Lawyers for George Zimmerman today filed a motion asking the jury in his upcoming trial over the shooting death of Trayvon Martin be anonymous. The motion is here.

It's pretty unusual for a defendant (as opposed to the prosecution) to ask for an anonymous jury (sometimes called an innominate jury.) Will the state object? In at least one case, that of an outlaw motorcycle gang, the state defended a judge's discretion to order an innominate jury. (An innominate jury is one in which all information about the jurors is disclosed to the parties, with the exception of the jurors' names, addresses, and exact place of work. Some courts use the term "innominate," instead of "anonymous" because anonymous connotes a "clandestine, forbidden, and obscure" jury panel.)

Among the factors that may warrant an anonymous/innominate jury in Florida is where "extensive publicity that could enhance the possibility that jurors’ names would become public and expose them to intimidation and harassment."
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In related news, the state filed a motion to continue to depose Shellie Zimmerman. The motion is available here. Her lawyer intervened during her initial deposition and asserted her fifth amendment privilege. He also said she had not been endorsed as a witness, with which O'Mara and Don West agreed. The state claims O'Mara did endorse her (it refers to his witness list, where she does not appear as a named witness) and even if he didn't, it has a right under another statute to depose her.

How is it possible that the defense says it did not list her and the state says it did? The state says it listed her as a potential witness, after which the defense filed a witness list that included (the standard refrain) that it reserves the right to call “any witness identified through State’s discovery not otherwise disclosed herein”. I'm no expert on Florida deposition rules (Florida is one of the few states that allow pre-trial depositions in criminal cases) but I think it's an incredible stretch to claim the defense, by reserving its right to call a witness named by the state (whom the state could decide not to call) is a listed defense witness.
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My opinion: State fail on this one. I just wonder why Shellie's lawyer initially agreed to the deposition and didn't invoke her 5th Amendment rights at the outset. Had he refused to make her available citing her 5th Amendment rights, the state would have had to issue a subpoena and he could then have filed a motion to quash.

In addition to their network reporter, the front row will also contain NBC's O&O from Miami and another NBC broadcast affiliate.

It's kind of strange and amusing to see Mr. Knechel listed under his internet name, or "nom de series of tubes", as the late Senator Stevens might have put it.

As I understand it, where who is seated was determined by lottery, so all that NBC-ness right behind Zimmerman is just co-incidence.

I would have also argued that special circumstances (publicity, security concerns, costs) of the case justify a pre-trial appeal of a discovery order, citing the case involving the pre-trial appeal of the change of venue order in the case where the cop shot a black guy riding at him on a motorcycle. The point is that the case law precedent says something like "discovery orders are not ordinarily appealable before trial." I would have stressed that this is far from an ordinary case. I would have also presented MJW's arguments regarding the absence of common law privilege in Florida and the differing sources of work product in criminal and civil cases, and also argued that GZ's constitutional rights trump any work product.

My Attorney Bernie by Blossom Dearie

Announcing KimmyK's appointment to the position of "Rumpole's Mole" (2nd class) (Assistant assigned to Crap Watchers

Buzz builds over jury notices for George Zimmerman trial

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Oliver, who led protests last year pushing for Zimmerman’s arrest, said she wants a fair trial for both sides.

Buzz builds over jury notices for George Zimmerman trial

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Oliver, who led protests last year pushing for Zimmerman’s arrest, said she wants a fair trial for both sides.