George Zimmerman Trial Date: Murder Case Going To The Jury

In a short hearing, a Florida judge this morning scheduled the George Zimmerman murder trial to begin on June 10.

Zimmerman, a former neighborhood watch captain, has been charged with second-degree murder for fatally shooting Trayvon Martin, 17, on February 26 after confronting the teenager as he walked back to the house where he was staying in a gated community outside of Orlando, Florida. Zimmerman has entered a plea of not guilty on self-defense grounds.

George Zimmerman himself did not appear in court this morning for the trial date scheduling.

The Orlando Sentinel provides the specifics:

“This morning, Circuit Judge Debra Nelson set Zimmerman’s trial for June 10. Attorneys in the case said they estimate the trial will last three weeks. Prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda said he expected jury selection would take longer than the trial itself.”

Zimmerman’s lawyers have also accused the prosecution of withholding needed evidence in the so-called discovery process. A separate hearing is set for later this week on evidentiary matters.

In a separate legal action, George Zimmerman’s wife Shellie is facing perjury charges for allegedly lying about about the couple’s finances during a bond hearing. No trial date on that charge has been set however.

According to USA Today, lead attorney Mark O’Mara is not completely sanguine about the June 10 trial date:

“June makes sense because it gives us a target date. I have no idea between now and then if we’ll be ready. We’re going to try to be ready.”

Do you think the George Zimmerman trial will be conducting in a way that is fair to both sides, or will it turn out to be a circus like some other high-profile legal case?