George Zimmerman to appear in court, expected to plead not guilty in Trayvon Martin shooting

By: Julia Dahl
Topics: Daily Blotter

At left, George Zimmerman is seen entering Polk County Correctional Facility April 11, 2012. At right is his mug shot taken the same night

/ CBS/Getty Images

(CBS/AP) The world will get its first live look at George Zimmerman today when the man at the center of a national firestorm goes before a judge in Sanford, Fla., at 1:30 p.m ET. He will be arraigned on charges of second-degree murder in the death of Trayvon Martin. He is expected to plead not guilty and invoke Florida's "stand your ground" law.

Pictures: Trayvon Martin shooting

Zimmerman turned himself in to the Seminole County Jail on Wednesday, after special prosecutor Angela Corey announced that her office would be filing charges against him. He was booked into custody at about 8:30 p.m.

Currently, there is no bond in place, although a judge is expected to address that issue today.

The charge of second-degree murder, which carries a possible sentence of 25 years to life in prison surprised some legal experts who thought manslaughter might have been more appropriate .

Until Tuesday, Zimmerman had been represented by Hal Uhrig and Craig Sonner, but the two attorneys stepped down publicly, telling the media that they had not heard from their client in two days and that he was making decisions - such as calling Corey's office and speaking with Fox News host Sean Hannity - without consulting them.

Zimmerman's new attorney, Mark O'Mara, told NBC's "Today" show that is client is worried about getting a fair trial.

"He is a client who has a lot of hatred focused on him. I'm hoping the hatred settles down ... he has the right to his own safety and the case being tried before a judge and jury," said O'Mara.

Complete coverage of the Trayvon Martin case on CBS News

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by MarkinTX April 12, 2012 11:06 AM EDT: "Stand your Ground" would protect him... if he did; he gave that up when he laid chase. Common knowledge supports that _Chasing_ is the opposite of _Standing_... While I'm no law expert or forensics investigator, it seems that had Zimmerman "STOOD his Ground," Trayvon would still be alive and Zimmerman would not have been "beaten" by a Skittles brandishing, "suspicious" teen...
Allegedly...; Reply to this comment


by ahendryx819 April 12, 2012 10:54 AM EDT: Good!!! I watched the press conference yesterday, and it's about time he faces some consequences. I thought this should happen. And fyi for all of you who think it's such a race issue: Angela Corey is WHITE. Clearly, it's not so much about race, but about justice.

I find it almost funny how Zimmerman plays the victim, says he's worried about his safety, blah, blah, blah, yet he goes and talks to the media behind his attorneys' backs. Doesn't seem to me like he's worried; even Casey Anthony had the sense not to talk to the media.; Reply to this comment


by wgalison April 12, 2012 10:33 AM EDT: NYPD's OWN TRAYVON MARTIN CASE: MURDER OF A WHISTLE BLOWER

There are hundreds of articles about the Trayvon Martin tragedy. The outrage is not because a white man killed a black man -- but because the Sanford police department covered up the murder.

- What if the police department were the NYPD?

- What if the victim had been kidnapped and threatened with death by NYPD detectives?

- What if the victim requested protection form the FBI?

- What if the victim posted a Youtube video NAMING the people who were going to kill him?

- What if the victim was then bludgeoned to death on a deserted street, miles from his home?

- What if the ER doctor lied about the cause of death, claiming the victim died of an "aneurism" with "no trauma".

- What if NYPD detectives illegally removed the body from the hospital hours after death and sent it to the morgue for cremation, claiming claiming "natural death".

- What if the Medical Examiner contradicted the NYPD and the ER and ruled the cause of death "Blunt force trauma with skull fractures and brain injuries" & the manner of death "suspicious".

- What if the NYPD denied all FOIL requests for information?

- What if THEN - as in the Trayvon Martin case - the police refused to investigate?

Those are the precise circumstances of the death of corruption whistleblower Sunny Sheu, yet not ONE mainstream media venue has reported this story.

www.sunnysheu.blogspot.com; Reply to this comment