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Cross Posted from Frederick Leatherman Law Blog
Photo: Donald Lee Pardue / Flickr
Rene Stutzman reported late yesterday in the The Orlando Sentinel:
George Zimmerman’s lawyers Wednesday notified prosecutors that their witness list now includes a who’s who of the Sanford Police Department’s chain of command at the time of Trayvon Martin’s death, including the police chief, major crimes captain, sergeant and case detectives.
Wednesday’s defense witness list has on it a dozen names, including former chief Bill Lee; Bob O’Connor, the major crimes captain who oversaw the investigation; Lt. Randy Smith, the former sergeant who supervised the detectives investigating the case; and lead Investigator Chris Serino.
As I have written here and here, this hullabaloo is much ado about nothing, as far as the Zimmerman case is concerned.
The reason is that the opinions of the various individuals regarding the sufficiency of the evidence against Zimmerman are irrelevant and inadmissible at Zimmerman’s trial.
The scheduled depositions may have an impact, however, on the ongoing federal investigation into whether Zimmerman may have violated federal laws prohibiting hate crimes when he killed Trayvon Martin.
I said “may” because I suspect that the federal investigation may have widened to include investigating the identified individuals and others for conspiring to conceal Zimmerman’s commission of the murder by not charging Zimmerman with a crime.
I think they would be well advised to consult with counsel before their scheduled depositions to discuss whether they should assert the Fifth Amendment and refuse to answer any questions pertaining to the investigation and their respective roles.
I believe there is much more to this story, so no one should be surprised if the depositions are suddenly cancelled without explanation.
2 Comments
Ah, the plod thickens?
It is interesting to consider that the Feds are seriously involved, Mason.
Bravado and ballyhooed hoopla … a true hullabaloser, if credible legal minds become involved with this circus.
Looking to see what the Judge does tomorrow.
As always, your posts are greatly appreciated and, truth be told, much anticipated.
DW
I’m reminded of the scene in the movie, Absence of Malice, in which the Assistant U.S. Attorney General (played by Wilford Brimley) convenes what turns out to be a ‘come to Jesus meeting’ which results in his firing a federal prosecutor for misconduct, and his suggestion that the District Attorney might be wise to resign.
It’s one of my favorite movies moments of all time.