Zimmerman Won’t Use 'Stand Your Ground' Law Before Trial
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George Zimmerman, the Florida neighborhood watch leader who is accused of killing teenager Trayvon Martin, told a judge Tuesday that he will not be seeking an immunity hearing under the state’s “Stand Your Ground” defense-law. 
(George Zimmerman/ Wiki Commons)
Zimmerman told the judge that he was aware that he was giving up the right to a hearing before his second-degree murder trial in June. In an immunity hearing a judge would determine if Zimmerman was liable in the shooting, whereas a jury would make the decision in a murder trial.
The Washington Post reported that Zimmerman’s attorney, Mark O’Mara told the judge that there was no rule in the law that required the immunity hearing to occur before the trial and asked for the prosecutors to have presented their case first.
“We’d much rather have the jury address the issue of criminal liability or lack thereof,” O’Mara said.
Originally Zimmerman had pleaded not guilty and claimed self-defense to fatally shooting Martin in February 2012 in a Sanford gated community in Florida.
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