Update for clarity – I guess asking questions, and soliciting opinion about Mark O’Mara is now tantamount to attacking him ?   *WHISKEY*TANGO*FOXTROT*

No-where in this thread post is there an attack on Mark O’Mara.  To the contrary this is seeking an opinion based on known facts surrounding the case and the revelation that Mark O’Mara was a key decision maker in the agreement to financial settlement with the Martin family.   In short, it was O’Mara’s final nod -albeit perhaps reluctantly- that led to the settlement. 

My questions were/are about propriety, and conflict of interest, and do they exist against the backdrop of his involvement with civil litigation avoidance and his dual-role as criminal defense counsel;  And to what extent, if any, does that impact the criminal proceedings.

Yes,  I personally was surprised to find out that O’Mara would be the one to make the final decision on the settlement agreement with the estate of Trayvon Martin.   In my mind it brings many questions to the surface about appropriate representation.   However, I was actually seeking opinion as to whether or not this fact of O’Mara’s affiliation presents an issue – or not.

The knee-jerk reaction to view such questions as an attack merely solidify my worry that this is indeed an issue.    The responses which reflect a preference not to believe in such a relationship exists cement the concern.   Apparently, this is a troubling digestion for many people and avoidance is easier than reconciliation.   That is unnerving.

Last August we brought you the information about the potential lawsuits by the scheme team against the HOA, and their insurance carriers, for the Retreat at Twin Lakes – The location of the Trayvon Martin shooting.    The contacts went into negotiations and a holding pattern pending the outcome and/or progress of the criminal trial. (more…)

I wonder which “court” this is referring to?

SANFORD — Trayvon Martin’s parents settled a wrongful-death claim Friday against the homeowners association of the Sanford subdivision where their teenage son was killed.

Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin’s attorney, Benjamin Crump, filed the suit against the Retreat at Twin Lakes subdivision.

Crump asked that the agreement remain confidential. However, the court has decided that there is no reason for the agreement to remain confidential, and is giving Crump 10 days to appeal that decision.

We have learned, that the homeowners association’s insurance company did not have to pay out a claim on the case. (read more)

“All we want is an arrest, we only want an arrest”……

Within 3 days of Trayvon Martin’s death his family hired a media consulting firm.   Within two weeks of Trayvon Martin’s death his mother, Sybrina Fulton, filed legal documents to trademark his name.   Subsequently Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton set out on a cross country tour to collect money.  After the coast to coast tour, they took the scheme international and headed to Europe to continue exploiting the financial opportunity.  [link]

(more…)

The Orlando Sentinel weighs in on the recent filings in the George Zimmerman case.

Benjamin Crump:  Resist we must, and we much, about that, be committed….

ORLANDO – Attorneys for George Zimmerman Thursday asked an appeals court to reverse the decision of a Sanford judge and allow them to make Benjamin Crump, the attorney for Trayvon Martin‘s family, answer their questions under oath.

It is a battle defense attorneys have been fighting – and losing – for months.

They twice asked Circuit Judge Debra S. Nelson to allow them to depose Crump, and she twice said no, most recently one week ago.

Now, they’ve asked the Fifth District Court of Appeal in Daytona Beach to overturn her decision. (more…)

The State of Florida has filed a response to the defense sanctions motion regarding their attempt to block videotaping of Witness #8 “DeeDee” during deposition in the George Zimmerman Case.

The response motion to the court is filled with a laugh out loud admission of their incompetence in the attempt to block videotaping.   Bernie De La Rionda opines that he never paid any attention to the “intent to videotape” the deposition and whines that no-one else was video taped – therefore he didn’t expect it.

READ FULL RESPONSE HERE.

BDLR compains that he should not be sanctioned for his obstruction – despite the court ruling that videotaping was appropriate and the defense team adequately informed the State of their intention ahead of deposition session.

(more…)

Writ of Certiorari – A writ of certiorari is an order a higher court issues in order to review the decision and proceedings in a lower court and determine whether there were any irregularities.

Mark O’Mara and Don West have filed a motion for 5th Circuit Appellate court review regarding Judge Nelson’s prior rulings blocking Trayvon Martin family attorney, Benjamin Crump from deposition. (more…)

Sometimes it helps to just look at what was being said and espoused. Contrast what is stated and claimed in this video against the known truth – CLICK HERE  (there’s a full transcript at the link)

Excerpt below: (more…)

Remember, the approach never changes:   Isolate – Ridicule – Marginalize 

(repeat as needed)

(VIA BEN JEALOUS) One year later, the Trayvon Martin tragedy still stings – and some people are still throwing salt on the open wound. Last week George Zimmerman’s brother, Robert Zimmerman, posted a tweet comparing Trayvon Martin to De’Marquis Elkins, 17-year-old black teenager charged with fatally shooting a one-year-old baby.

The tweet showed a photo of Elkins side by side with a photo of Martin, both making inappropriate gestures, with the caption “A picture speaks a thousand words. Any questions?”

Zimmerman’s follow-up tweet read “Lib[eral] media [should] ask if what these [two] black teens did [to] a [woman and her baby] is the reason [people] think blacks might [be] risky”. The implication was that Trayvon Martin’s actions on the night he was murdered were equivalent to the killing of an innocent child. (more…)

The following article is a highlight submitted to the mailroom and presented by reader/contributor “Ackbarsays” Such a great job was done in presentation that we’ll just present it as it was submitted, including commentary by Ackbarsays, and you can determine for yourself the agenda at play.   This example cuts to many of the central issues surrounding stories you are seeing under current headlines.

Ackbarsays (ABS) Writes: This article concerns Bethune Cookman University. You’ll remember them because a group of BCU students famously marched from downtown Daytona Beach to Sanford during the height of the whole Zimmerman lynch-fest last year.   This private university of less than 3600 students is asking (demanding?) they be allowed to establish their own police force, answerable to the school president rather than the local police chief. Note that they try to cover their real intentions by saying that this is about student safety (an “added layer of protection” from “violent shooters”).  I highlighted a few things and added a few notes:

DAYTONA BEACH — Bethune-Cookman University could have its own independent police force in about five months, an autonomous law enforcement agency that would report to the school’s president — not the city’s police chief.

That’s the hope of top B-CU officials who have been talking to city officials and working on a proposed agreement they would like city commissioners to vote on within the next month.

“As we looked across the country at the number of violent shooters, the Board of Trustees felt we needed an added layer of protection,” said Cheryl Lawson-Young, B-CU’s crime prevention and compliance manager. (more…)

(The following guest post is from Jello333 – presented in it’s entirety)

I know we all enjoyed watching Bernie go off the deep end in his response to the sanctions motions. But to make things even better, it appears that the meltdown may have been helped along by some things Sundance has done. And not only did Bernie make a fool of himself, but much more importantly this could have a real impact on the case as we move forward.

You all know there’s been a pretty major rift here at the Treehouse over Mark O’Mara. Some of it has to do with the feelings by some here that he isn’t always forceful enough in his defense of George, and that he sometimes goes off on tangents that don’t seem helpful (like saying “We should have a discussion about race”). But another major issue has been how MOM handled the whole PayPal Fiasco way back when.

Some people here thought it was a big deal; others not so much. But regardless, most of us agreed that it probably WAS something that the prosecution was hoping to use as some kind of leverage over him. (more…)