Maine news, sports, weather from Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram, Portland, Maine

July 6, 2012

Florida judge grants $1 million bail for Zimmerman

The bail comes with strict new conditions aimed at keeping Zimmerman from leaving the country.

The Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla. - Using words like "false testimony" and "misled," a judge granted $1 million bail Thursday for neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, but questioned his honesty and suggested he had plotted to leave the country when he was out of jail the first time.

Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester referred to Zimmerman with words like "conceal" and "flee" more than a dozen times in an eight-page order that lets him out of jail while he awaits his second-degree murder trial in the shooting of Trayvon Martin.

The judge's doubts could hurt a Zimmerman attempt to dismiss the case by claiming he shot Martin in self-defense, a possible motion based on Florida's "stand your ground" law, experts said.

"Mr. Zimmerman is not held in any high esteem by this court," said Karin Moore, a law professor at Florida A&M University College of Law. "I think that could matter if there is a 'stand your ground' hearing ... It's a matter of credibility. There is no one else to testify to support the self-defense claim."

Lester revoked Zimmerman's $150,000 bond last month after prosecutors said Zimmerman and his wife misled the court about how much money they had during an April bond hearing and failed to disclose he had a second passport after turning in one passport to the court.

"Under any definition, the defendant has flaunted the system," Lester said. "Although there is no record of flight to avoid prosecution, this court finds that circumstances indicate that the defendant was preparing to flee to avoid prosecution but such plans were thwarted."

The judge set much stricter bail terms than those established during Zimmerman's April hearing, addressing concerns that he would flee. The 28-year-old must stay in Seminole County -- he was allowed to leave Florida after his first release. He must be electronically monitored, can't open a bank account, obtain a passport or set foot on the grounds of the local airport. He has a 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. curfew.

"Judge Lester didn't like being lied to," said Orlando attorney Blaine McChesney, who has been following the case. "It is apparent from the opinion that, had Judge Lester felt he had more discretion under the current law, he would have denied a bond."

Zimmerman, who formerly lived in Sanford, Fla., had not yet been released from jail and his arrangements after his release were unclear.

Zimmerman will have to pay a bail bond company $100,000 and have collateral worth $1 million. Neither Zimmerman nor his family have that amount in collateral, defense attorney Mark O'Mara said on his website in an appeal to supporters to donate. The fund now has $211,000 in it, O'Mara said.

"For those who have given in the past, for those who have thought about giving ... now is the time to show your support," O'Mara said.

The vitriol that was directed at Zimmerman after Martin's death during a Feb. 26 confrontation in a Seminole County gated community has died down, but the intense media scrutiny of the case also will keep the spotlight on Zimmerman once he is released, with local media following him everywhere he goes.

The 44 days between the shooting and Zimmerman's arrest inspired nationwide protests, led to the departure of the Sanford police chief and prompted a U.S. Justice Department probe.

Martin's parents and supporters claim that the unarmed teenager was targeted because he was black and that Zimmerman started the confrontation that led to the shooting.

 

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