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Zimmerman trial for Trayvon Martin murder commences with jury selection
Martin’s death drew an expression of sympathy from President Barack Obama, and sparked a debate on “stand your ground” laws in Florida and other gun-friendly states.
Zimmerman was later arrested and faces life in prison if convicted. In the end, he opted not to base his defense on the “stand your ground” law.
If he did, it would have required him to reveal much of his pre-trial strategy to prosecutors. Instead, he is mounting a traditional self-defense case.
He argues Martin attacked him and left him with a bloodied head; he has shown photos as evidence of this.
Jury selection is expected to take several days because of the case’s notoriety and the difficulty of finding people who can examine the case as objectively as possible.
“I don’t believe there can be someone in this city that can be open-minded enough to be a juror in this case,” said paralegal Sheena Rowland, who lives in Sanford.
Nicolas Dorsten, a lawyer specializing in “stand your ground” cases, said both sides will struggle to find objective jurors.
