The Daily Populous Thursday February 17th, 2022 day edition
Authored by apnews.com and submitted by mushpuppy

George Zimmerman looks at information on a laptop during jury selection in his trial in Seminole circuit court in Sanford, Fla., June 20, 2013. A judge in Florida has dismissed a defamation and conspiracy lawsuit former neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman had filed against the parents of Trayvon Martin, the teen he fatally shot almost a decade ago in a case that drew international attention about race and gun violence. (Gary Green/Orlando Sentinel via AP, Pool)

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A judge in Florida has dismissed a defamation and conspiracy lawsuit former neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman had filed against the parents of Trayvon Martin, the teen he fatally shot almost a decade ago in a case that drew international attention about race and gun violence.

Judge John Cooper in Tallahassee dismissed all counts against all defendants in the lawsuit filed by Zimmerman against Martin’s parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin; attorney Ben Crump, who had represented the family; and others.

In his order, the judge wrote that Zimmerman had failed to show “any fraudulent representation” and said any further arguments in the case would be futile.

“There can be no claim for conspiracy to defraud if there is no adequately stated claim for fraud,” Cooper wrote in the order filed more than two weeks ago.

The other defendants in the lawsuit included HarperCollins Publishers, which had published a book Martin’s parents wrote about the case; Brittany Diamond Eugene; and Rachel Jeantel.

According to Zimmerman’s lawsuit, Brittany Diamond Eugene didn’t want to testify that she had been talking to Martin before he was killed. So her half-sister, Rachel Jeantel, pretended that she was talking to the teen before he was fatally shot. Jeantel ended up testifying at Zimmerman’s 2013 trial in Sanford, Florida.

The lawsuit claimed that Trayvon Martin’s parents, along with Crump, participated in the conspiracy in an effort to get charges filed against Zimmerman, have him tried and “destroy his good will and reputation in he community.” Zimmerman also claimed the defendants portrayed him as a racist murderer who racially profiled Martin. Martin was Black. Zimmerman’s father is white and his mother is Hispanic.

Zimmerman was acquitted during a 2013 trial, which focused attention on race and Florida’s “stand your ground” self-defense law that allows people to use force without retreating if they feel threatened.

The case was originally filed in 2019 in state court in central Florida’s Polk County, but it was later transferred to state court in Tallahassee to accommodate some of the participants.

Aurion7 on February 17th, 2022 at 00:56 UTC »

Killed their kid, sued them for saying he killed their kid, auctioned off the gun he used to kill said kid... he's a real winner through and through.

If there were a 'Gigantic Shitbag' award, he'd be the 2010s winner. Which is fucking saying something, honestly.

amc7262 on February 16th, 2022 at 20:16 UTC »

Ironic that it was a defamation/slander suit, and the suit itself had done more to sully his name than Trayvon's parents ever did.

I mean, dude, if you don't wanna look like a racist piece of shit, maybe don't sue the parents of the kid you shot dead? Not a good look.

DonRicardo1958 on February 16th, 2022 at 20:01 UTC »

He kills their kid and then sues them?