Judge Denies George Zimmerman's Request for Trial Delay
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
By: Nicole Creston

Feb 5, 2013 | WMFE - A Seminole County judge Tuesday denied George Zimmerman's request to postpone his second-degree murder trial for the shooting of unarmed teen Trayvon Martin. Defense attorneys for the former neighborhood watch volunteer say they won't be ready for a June trial, and asked the court to delay it until November.

[Image: George Zimmerman]

Less than an hour into Tuesday’s heated hearing, Judge Debra Nelson said both the prosecution and the defense have known since last October that the trial was set for June, and ruled that’s enough time to prepare.

Defense attorney Mark O’Mara claimed the prosecution has been slow handing over evidence. State prosecutors countered that they’re sharing evidence as required by law, and said O’Mara caused some delays by cancelling witness depositions and spending time discussing the case online and with the media. 

After the hearing, O’Mara explained his position that the state’s slow evidence-sharing is stopping him from preparing his case on time. 

“We need to have the evidence before we pick an expert,” O’Mara said. “I’ve used the example of a medical analogy – you don’t pick your surgeon or your specialist until you do all your work-up. You do your x-rays and your blood test, you do your medical reports and you say okay, this is what we have, this is the expert who’s going to best address that.”

O’Mara said he may end up asking the court to revisit his request for a delay at a later time. 

George Zimmerman is pleading not guilty. He says he shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in self-defense after a confrontation in a Sanford neighborhood last February.