Trayvon Martin’s Cellphone Pics Will Not Be Used In Trial

It represents a battle between the two sides of what images of the two central figures in the case will prevail. Zimmerman’s attorney is seeking to make Trayvon Martin out to be some ne’er-do-well thug so sinister that a jury could readily understand why a neighborhood watch volunteer like Zimmerman might reasonably shoot and kill him.

To that end, O’Mara and the defense team have worked feverishly — even into the three-day Memorial Day weekend — to release photos of Trayvon with gold teeth, of information regarding the teenager’s marijuana use as well as revelations of him fighting or being suspended from his high school.

The problem with the O’Mara strategy, however, is not only that the judge has ruled against allowing such information to be a part of the opening arguments. The larger problem is the fact that it is George Zimmerman and not Trayvon Martin who will be on trial in the Seminole County Court.

And there are questions about Zimmerman’s character and temperament what will be central to the case. His life is a history with its own unflattering and sordid episodes. It was Zimmerman, after all, who pursued the teenager after being advised by a law-enforcement official by phone not to do so. It was Zimmerman who routinely made disparaging remarks about African-Americans, a witness said. It was Zimmerman who had a previous incident in which he was arrested for assaulting a police officer, even though the charges were dropped.

It is expected that lawyers for a man who is fighting second-degree murder charges would do anything to keep their client out of jail. But in their case, the methods have amounted to little more than unprincipled chicanery.

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