Prosecutors in the case of George Zimmerman, who is being charged with second degree murder of Trayvon Martin, are accusing defense of excessively engaging the Media.
According to the gag order filed by Assistant State Attorney Bernie de la Rionda in Seminole County Circuit Court, defense "This case has continued to have an inordinate amount of media coverage... Unless defense counsel stops talking to the media about the case, in person or by use of the defendant's website, it will be more difficult to find jurors who have not been influenced by media accounts of the case," as reported by newsmax.com
Various media outlets including the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and USA Today have filed a joint petition opposing the gag order, arguing that the prosecutors are trying to violate the First Amendment rights of the press.
The media petition says, "Incredibly, the State seeks this drastic relief without citing or coming forward with any evidence relating to - much less satisfying - the demanding standard governing the issuance of 'gag orders," according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Judge Debra Nelson has scheduled a hearing this week to decide on the gag order.
Last week, Mark O'Mara, attorney of Zimmerman, won a request made earlier this month for access to all personal information of the 17-year-old, including school records, cell-phone information as well as all social media activity. O'Mara claims that all the information is imperative to defense.
Judge Nelson granted defense access to the personal records and information of Trayvon Martin.
The lawyer of Martin's parents, Benjamin Crump, says "Trayvon's parents maintain that his school records and Facebook page are completely irrelevant to George Zimmerman's decision to get out of his car to profile, pursue, and shoot their son in the heart...How does George Zimmerman's review of Trayvon Martin's high school and middle school records and Facebook page bear any relevance to Zimmerman's decision to pull the trigger and kill a seventeen year old child? Is this going to be a new legal standard we are setting -- for a murderer to review the school records and Facebook page of his teenage victim to determine whether or not he should have killed him?" as reported by the Huffington Post.
In addition to the release of all personal information, the Zimmerman defense team also submitted a request to delay the trial. O'Mara states that the defense needs additional time to prepare for the case. The defense claims to currently have between 50-70 witnesses according to the Huffington Post.
Zimmerman was arrested in February for the killing of the 17-year-old, Zimmerman who was armed shot Martin after claiming that he was attacked by the teenager and fired in an act of self-defense. The 28-year-old Zimmerman has maintained the claim to self-defense from the beginning of the case.
In July, the Florida judge set Zimmerman's bail for $1 million, after previously revoking a $150,000 bond, for misleading the court about his finances.
He has been released from jail on bond, but under strict conditions including a round the clock GPS monitoring system.
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