Lawyers ‘step back’ from Zimmerman
Say client hasn’t kept in contact, pressure causing unpredictability
Two attorneys drop from defense in Trayvon Martin case, saying client has not kept contact, is unpredictable,
Lawyers for George Zimmerman say they are “stepping back” from his defense in the killing of Trayvon Martin because they haven’t heard from him in two days and they fear “he may not be in complete control of what is going on.”
In a highly unusual news conference Tuesday, the lawyers who have been speaking on Zimmerman’s behalf said they have been unable to reach their client to discuss the case.
They said he has spoken without their knowledge to the Florida special prosecutor handling the inquiry into Trayvon’s death and independently set up a website to collect defense funds.
“He’s setting up websites and giving interviews,” said Craig Sonner, who until Tuesday had been describing himself as Zimmerman’s attorney. “I can’t hold myself out as his attorney when I haven’t spoken to him in two days.”
Angela Corey, the special prosecutor, said late Tuesday that she would make an announcement about the case within 72 hours. She did not specify what new development would be released. Corey said Monday she would decide whether to prosecute Zimmerman without taking the case to a grand jury.
Zimmerman, a member of his neighborhood watch in Sanford, Fla., has been in hiding out of fear for his safety after the Feb. 26 shooting. Zimmerman said the shooting was in self-defense; Trayvon was unarmed.
Police released Zimmerman the same night and declined to charge him, causing a furor in the community and national media. The case prompted several AfricanAmerican leaders from across the country to demand Zimmerman’s arrest.
Sonner and Hal Uhrig, Zimmerman’s lawyers, said the pressure has caused Zimmerman to behave in an unpredictable manner. According to relatives, he has lost weight and may be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, Uhrig said.
Sonner also said he had never met Zimmerman face to face, dealing with him by phone, e-mail and text messages. The arrangement made sense to them because of Zimmerman’s notoriety and security concerns, including death threats, Sonner and Uhrig said.
On Tuesday, Uhrig said, Zimmerman called Corey’s office and offered to talk to prosecutors without coun- sel. When prosecutors declined to speak to Zimmerman without his lawyers, “he told them, ‘They’re not my lawyers. They’re just my legal counsel,’ whatever difference there is,” Uhrig said.
Zimmerman also called Fox News and provided an interview, Uhrig said.
They said they had worked with Zimmerman’s father to set up a website and Paypal account for Zimmerman’s defense fund, only to learn that Zimmerman set up a separate account and website declaring all others to be fakes.
“I still believe he was acting in self-defense” on the night of the shooting, Sonner said. “I just can’t proceed to represent a client who doesn’t stay in contact in a case like this.”
Ben Crump, an attorney for Trayvon’s family, told the Associated Press that he’s concerned Zimmerman could be a flight risk.
“We’re just concerned that nobody knows where he is,” Crump said.