, because they fear that the backlash over the investigation will make them and their families targets, too, Sonner said.

Sonner declined to detail what transpired between Zimmerman and the 17-year-old Martin, but he said he believes the case falls under Florida's stand-your-ground law, which dictates that a person has the right to stand his or her ground and "meet force with force" if attacked.

"I believe what the evidence will show is that this case does fall under that," Sonner said. "I believe we have a good case."

If charges are brought against his client, Zimmerman would be willing to turn himself in to police, Sonner said. "We will follow the law," Sonner said.

Sonner would not say where Zimmerman was.

A spokeswoman for the Maitland mortgage risk-management firm where Zimmerman reportedly works, Digital Risk, said she couldn't confirm anything about Zimmerman's employment, but that he had not been at work since the shooting.

"Our utmost concern is for the safety of our employees, specifically based on the potential turmoil that could arise from the recent announcement of a bounty for his capture," Brandie Young said Saturday.

Amid the outcry over the lack of charges against Zimmerman, the Sanford police chief and state's attorney in the case have both stepped aside.

The U.S. Justice Department has opened a civil rights probe into the shooting, and a grand jury is scheduled to meet April 10 to consider evidence in the case.

Daryl D. Parks, the Martin family attorney, said federal officials and local officials met with the teen's family Thursday and gave them "a strong sense that (the Department of) Justice was very committed" to investigating the case.

"For us to have had all the people who were there with us and the magnitude of the conversation . this is a very high priority for this administration," he said in a wide-ranging interview with the black journalists' group in Boston.

Indeed, President Barack Obama weighed in Friday, calling the shooting a tragedy and saying, "When I think about this boy, I think about my own kids."

But Parks added "it was clear from Justice's statements that charges of a hate crime are going to be a challenge."

Parks also said the Florida Department of Law Enforcement has told the family's legal team that they know Zimmerman's whereabouts, but that it was not clear whether they are offering protection to Zimmerman, who has been in hiding and has received death threats in recent weeks.

Martin's parents also met Friday with the newly-appointed special prosecutor in the case, and the family's legal team plans to pursue a civil case against the Twin Lakes homeowner's association, Parks said.

About 400 people rallied Saturday in downtown Chicago to protest Martin's killing. In a racially divided city beset by shootings, gang violence and run-ins with police, the teen's death brought to mind the 1955 slaying of Emmitt Till, a 14-year-old black boy from Chicago who was shot and bludgeoned to death while visiting Mississippi for supposedly whistling at a white woman. His body was found in the Tallahatchie River.

No one was ever convicted, but Till's killing galvanized the civil rights movement.

"It's a precedent that with the right excuse it's OK to gun down black males," protester Ashten Fizer said of Martin's killing. "It's a return of Jim Crow."

In Washington, a large crowd gathered in Freedom Plaza to call for justice in the shooting.

Among the demonstrators Saturday was Jimmy Neal, a District of Columbia resident who said his daughter has been asking him questions he didn't want to answer.

"She's asked me the question ... `Why, daddy, when he was carrying candy and a soda or iced tea and why did the man kill him?' I had to explain that to her. And those are discussions you don't plan to have with your kids," Neal said.

"Hoodie Marches" were organized Saturday in two South Carolina cities over social media. Many of the people participating carried bags of Skittles and wore hooded sweat shirts, like the one Martin wore when he was killed.

Martin was holding a bag of the candy while walking to his father's fiancee's home from a convenience store when Zimmerman started following him, telling police dispatchers he looked suspicious. At some point, the two got into a fight in the gated community and Zimmerman pulled out his gun.

Meanwhile, authorities say a Florida man is charged with threatening the police chief who temporarily stepped down from the investigation.

The Seminole County Sheriff's Office says John Carnduff Stewart of Melbourne Beach emailed Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee on Friday, saying Lee and his family should be killed. Melbourne Beach is nearly 70 miles south of Sanford.

The sheriff's office says Stewart has sent threatening emails previously, including to Penn State University assistant football coach Mike McQueary.

Stewart was placed on electronic monitoring as a condition of his $10,000 bond.

[streatboy]

TO the NRA is this what you want? The right to kill anyone that scares you? Remember natures' law "what goes around comes around".

[Jack575857686906858]

Hmmm. That sounds like a threat -- I take it that NRA members frighten you?

[Coachjam24]

This killing is truly tragic but let me throw out one thing....where is the righteous indignation from Obama, Sharpton,the NBA players, the black churches who promoted "hoodies" in church, when the 10 people in Chicago were murdered and 40 were shot last weekend in a predominantly black neighborhood. That was ONE WEEKEND!
What was said by those people about THESE killing? Do they care or were they able to more "face time" elsewhere?

[ToneAre]

George Zimmerman :: The New White
http://mybrotherman.wordpress.com/2012/03/23/george-zimmerman-the-new-white/

[occupy_cbs]

As if the fox political network propagandists or the fox/rush parrots couldn't get any more ridiculous or rabid about an overly-zealous vigilante acting as judge, jury and executioner:


Fox News host Geraldo Rivera sparked outrage -- including from his own son, apparently -- by suggesting on Friday that Trayvon Martin, the unarmed Florida teen shot dead last month by a neighborhood watch volunteer, courted violence by wearing a hoodie. That piece of clothing killed Martin, according to Rivera "as surely as George Zimmerman."

[occupy_cbs]

arkredneck: "The NAACP and the National Association of Black Journalists are blatant racist organizations."




I will consider these organizations to be racist, the minute they start burning crosses on lawns belonging to other races.

They haven't so far, so I will assume you and your ilk are racists.

[bethevoice]

If you strip this down & forget race for a moment......this is a young teen walking with his Skittles & Drink minding his own business. I try to place myself in Trayvon's shoes.....he knew he was doing no wrong & all the sudden he's being followed or pursued. It's rational that he would feel fear, from anyone behind him with or without a firearm. If he ran well...wouldn't you ? Wouldn't any parent teach their child to walk away & avoid conflict........not stir it up as Zimmerman did. The burden of what happened falls upon the adult who also was armed over a child who did not pose a threat with candy & tea. If Trayvon saw the gun all the sudden well who could blame him for trying to protect himself & his life. Let's remember who died here. The victim is the one who lost his life. Do these Volunteer Neighborhood Watchpersons have to take any Psych Tests or other prior to consent they can carry a firearm ? If not then why not ? What's the NRA's stance of the Responsibility of Gun Ownership?! Does the NRA denounce Zimmerman's statements to police or his actions in this case or support what he did ?

[Jack575857686906858]

1) Trayvon obviously did not run, contra your scenario. Had he run, he would have gotten away from the fat slob Zimmerman easily. 2) The idea that someone charges a gun in self-defense when retreat is a viable option is ludicrous. It is unlikely the kid knew there was a gun until the last second. 3) If someone is following you, you are within your rights to stop, and when they approach, ask them questions, call 911, even order them to stay away from. However, if you decide what they need is a good whipping and jump on them, you should understand that at that point they can defend themselves -- especially if you have them on the ground and are preventing them from fleeing. The reason Zimmerman has not been arrested is that the evidence supports that scenario -- that doesn't mean Zimmerman did not set the kid up to fight and then shoot him -- he might have -- but it does mean that this case is not the cut-and-dried situation the various would-be judge/jury/executioners and NRA haters make it out to be. Lastly, the fact that NRA/SYG opponents had to wait 7 years for get an event that MIGHT be what they have been predicting would happen on a daily basis when the law was passed is to me a sign that they are, as usual, full of bull...

[reality_sanity]

by vsmit March 25, 2012 10:14 AM EDT
Childish things like making judgments about cases with no facts. The grand jury will decide if this was murder or self defense. Not you. The law will be followed either way. Not the will or protestors or politicians.

Childish things like expecting Floridians to be massacred by thugs who break into our homes because guns are now illegal. .

Answer: Guns are not illegal in Florida this is a lie

If you don't like Florida's gun law, don't move there.

Answer: Several Florida Legislators (Republicans) that voted for the Stand Your Ground law disagree with the Sanford Police Chief and Prosecutor claiming that PURSUIT negates the SELF-DEFENSE provisions of the law to any pursuer. (George admitted in his 911 call to pursuing Trayvon. Trayvon and his girl friend (via phone) also claimed to have recognized George's pursuit and Trayvon agreed with his girl friend to attempt to disengage from George's pursuit by walking away fast or as George himself reported in his 911 call running away.

By the way, there are over 20 other states with similar laws. Don't move there either. Instead pick a state where citizens are disarmed, leaving guns to the criminals.

Answer there appears to be a need to clarify the boundaries of these laws in the area of pursuit negating claims of self-defense for many in this country including yourself that many not understand that PURSUIT or STALKING another person is an aggressive and in many places a criminal act.

[ReckonedTruth]

by Nobletruth March 25, 2012 10:26 AM EDT
I would like anyone anyone to show proof this had anything to do with race! ANYONE I dare you to find the evidence. You cannot. It is all speculation. One man was Hispanic the other was black. Someone did something wrong and the legal system will find the real truth. Why is it so hard for Liberals to just let the legal system work?

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

really?

..apparently, you haven't listen to the outcry of the entire nation and both liberal and conservatives are on board with this-ASK JEB BUSH for starters who denies -- the defensive claimed by ZIMMERMAN.. as "STAND YOUR GROUND" statue-- applies to ZIMMERMAN's defense..

MOST educated people have heard the 911 audio tape of what ZIMMERMAN said .. who PROFILED... persued--HARASS--ATTACKED this kid who didn't know him from a RACIST CREEP FROM HELL--

..and apparently you have not heard the tapes.. its gonna be the shooters own words that will CONVICT him with a HATE CRIME or man slaughter.. as result calling this innocent kid a F*in Coon-drug dealer--a danger of suspicion for not reason..

..most ignorant people would refer to Zimmerman as a "wet back" being a hispanice.. if he wanted to use racial bais slurs.. as another form of his unadulterated racial ignorance..

..the shooter was NOT given due process according to the statue law "stand your ground" nor was there due process for Trayvon Martin other than trying to make him out to be something that he was NOT-by doing a drug test on the corspe and found to be NEGATIVE--but no due process for the shooter who could have been high as kite with a gun-sprewing racial slurs and shot a CHILD..

..so the LAW is suppose to work to the FULL EXTENT for everyone in this nation and DIDN'T as in full investigation BACK in february with regard to this case.. the case was CLOSED by the Chief of police in Sanford-without a full investigation and due process ACCORDING TO LAW..and why it was NOT? because this was jsut another black kid as far as the all white police force of Sanford were concerned and lets just closed the books on this after all the shooter said it happened this way and we all know that black kid are all criminals , aren't they?..---DENY THE VICTIM due process..on the word of the shooter?---Even though theshooter has history of violence as convicted who had a gun- RIGHT? And this will have happened as such with this case- as due process? And so if NOT for the outcry across this nation.. there would not have been a full invesitgation..or a complete due process for the victim..

Get a clue! because this is going to be found to be a possible hate crime based upon RACE.. because of what ZIMMERMAN said out of his own mouth..and why ZImmerman's ATTY is hoping not..because of the evidence gathered thus far..

And if you listen to the 911 audio tape of zimmerman(who BTW way has called 45 times making similar calls about african americans were unfounded)..and you say this isn't about race?.. ANY ONE WITH ANY LEVEL OF EDUCATION knows better.. this is about race with regard to ZIMMERMAN..who first of all said he was white and lead others to think he was and pass as such in the white community..when in fact he's hispanic and appears as such..from his MUG shoot PIC used on the internet- from the time Aimmerman was charged with violence- not once but TWICE and still was allowed to have a 9mm gun and volunteer as watchdog captain? Not recognized by the Nationalwide Sheriff watchdog association?..

Facts are coming forward NOW which the Sanford police dept ignored or covered up and hoping wasn't going to be discovered..

So what you said is not the NOBLE TRUTH.. the noble TRUTH would have been to do the RIGHT thing from the beginning when all of this happened.. instead of taking the word of someone who has a history of VIOLENCE documented and was allowed to have a 9mm pistol inspite of..what his history is known to be..

TO ALL others.. WEAR your HOODIES.. to show vigil about a CHILD who was a straight student.. a football star leader..and what we now KNOW he was also community leader to other kids in his age group..not a record of even having a fight with anyone.. who was alleged murdered based upon racial profiling..

Zimmerman ..if you're so right and told the TRUTH... come out of hiding.. and "STAND YOUR GROUND" as Travyvon did against you Zimmerman to protect himshelf from a stranger who pursued him FOR NO OTHER REASON OTHER THAN BEING PROFILED UPON RACE BIAS..

..but you won't ZIMMERMAN come forward-- until you're forced out of hinding as coward!

WEAR YOUR HOODIES..for justice given to the full extent of the law and closure of justice for Trayvon Martin..

[reality_sanity]

by infantryman1968 March 25, 2012 9:28 AM EDT
...

Obama sent Holder down there 3 days ago to take over this case. If Holder cant deliver Zimmermans head on a racist charge, there will be trouble for Berry in November.

----

Obama ordered nothing the ELECTED OFFICIALS in the City of Sanford requested intervention by the DOJ in this case. Once again a prejudiced fabricator has failed to read the announcement made by elected officials in the City of Sanford before posting his bigoted and prejudiced fabrications.

http://www.sanfordfl.gov/investigation/docs/Zimmerman_Martin_shooting.pdf

"The City of Sanford is
committed to insuring that justice is served and, therefore, the City of Sanford has contacted the United States Attorney General's Office for assistance in this matter."

[quipman514]

When are some Americans going to put away childish things. How much longer do some some citizens in this country think that law abiding citizens are going to continue to tolerate innocent men, women and children lives being destroyed by people with nefarious and idiotic motives. President Obama talked about America putting away childish things when he took the oath of office and the time to do just that is fast approaching. America as a country cannot continue to turn away or justify the actions of ignorant and idiotic citizens who for what ever reason continue to reek havoc and evil upon fellow human beings. Over 150,000 human beings have been killed by handguns in this country since the events of 911. As Americans we can't afford to allow the ignorant and paranoid in this country to set the agenda for gun policy in this country anymore. From the idiotic, paranoid Florida representatives who thought up the stupid "stand your ground" law to the Florida Democrats and Republicans who voted for this law which was opposed by law enforcement I say its time to put away childish things. And if this ignorant idiot who took this teenagers life is found guilty we can start by throwing him under the jail for life and cleaning house in law enforce in this town if it is found that officers attempted to turn a blind eye. In the presidents words...Its time for America to put away childish things!

[vsmit]

Childish things like making judgments about cases with no facts. The grand jury will decide if this was murder or self defense. Not you. The law will be followed either way. Not the will or protestors or politicians.

Childish things like expecting Floridians to be massacred by thugs who break into our homes because guns are now illegal. If you don't like Florida's gun law, don't move there. By the way, there are over 20 other states with similar laws. Don't move there either. Instead pick a state where citizens are disarmed, leaving guns to the criminals.

[reality_sanity]

vsmit, in how many communities are both the police chief and local prosecutor abdicating responsibility to properly pursue a presentation to the grand jury? How many cases require the Governor to name a special prosecutor and the other elected officials of the city of Sanford to request assistance from the US DEPARTMENT of JUSTICE?