[FONT=times new roman, times][FONT=times new roman, times]Although Judge Debra Nelson ruled against the inclusion of almost any negative information about Martin in the upcoming trial, the defense had managed to get much of that information into the public sphere. CNN, for instance, headlined its article on the May 28 ruling "Marijuana, fights, guns: Zimmerman loses key pretrial battles." Below the headline was a photo of the young Martin, a near-saint only months back, recycling a lungful of marijuana smoke. If nothing else, the media were catching on to Martin's less than saintly behavior.[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=times new roman, times]
[FONT=times new roman, times]The media missed, however, O'Mara's reference to homelessness and Martin's attitude towards it. O'Mara informed Judge Nelson that Martin had a keen interest in fighting and that he had video proof of the same. The charmless Nelson made one of her rare stabs at humor by implying that if attendance at a fight were proof of criminality, half of America would be in jail.[/FONT]
[FONT=times new roman, times]O'Mara countered by saying that Martin not only attended fights, but that he also recorded them on video, including "one where two buddies of his are beating up a homeless guy." The video recorded a crime. The State of Florida had had this video in possession for months and took no follow-up action. As O'Mara made clear at the most recent hearing, the State had concealed critical evidence all along. He even produced a whistleblower from the state attorney's office to hammer home his point.[/FONT]
[FONT=times new roman, times]Judge Nelson made no comment on the beating of the homeless man. She had a case to misdirect, and she wasn't about to quibble over something as insignificant as justice.[/FONT]
[/FONT]