So Trayvon Martin had small amt of THC in his system.

[Honeycombe8]

But the judge has ruled that that won't come into evidence for the jury to see. She said it was more prejudicial than probative.

Interesting.

As for me, having imbibed a bit in my much younger days, I would think have a bit of thc in the system would lend credence to the fact that TM would be unlikely to be aggressive (judging from my behavior and the behavior of others I saw). OTOH, it might also lend credence to GZ's state observation that he thought TM was acting suspiciously, walking weird and such, like he was on drugs. And to me, that may explain why TM was walking so slowly, even tho it was pouring rain, another thing that GZ thought was suspicious.

But the Judge says that it would only matter if GZ knew about the thc. Tweety guesses that might be a point of appeal, for GZ. (But I think it helps the prosecution....unless the jury doesn't know anything about pot.)

[Cooley Hurd]

1. Since they didn't test Zimmy...

...what Martin had in his system is irrelevant.

[Honeycombe8]

3. They didn't test GZ? Wow. nt

[Cooley Hurd]

5. Not at the time. They treated him as a "victim".

[Honeycombe8]

8. Double wow. I'd think that they'd automatically test a shooter.

They didn't treat him like a victim, though. I heard the interview with one cop, and saw the testimonies of two cops, and watched the video of GZ walking the cops thru the incident at the site. One cop was pretty hostile to him (bad cop, good cop).

[itsrobert]

52. Florida: Food stamps applicant: Yes, killing a black kid: NO

That's Florida.

[Octafish]

28. That is a good way for the State to destroy its case.

Gee. There is no evidence because we didn't look for any, your Honor.

[warrior1]

2. The police

Never tested gz.

[Honeycombe8]

4. The cops didn't test TM, either. It was the Med. Examiner. It's part of an autopsy. nt

[cali]

6. of course the cops didn't test him. he was dead.

[Honeycombe8]

12. Of course. That goes w/o saying. (But they still could've tested him, right?) nt

[dsc]

34. they would let the medical examiner do it

[Honeycombe8]

36. I see. Makes sense. nt

[Cooley Hurd]

7. But they should've tested Zimmy. But they didn't. Why?

Because law enforcement is fucked in the head that way.

[HappyMe]

14. I think that they

obviously should have. Especially since he was the killer.

[galileoreloaded]

27. oohhh those pesky amendments!

[Cooley Hurd]

29. He fucking SHOT someone - and that person died.

YET, the tested the victim of the shooting, but not the assailant.

[galileoreloaded]

32. reading is fundemental! good lord.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

[Cooley Hurd]

35. This "lord" you speak of...

[galileoreloaded]

38. it was nicer than

suggesting you can neither read nor have the cognitive skills necessary to even comment much less vote (cause that is some scary shit).

[Cooley Hurd]

40. I can do both.

[galileoreloaded]

41. if you dont understand the 4th amendment, maybe you should recuse yourself. nt

[Cooley Hurd]

46. If someone robs another of life, they don't have the protection of the 4th.

[galileoreloaded]

51. yes, they do. guilty until proven innocent.

are you for real? am I being punked? nobody is this willfully ignorant.

[Hubert Flottz]

39. Because Zimmy's dad is a former judge?

If it had been anyone else, I'd expect the arresting officers of maybe causing Zimmy's "Horrific" injuries.

[RudynJack]

54. His father

was not a judge.

[Hubert Flottz]

60. Not what I've read and heard...

George Zimmerman’s Father Retired Judge

Robert Zimmerman, a former Orange County magistrate judge, recently wrote a letter to The Orlando Sentinel defending his son, who’s been dragged through the mud for shooting the unarmed 17-year-old last month. In the letter, the senior Zimmerman asks people not to jump to conclusions and insists that his son didn’t follow the young boy home as he walked through their gated community.

“He would be the last to discriminate for any reason whatsoever. The media portrayal of George as a racist could not be further from the truth. At no time did George follow or confront Mr. Martin. When the true details of the event became public, and I hope that will be soon, everyone should be outraged by the treatment of George Zimmerman in the media,” wrote Robert Zimmerman.

Now more info is being dug up on his “victimized” son through public records and revealing his checkered past. Read More....

http://phoebe53.wordpress.com/2012/03/28/george-zimmermans-father-retired-judge/

It certainly appears that he did, as Lawrence O'Donnell uncovers in this segment.

Robert Zimmerman, retired Virginia Supreme Court magistrate and father of George Zimmerman, has been making the rounds for media interviews with Fox News exclusively. He's cloaked in shadow, of course, so he isn't identified. In those interviews, he was asked whether the police knew he was a retired magistrate and whether that might have had an impact on their decision to let George Zimmerman go free that night without taking his clothes or keeping his gun, or doing any of the usual investigation that police do when they find a dead kid laying on his stomach with his hands underneath him.

Zimmerman's answer to the question was a denial and not a denial. He said, "No one knew that I was a retired magistrate judge. I didn't mention it to the police. I didn't mention it to the state attorney's office."

How interesting that he would specifically say he didn't mention it, without any denial that he spoke to them. Do you think that the police might have known who George Zimmerman was before they showed up that night, simply because he had called them 48 times in the past two months? Do you think it's possible, maybe even probable, that George Zimmerman had bragged about having a daddy who was a retired magistrate judge, or that he might have mentioned it that night when his daddy came to the police station to talk to the state attorney and police but didn't mention that he was a retired judge? Read more...

http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/did-george-zimmermans-father-talk-sanford-p

[RudynJack]

61. Oh, ferfucksake...

a magistrate is not a judge. And he was a magistrate in Virginia, not Florida. It's not like the cops heard his name and knew they were gonna be in front of his dad.

[pscot]

9. So do I

Don't shoot me, Bro.

[NatBurner]

10. anyone notice how the knock knock joker said "for toxicology purposes"

3 dozen times as a subliminal to the jury?

slimy

[Honeycombe8]

11. No, I didn't. What was he referring to..what were they talking about that gave him a reason

to say that? Do you recall?

[NatBurner]

16. he was asking irrelevant questions about where the ME draws blood from

"for toxicology purposes, you draw blood from the aorta?"

"so, for toxicology purposes, you do not draw blood from lateral sources?"

"therefore, for toxicology purposes, blah blah blah"

TM's toxicology report was ruled inadmissible, but lizard head managed to plant that seed pretty effectively

[NaturalHigh]

18. That's his job.

[NatBurner]

23. groovy

[Honeycombe8]

26. The jury will assume the toxicology tests were negative, then, I would think. nt

[John2]

13. I think that

you can detect THC in someone's system, even if they smoked it for a significant time ago. I think it stays in the system for awhile. There is no evidence marijuana makes you hostile. Just because they detected a small amount in his system, doesn't mean he was high at the time. Didn't he also get suspended recently because they found a pipe in his possession in Miami? How many young people claim they smoked marijuana also? It is very typical among his age. Marijuana has been legalized in some states also.

[Honeycombe8]

15. Oh, I agree with all that. Except I don't know how long it stays in teh system.

But as I recall my smoking days way back when.....pot makes people LESS likely to be aggressive or violent. And I and others got reeeeaaalllly sloooooooow, in speaking and behavior. And somewhat uncoordinated. I could've fought my way out of a paper bag, but it would've taken me forever to do it. And I would've found it very funny. And I would've been looking for a sugary treat in that paper bag!

[notadmblnd]

17. How much time had TM spent in the neighborhood?

Does anyone know if he visited there often? How familiar was he with the layout? GZ said he lived there for over 3 years and he claimed he didn't know the 3 streets names?

I go into a lot of cookie cutter neighborhoods where the homes all look alike and the street layout is confusing. Personally, I have to go into and area 3 or 4 times before I have confidence of being able to make my way around the neighborhood with out slowing down, looking around for landmarks that indicate I'm headed in the right direction. I've found myself wondering a couple of times when people bring up his "suspicious behavior". Could TM have been trying to get his bearings to find the house he was staying at?

[Honeycombe8]

22. Good point. It was pouring down rain and dark. nt

[HappyMe]

33. If Z is the big neighborhood prowler,

how is it he didn't know the names of the streets?

Trayvon's dad lived there, didn't he?

[notadmblnd]

43. That's something GZ has to answer.

GZ claimed he didn't know the name of the streets.

TM's dad did live in the neighborhood. IIRC with his GF. TM was there visiting. My question is basically; how familiar with the neighborhood was Trayvon?

How long has dad lived in the neighborhood?
How often did Trayvon visit?

A couple of times?
Every week for a year?

Was TM familiar enough with the neighborhood to be able to walk directly from the store to his father's house without having to look around to figure out where he was in the complex?


The defense has portrayed TM as walking slow and looking around, I was inquiring if the possible reason for the so called "suspicious behavior"- which was not suspicious at all if TM was not very familiar with the complex?

[HappyMe]

47. All good questions.

I would probably slow up and listen and look around a bit if I felt/knew somebody was following me.

The only person that can say for sure is dead.

[Skip Intro]

19. With pot I get nervous and paranoid, then relaxed. I know others who do become aggressive, though.

It appears to affect different people differently.

[pipi_k]

59. Absolutely!

It always did the same to me as well, which is why I never cared much for it unless I could counter the effects with alcohol.

Otherwise it was paranoia, fear, panic, extremely strange behavior, and more aggression than on alcohol alone or in combination with it.

[TheKentuckian]

20. I have to tend to agree with you but think the judge was right

The reality of marijuana and the prejudices especially in connection with a young black man might not meet in the minds of the jury.

Too many may be susceptible to bigoted stereotypes and/or drug war propaganda and overall it is probably pretty much closest to truth that it is not an important factor either way than to count on that jury to be rational about weed to actually consider it may have inhibited violent impulse.

Then you'd also have to dig into whether the kid was actually high or not at the time to have that impact and all that can of worms that a judge is not going to want to get caught up in on a tangent (or even if such concerns were central to a case because of the precedents that might reasonably evolve from such a ruling).

I doubt the state has much objection either, they don't want to chase down those conclusions to their logical ends.

[Honeycombe8]

21. Yeah, that makes sense. Esp since it was a tiny amount. nt

[Hubert Flottz]

42. I would have expected a pot smoker to be busy jumping out of upper story windows...

instead of anything else.

[lumpy]

44. It doesn't matter one damn bit if Trayvon had used pot. That doesn't prove

that he was a potential criminal. The police would be overwelmed with all the people who walk around with pot in their systems.

[Honeycombe8]

56. In my mind, pot in the system indicates a non-violent, more mellow state of mind.

Even at the end, when you're coming out of it. You're still left with a bit of a buzz, light headed, not fully coordinated. That's my recollection. But that was decades ago. The stuff today may not be as high quality. And a poster above says that some people get more aggressive on pot. I've never seen that, but I take his word for it.

[Rex]

24. So Zimmerman had a gun in his system.

We can see which drug won - the gun.

[notadmblnd]

31. Zimerman was on drugs that night.

According to Zimmerman, he was ADD or ADHD. He was probably on Adderall and Temazepam


http://skydancingblog.com/2012/05/15/george-zimmerman-had-closed-fracture-of-nose-was-taking-adderall-and-temazepam/

People have been known to use it for recreational purposes?

[lumpy]

49. The drug Zimmerman was using was far more dangerous; the drug of

inflated ambition to become the next national hero to have his mug slathered all over the media.

[Motown_Johnny]

25. Zimmerman said he was acting strangely

and if the jury hears that there was a tiny bit of THC in his system then then that might make it seem that maybe he was acting strangely because of it.

I think leaving this out is a win for the prosecution.

[Warpy]

30. Well, that tears it for the defense

Everybody knows pot smokers are largely passive and only dangerous to things like bags of Skittles.

[JustAnotherGen]

37. Corn chips too

Pot is dangerous to corn chips. And kit Kats. And for reason - menthol ciggy butts.

[Hubert Flottz]

48. A good muffin or brownie don't stand a chance around prowling pot smokers.

At least Zimmerman stopped the kid from making a zilch, or listening to John Prine with the volume on 10.

[Honeycombe8]

57. Honeybuns. Definitely Honeybuns. nt

[ChiciB1]

45. Well, Rumor Has It That GZ Was On

ADDERALL, the so called "college drug!" Which then would lend credence to the fact that since this is a form of amphetamine, GZ was OVERLY aggressive. That's what the drug does to most people!

Point in fact. Look at his weight back then, now look at his weight! But, wonder of wonders, GZ never got drug tested! I guess Sanford police "assumed" GZ was more believable as a so called white person, but of course TM, being black of course needed tested.

[notadmblnd]

50. In the old days, it was called Speed

Remember, the "Speed Kills!" public service announcements of the 70's?

[ChiciB1]

55. I DO Remember...

Too bad he didn't get drug tested, then that slogan applied here COULD NOT BE DENIED!

I can't put into words what I'm really feeling. This trial has totally turned my world upside down, and just thinking that GZ might get off has smoke rising out of my ears and out the top of my head!

Until very recently I completely stopped posting here. Given all the injustices I've seen out of D.C. and how "we the people" are getting screwed, I HAD to walk away. Little did I know that is would get much, much worse.

Living in Florida, this travesty hit me smack in the face! I'm no idiot and should have known how this would affect me, but no my sense of fairness wouldn't let me sit still.

AND NOW I feel lower than I've ever felt before. This kid or his family may never get any JUSTICE, rather JUST ICE!

But it's not this case alone that is leaving me feeling hopeless. The country I loved and grew up in has turned against "we the people" and I don't have a clue what to do about it. I've protested, signed petitions, joined marches, got involved locally but in the end I think all I have left (so far) is my vote!

My whole family always votes, but given where I live... it will stay VERY RED! This place is whiter than Sanford, and richer too. Unfortunately, I'm far from rich or wealthy. I just wait for the next idea to foment that will take even more away from my side of "we the people!"

[lumpy]

53. The way Zimmerman was processed seem to indicate that the police connected

in the initial steps in the process of the case were behaving as judge and jury.

[Honeycombe8]

58. They probably have some written protocol for processing shooters, don'tcha think? nt