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Friday, March 29, 2024 | Back issues
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Jury Selection Begins in|Zimmerman Murder Trial

SANFORD, Fla. (CN) - Jury selection begins today for the second-degree murder trial of George Zimmerman, who is accused of shooting to death unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin last year.

Zimmerman, a Neighborhood Watch volunteer, killed Martin on Feb. 26, 2012.

The killing made worldwide headlines, as Florida declined to prosecute Zimmerman for six weeks. He claimed he justifiably killed Martin, an African American, under Florida's so-called "stand your ground" law.

Seminole County Judge Debra Nelson heard arguments on evidence in a three-day hearing from Thursday through last Saturday, and had not ruled on some points by this morning.

Still undecided is whether jurors will hear testimony from voice recognition experts. A 911 tape of the incident features someone shouting for help, but it is unclear who.

Judge Nelson said that the evidential hearing will continue after jury selection begins today.

Zimmerman's attorneys are trying to exclude the tapes, claiming the state's experts will need to use unsound science to identify the voice heard screaming for help. The defense wants the prosecutors' voice recognition experts barred from testifying.

Florida law states that for technology to be admissible it has to be accepted in that particular field. Zimmerman's attorneys claim that technology does not satisfy the law.

The experts' testimony may be important, as it could demonstrate who was the aggressor, and could undermine Zimmerman's self-defense claim.

Two of the state's experts say the voice does not match Zimmerman's and is likely Martin's voice.

Zimmerman's attorney say the voice cannot be positively identified because the voice is in distress and a screaming voice is different from a normal one.

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