Yesterday, George Zimmerman made a surprise appearance on the stand during his bail hearing in order to apologize to the family of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed 17-year-old who he fatally shot on Feb. 26. Zimmerman's apology (which you can watch below) came after his lawyer Mark O'Mara had grilled an investigator for the special prosecutor, taking apart the probable cause affidavit sentence by sentence. And turning a bail hearing into something more was a smart strategy, many legal experts say.
Benjamin Crump, the Martin family lawyer, later said prosecutors "were not willing to show their hand." But experts say that O'Mara's strategy exposed weaknesses in the case: "He used the hearing to get information that can only help his defense," said attorney Tom Mesereau, who has defended Michael Jackson and actor Robert Blake. "What was supposed to be strictly a hearing for bail, he used it as a discovery device, and was able to nail the investigator into making very, very pointed statements about the investigation and about what evidence they have."
"There are many miles left in this case but I think O'Mara helped the defense by eliciting those responses," said Kendall Coffey, a former U.S. Attorney in Miami who is now in private practice. "He is going to look for the chance to cross-examine that same investigator and ask him the same questions. If the investigator changes his story, he is going to lose credibility with the jury." Prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda reiterated that there was more evidence to come, and dismissed any notions that O'Mara had harmed the state's case: "You have not heard all of the evidence. Please be patient and wait for the trial."
Zimmerman said in his statement: “I wanted to say I am sorry for the loss of your son. I did not know how old he was. I thought he was a little bit younger than I am. And I did not know if he was armed or not.” Martin family attorney Natalie Jackson later said of the apology: "This was the most disingenuous and unfair thing I've seen. This was the most unmeaningful apology."
Also discussed during the bail hearing: Zimmerman was accused of battery by a police officer in 2005 case, and a woman filed a domestic violence injunction against him after a scuffle. But his family testified that he wouldn't flee if released and would be no threat to the community. "He is absolutely not a violent person," said his wife, Shellie Zimmerman.
Now, O'Mara is scrambling to get things in place for his client to safely get out of jail on bond in the next few days. Among other things, Zimmerman needs to be fitted with an electronic monitoring device, and O’Mara has to find a secure location for him, most likely out of the state. “I don’t know where we’re going to end up,” O’Mara said after the bail hearing. “It’s a very difficult decision to make. It’s an enormously high-profile case and there are just a lot of emotions that exist.” Experts advice? Keep a low profile.
