George Zimmerman's defense has released several new documents, most notably a motion from prosecutors, who want to know whether or not there will still be a "Stand Your Ground" hearing.
Zimmerman's lawyers requested a hearing last year to determine if Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law applied in the case. Zimmerman claimed he acted in self-defense when he shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in February 2012. Martin was unarmed, but Zimmerman said the teen attacked him.
But in March, the defense said it did not need the two weeks in April that the court had set aside for the "Stand Your Ground" hearing.
Still, the prosecution wants to make sure George Zimmerman understands this.
They are requesting Zimmerman personally appear in court next Tuesday to be questioned, to make sure he understands that if there is no Stand Your Ground hearing, Zimmerman can't use that defense to get his second-degree murder charge dropped once the trial starts.
Tom Sadaka, an attorney with legal analyst Mark NeJame’s law firm, says the state is working to firm up its case against George Zimmerman.
“And I think the state is trying to get some type of predictability, from the defense with the assistance of the court, to say where they will be going with their defense in this case,” Sadaka said.
Other new documents included notices that the state took depositions between April 16 and 18 of the following witnesses:
- Robert Zimmerman Sr. (George's father)
- Gladys Zimmerman (George's mother)
- Robert Zimmerman Jr. (George's brother)
- Mark Osterman
- Sondra Osterman
- Frank Taffee
- Unnamed "Witness V."
The next court hearing in the case is scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday, April 30, at the Seminole County Courthouse.