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O’Mara said he plans to use the animation as part of his closing argument for demonstrative purposes — the judge said she will allow that — but jurors will be instructed not to consider it as substantive evidence.
Wednesday’s testimony centered on a law-enforcement trainer and former police officer who said, based on the case records he reviewed, Zimmerman’s self-defense claims seem correct.
Zimmerman was “physically lacking compared to Mr. Martin,” the witness, Dennis Root, said.
It was his opinion that after 40 seconds of being on the losing end of a violent scuffle, Zimmerman had no other option but to shoot Trayvon.
“Forty seconds is an eternity when you’re involved in any physical conflict,” Root said. “You only have so much gas in the tank.”
Root’s time on the witness stand included attorneys from both sides straddling a foam dummy to demonstrate what the fight between Zimmerman and Trayvon may have looked like.
O’Mara got on top of the life-size dummy and, with both his hands on its shoulders, repeatedly bashed its head into the ground, as Zimmerman claims Trayvon did to him.
On cross-examination, prosecutor John Guy was more gentle in straddling the figure, getting Root to acknowledge that Trayvon may have been on top of Zimmerman but trying to pull away when he was shot.
Several jurors stood to get a better view of the attorneys’ demonstrations.
Wednesday, the 12th day of testimony in the trial, followed a marathon day of legal wrangling that ran well into the night on Tuesday. It ended with the judge abruptly calling an end to the proceedings just before 10 p.m. as attorneys from both sides began to bicker with each other. The judge walked out of court while defense attorney Don West pleaded with her.
“Judge, I’m not physically able to keep up this pace much longer,” West said to Nelson’s back.
The two had another tense exchange Wednesday. The judge asked Zimmerman if he wanted to testify, and West objected, saying they needed more time to discuss it. Nelson overruled, tried to ask Zimmerman her question, and West objected again.
“I’m asking your client a question,” Nelson said. “Please, Mr. West. Over. Ruled.”
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