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Tuesday, April 10, 2012

George Zimmerman's attorneys withdraw from Trayvon Martin case







George Zimmerman's lawyers say that they are withdrawing as his counsel because they have lost contact with him.
By Jeff Black, msnbc.com
Updated at 5:21 p.m. ET: The attorneys for George Zimmerman, the Florida community watch volunteer who fatally shot unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin, said Tuesday they have lost touch with their client and are withdrawing from the case.
Craig Sonner and Hal Uhrig said at a news conference outside the Seminole County Courthhouse in Sanford, Fla., that they heard that Zimmerman had contacted a special prosecutor, who will decide whether or not to press charges against him, against their advice.

They said they have not talked to Zimmerman, whose location is not known, in at least two days but in the past had spoken with him over the phone. “We can’t represent him unless he comes forward and asks us,” Uhrig said.


"We have a pretty good idea where he (Zimmerman) is," Uhrig said, but added that Zimmerman is not answering the phone. The attorneys said they thought Zimmerman was still in the United States, but not likely in Florida.
Uhrig said Zimmerman had called Fox News talk show host Sean Hannity, which also worried them. "We believe he spoke directly to Sean," Uhrig said. Fox News representative Dana Klinghoffer declined to elaborate to NBC News on the nature of Zimmerman's relationship with Hannity, saying it would be addressed on the show.
The attorneys said they still believe in Zimmerman's story that he was attacked by Martin and fired in self-defense.
The attorneys also expressed concern about Zimmerman's "emotional and physical safety" and said he may be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. They also have reservations about a website Zimmerman set up to solicit money for help in his defense.

NBC News
The attorneys for George Zimmerman, Hal Uhrig, foreground, and Craig Sonner at a news conference on Tuesday.
"Him setting up his own website is fine," Sonner said. "I wish he would have told me.” Sonner, the first attorney Zimmerman contacted, said he had been working on the case for free.
Zimmerman, whose father is white and his mother Hispanic, says he shot Martin, who was black, in self-defense Feb. 26 after following him in a gated community in Sanford.
Uhrig said that evidence, including a broken nose sustained by Zimmerman, confirms Zimmerman's account of what transpired the night Martin was shot.
“All the evidence that has come out is consistent with the story that George Zimmerman has told,” Uhrig said. He said Martin supporters have focused on "driving racial divisions" in the community.
Natalie Jackson, an attorney for the Martin family, responded to the news conference with a statement obtained by NBC News.
"These attorneys continue to make irresponsible statement to the media," Jackson said. "Not only have they spoken recklessly about racial issues, enflaming passions and reinforcing sterotypes, but now they have throw their own client, George Zimmerman, under the bus by allluding to his possible flight from justice."
"The family is very concerned he's (Zimmerman) unaccounted for, the killer of their son. It all begs the question of whether he will ever be brought to justice," Benjamin Crump, another Martin family attorney, told NBC News.
The lack of an arrest or charges in the case has sparked protests nationwide with many claiming that Zimmerman confronted Martin because of his race. Zimmerman's supporters deny that.
Special prosecutor Angela Corey is investigating the fatal shooting in Florida. She said on Monday said she would not convene a grand jury probe. The U.S. Justice Department is also looking into the case.
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