By Evan S. Benn The Miami Herald
SANFORD -- Less than 12 hours after a marathon trial day that ran deep into the night, George Zimmerman's second-degree murder trial resumed Wednesday with Seminole Circuit Judge Debra Nelson making two key rulings in favor of the prosecution.
Defense attorneys will not be allowed to present to jurors texts and Facebook messages from Trayvon Martin's phone that mention fights and a desire to buy a gun. Nelson said there was no way to authenticate that the messages actually were written by Trayvon and not someone else who had access to his phone.
Additionally, jurors will not be able to weigh as evidence a computer-animated re-creation of what may have happened the night Zimmerman, 29, fatally shot Trayvon, 17. The defense-commissioned animation, which prosecutors successfully argued only showed Zimmerman's side of the story, looked like a computer game showing a Trayvon avatar walking up and punching Zimmerman's character.
Nelson said defense attorneys would be able to present the animation for demonstrative purposes, likely in their closing argument, but jurors will not consider it as evidence.
The defense is expected to rest its case today. Prosecutors will have an opportunity to call rebuttal witnesses if they choose. It is still unclear if Zimmerman will take the stand; Nelson instructed him Wednesday morning that his opportunity to decide whether he will testify is coming soon.
The case, which has been closely watched by civil rights groups who pushed for Zimmerman’s arrest, is in its third week of testimony. The six-member jury has been sequestered for the duration.
Meanwhile, when jurors returned to the fifth-floor Seminole County courthouse Wednesday after the judge’s rulings, defense testimony picked up with a former police officer and current private investigator named Dennis Root.
SANFORD -- Less than 12 hours after a marathon trial day that ran deep into the night, George Zimmerman's second-degree murder trial resumed Wednesday with Seminole Circuit Judge Debra Nelson making two key rulings in favor of the prosecution.
Defense attorneys will not be allowed to present to jurors texts and Facebook messages from Trayvon Martin's phone that mention fights and a desire to buy a gun. Nelson said there was no way to authenticate that the messages actually were written by Trayvon and not someone else who had access to his phone.
Additionally, jurors will not be able to weigh as evidence a computer-animated re-creation of what may have happened the night Zimmerman, 29, fatally shot Trayvon, 17. The defense-commissioned animation, which prosecutors successfully argued only showed Zimmerman's side of the story, looked like a computer game showing a Trayvon avatar walking up and punching Zimmerman's character.
Nelson said defense attorneys would be able to present the animation for demonstrative purposes, likely in their closing argument, but jurors will not consider it as evidence.
The defense is expected to rest its case today. Prosecutors will have an opportunity to call rebuttal witnesses if they choose. It is still unclear if Zimmerman will take the stand; Nelson instructed him Wednesday morning that his opportunity to decide whether he will testify is coming soon.
The case, which has been closely watched by civil rights groups who pushed for Zimmerman’s arrest, is in its third week of testimony. The six-member jury has been sequestered for the duration.
Meanwhile, when jurors returned to the fifth-floor Seminole County courthouse Wednesday after the judge’s rulings, defense testimony picked up with a former police officer and current private investigator named Dennis Root.