And this is a very good example as to why the law doesn't admit these facts, because the average juror, like you, would make the logical misstep you just did.
That makes sense to me. And yet...There's going to be a trial in which George Zimmerman is accused of murdering Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman is presumably going to take the stand and claim that he killed Martin in self-defense, and describe a narrative that backs up his claim of self-defense. From what I have now learned about George Zimmerman, there are several reasons why I am skeptical that he will be truthful in his narrative. Yet none of these reasons are going to be allowed in court, so the jury will have to rely on how truthful Zimmerman
seems when he testifies, without knowledge of evidence of his disregard for law and order in the past. I understand the reasons for this, but it stll seems wrong to me.
You realize the logical leap you're making here is that you believe that once a prison breaks the law he will always break the law? You don't see a problem with that? Also, a restraining order has nothing to do with violating the law. It's a civil order designed to keep the peace. The recipient of such an order has, under the law, done nothing wrong.
1. The restraining order makes me think that Zimmerman may be a violent guy. It makes it easier for me to believe that he initiated the struggle with Trayvon Martin.2. The fact that Zimmerman knowingly allowed his wife to lie during the bond hearing makes me believe that he is not to be trusted when giving testimony about what happened that night.
Do you find either of these statements to be illogical?
Yes I do. Both.1. The burden for obtaining a restraining order is incredibly low because it is designed to be a legal mechanism to safeguard the plaintiff/requestor from any potential conflict with the respondent and and prevent any discord with social order while not being burdensome to the respondent. No violence needs to be shown and. Accordingly, it is illogical to assume someone served with a restraining order is naturally violent. I understand society thinks it may be and in some case the respondent happens to be, but it is illogical to automatically assume so and the criminal rules of evidence are designed to keep this type of prejudicial thinking out.
2. I take issue with your use of "allowed." There's no evidence suggesting she ran it by him or needed his permission to do so. Also, someone sitting in his chair, desperately wanting to get out of jail, would do what I think most would have done in his position and let things play out. I imagine at one point in time all of us have allowed a misrepresentation made by someone else but beneficial to us to go through. So, doing so does not have a tendency to suggest we would actively lie under oath. Also, it's not as if the state won't have the opportunity to present evidence of or infer to Zimmerman's natural motive to lie here (to not get convicted), so the fact he sat by while his wife lied (assuming he knew it was a lie) because he wanted to get out of jail is not probative to his trial testimony.
Well, I guess we really disagree on both counts. Your arguments may make sense from a purely legal standpoint (I wouldn't know, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt) but they don't make sense to me from a layman's POV- then again, it's only my POV, which means nothing.
But you're not addressing his points.How do you know that the basis for the restraining order was true? If the prosecution raised the restraining order, O'Mara would be well within his rights to call the ex-girlfriend and anyone else who she may have spoken to about the issue. It would essentially be a trial within a trial.
How do you know what was going through his mind when his wife was testifying? Or when he was testifying? One of the things every lawyer drills into a client is to answer the question that is posed. He was never asked about his wife's testimony or his own finances. He answered the questions he was asked.
He was also testifying under oath and it was on television. I've had clients tell me for weeks how they were going to testify when they get on the stand--
just ask me a question and you're going to have to drag me off the stand to get me to shut up. Even with bench trials. No one other than the judge, the attorneys and the parties were in the courtroom. Not criminal defendants. But people who were just testifying about a disagreement in a civil case. The confidence is overflowing before the trial. But when they get on the stand they fold under the pressure. Testimony that should have lasted 30 minutes ends up taking 2-3 hours because I have to drag it out of them.
Someone sitting in a jury box has no way to judge a person's credibility based on those situations.