Zimmerman jurors asked about neighborhood watch

June 19, 2013 @ 2:05 pm


George Zimmerman smiles in response to a juror's answer during questioning in Seminole circuit court on the eighth day of his trial, in Sanford, Fla., Wednesday, June 19, 2013. Zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder for the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin.(AP Photo/Orlando Sentinel, Joe Burbank/Pool) | Zoom

SANFORD, Fla. (AP) - Attorneys quizzed a whittled-down group of prospective jurors Wednesday in the Trayvon Martin case about whether they had fired guns, made judgments based on how people dressed or had been neighborhood watch volunteers like the teen's shooter.

The day began with a judge reading the formal second-degree murder charge against George Zimmerman, who shot the unarmed, 17-year-old Martin in February 2012. Zimmerman, 29, is pleading not guilty and says he acted in self-defense.

Martin's death prompted public outrage around the nation, with some accusing Sanford police of failing to investigate the shooting thoroughly from the beginning because of Martin's race and because he was from the Miami area. Martin was black and wearing a hoodie at the time of the confrontation; the hoodie later was appropriated by protesters as a symbol of the shooting. Zimmerman identifies as Hispanic.

After the judge read the charge, prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda began a second round of more intensive, personal questioning with the 40 potential jurors, whose names are kept confidential. The final jury will be sequestered throughout the trial to protect jurors from outside influence.

De la Rionda also warned jurors that they would have to forget anything they knew about the case previously and base their information only on what they heard in the courtroom. He reminded them the judicial system is different than what they see on television shows like the "CSI" and "Law & Order" franchises.

"What you saw on TV or on the Internet or read or what the media said is completely irrelevant," he said.

Several candidates were involved with rescuing animals, and the pool included a competitive arm-wrestler, a competitive fisherman and a man who enters barbecue competitions. Seven potential jurors said they had previously been arrested. But they said that their cases had been dropped and that they thought they were treated fairly.

Fourteen candidates said they had been victims of crimes, including four involving violent crimes. A white woman in her 50s said it would be difficult for her to keep her experience with a violent crime out of the courtroom.

"It's always in my mind," she said.

Twenty-seven of the 40 potential jurors are white, seven are black, three are mixed race and three are Hispanic. Twenty-four are women and 16 are men.

The racial and ethnic makeup of potential jurors is relevant since prosecutors have argued that Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer for his gated community in Sanford, Fla., profiled Trayvon Martin when he followed the teen last year as Martin was walking back from a convenience store to the house of his father's fiancee.

Zimmerman fatally shot Martin a short time later following a confrontation that was partially captured on a 911 call.

De la Rionda also asked if the potential jurors had been members of a neighborhood watch group and if it was acceptable for individuals to take the law into their own hands. None of the jurors had much experience with neighborhood watch groups and for the most part didn't believe it was OK for individuals to act as law enforcement officers.

"There may be occasions, but I would generally say no," said a middle-aged black man.

The prosecutor also asked if potential jurors either owned or had fired guns and if the race or age of Martin was important to any decision they would make. Around two dozen jury candidates either owned or had fired guns, and no one said age and race mattered.

When asking potential jurors about whether clothing mattered, a reference to Martin's hoodie, a white woman in her 30s said, "I try not to make judgments, but I know we make assumptions."

___

Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/KHightower

Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/MikeSchneiderAP


(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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Comments (11)


  • Add A Comment

  • C"mon Man wrote...
    Here we go
    October 18, 2012 11:14 pm
    No win here,just like every other time two wrong elements in the same place,martin could have ignored Zimmerman,Zimmerman could have ignored martin, but they chose to engage each other, and re-visit the race issue.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • shark75 wrote...
    Trayvon Martin was a violent criminal
    April 13, 2013 5:17 pm
    The world is a better place without his dope-smoking thug a.ss,
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • coreybob123 wrote...
    Violent criminal?
    April 13, 2013 5:49 pm
    What violent crime was he ever charged or convicted off?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • shark75 wrote...
    coreybob123 wrote...
    April 13, 2013 7:13 pm
    Justice was served before he could be arrested/charged/convicted.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Hayduke wrote...
    coreybob123, there's one of two possibilities here:
    April 27, 2013 8:13 pm
    As we know, Trayvon has never been charged, much less CONVICTED of a violent crime. (Unless you want to try to count that very night, where he was defending himself from some psycho who kept following him around and getting in his face.)

    Therefore, 1): shark75 is simply lying about Trayvon in order to justify his killing. That's pretty typical with RWNJ's here, pulling crap out of their bumhole and slandering people to justify their racist and bigoted views.

    Or, 2):He thinks we should just execute all pot smokers, regardless of their race.

    Either way you cut it, it ain't pretty.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Rangerhawk wrote...
    Let this be a lesson to all you kids
    April 28, 2013 8:10 am
    Never assault a person who has a gun and a sense of self-preservation above yours.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Hayduke wrote...
    Yes, Rangerhawk. Especially when they're out trying to make a name for themselves.
    April 28, 2013 8:14 pm
    Zimmerman was itching for this confrontation. He's just a vigilante wanna-be loser who wouldn't leave the poor kid the fak alone.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • darthclown wrote...
    Waiving Stand Your Ground hearing
    April 30, 2013 7:21 am
    because his attorney knows he doesn't have a snowballs chance of winning. Stand Your Ground went right out the window when Zim got out of his car to confront Martin. Once he exited the vehicle, he was the aggressor, not Martin. Martin died standing his ground against an armed gunman, not the other way around.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • SeattleNative wrote...
    One only need to look at the color photos...
    May 23, 2013 3:58 pm
    ...of Zimmerman's face and head following the attack to know that Zimmerman was within moments of serious injury or death at the hands of Martin.

    An eyewitness put Martin on top of Zimmerman, beating on him.

    Case closed.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • HLC wrote...
    Funny you should say GET A ROPE CH.
    June 10, 2013 12:15 pm
    But seeings that the democrats started the KKK, why wouldn't you. I guess a mexican would hang as well as a black. Right CH?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }