SANFORD, Fla. – Attorneys won’t be able to mention Trayvon Martin’s drug use, suspension from school and past fighting during opening statements at the trial of a former neighborhood watch volunteer who fatally shot the teen, a judge ruled Tuesday.
However, Circuit Judge Debra Nelson left open the possibility that the defense could try again later during the trial if it could show relevance.
Additional Photos
George Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder in the 17-year-old’s killing and has pleaded not guilty, saying he acted in self-defense. He did not attend Tuesday’s hearing.
In another key motion Nelson refused to allow jurors to travel to the shooting scene during trial, and rejected a defense request to delay the trial set to begin June 10.
Zimmerman’s attorney, Mark O’Mara, said Nelson’s decisions would not affect how he presented his case.
“We were hoping that we would have some limitations on people commenting upon information that is not yet relevant,” O’Mara said. “So the idea that the state will have to be careful about how they present their case — and certainly we’re going be careful about how we present ours — is exactly what we were hoping for.”
The judge also ruled that some of Martin’s social media statements won’t be allowed in opening statements, though it, too, could be allowed later with a ruling from the judge depending on how the case progresses.
O’Mara told the judge that Martin’s marijuana use and past fighting was central to the argument that Zimmerman used self-defense when he confronted Martin last year at a gated community in Sanford, Fla.
“We have a lot of evidence that marijuana use had something to do with the event,” O’Mara said. “It could have affected his behavior.”
The judge ruled against a defense request that the pool of 500 jury candidates be sequestered during jury selection. She said jurors will be referred to by their jury numbers and prohibited their faces from being photographed.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.