WOW! If the amount of money they had secured from the website was immaterial, they obviously wouldn't have felt the need to lie about it and use code words during tape recorded jail conversations to understate the amount of it. The reason they conspired and lied is precisely to obtain a lower bail amount. Tell the Judge you are broke when you aren't to getter a lower bail. If you lie under oath in court to basically con a judge, you don't have credibility. That's a criminal offense. There are no if's, and's or but's about that. Zimmerman used the money for personal expenses as well so he DAMN sure knew the money wasn't only for legal defense.
Setting the case aside, the disturbing aspect is the judge is setting bail to a persons finances. It shouldn't matter if he had $1 or a million.
Sure it should. Bail should be set to ensure that the person will show up in court, someone who has $1 million wouldn't bat an eye at losing $10,000 of that if it meant they could go free and potentially run from the law. That person's bail should be set much higher to reduce the flight risk, that is what bail is all about.
Not good Zimm Zimms not good at all. _____ Zimmerman's wife, allegedly used small transfers to hide finances Records show that in the days before an April bond hearing for her husband, Shellie Zimmerman, 25, transferred $74,000 in eight smaller amounts ranging from $7,500 to $9,990, from her husband's credit union account to hers, according to an arrest affidavit. It also shows that $47,000 was transferred from George Zimmerman's account to his sister's in the days before the bond hearing. Shellie Zimmerman testified at the hearing that the couple, who married in 2007, had limited funds for bail because she was a full-time student and her husband wasn't working. As a result, George Zimmerman was released on $150,000 bond. Four days later, Shellie Zimmerman transferred more than $85,500 from her account into her husband's account, the affidavit said. The affidavit also said jail call records show that George Zimmerman instructed her to "pay off all the bills," including an American Express and Sam's Club card. Prosecutors say the couple actually had then already raised $135,000 in donations from a website George Zimmerman created. They suggested more had been raised since then. Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester ordered Zimmerman returned to the Seminole County Jail and revoked his bond June 1. He has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the teen's slaying. A state attorney investigator met with credit union officials and learned she had control of transfers to and from her husband's account. Jeffrey Neiman, a former federal prosecutor now in private practice, said cash transactions in excess of $10,000 usually trigger a reporting requirement by the bank to multiple government agencies — including the IRS. "If Mrs. Zimmerman intentionally structured the financial transactions in a manner to keep the offense under $10,000, not only may she have committed perjury in the state case, but she also may have run afoul of several federal statutes and could face serious federal criminal charges," Neiman wrote in an email to The Associated Press. Shellie Zimmerman was asked about the website at the hearing, but she said she didn't know how much money had been raised. Lester set the $150,000 bail and Zimmerman was freed a few days later after posting $15,000 in cash — which is typical. Zimmerman and his wife discussed the amount of money raised from the website and Zimmerman spoke in code to tell his wife how to make fund transfers, according to the transcript. The code referred to amounts of "$15" in place of "$150,000." full article
LOL, so desperate for a conviction that you are reading into this too much. Talking in code? George asked his wife how much money they had. She replied "155." That's some code, I had no idea they were talking about money. The site was known to prosecutors, to the general public since practically day one. This was not a secret bank account, this was a fund established specifically to pay his defense team. I can imagine GZ having some hesitation considering the charges he was faced. Oh, but you wouldn't have done the same thing if you or your husband were on trial for a murder you did not think they are guilty of. Lying under oath wasn't meant to con the judge, it was so they could keep the money they needed to pay for a good defense team (although one really isn't needed considering the circumstances). Of course it was wrong, but it doesn't prove or even suggest he is guilty. He did not commit perjury. He did not talk in "code." Had he of notified the court they would/should not have taken more money since they never considered him a danger to himself/the public/ or a flight risk. Gladiator, that isn't how the system works. 8th Amendment protects us from excessive bail. Bail is not a source for public revenue. In this country you are INNOCENT until proven guilty. Making more money is not an excuse for the court to take more from you.
That is exactly how the system works. The definition of "excessive bail" is different for a homeless man than it is for George Soros or Bill Gates. In addition, bail money is returned to the party that posted it once the defendant appears in court for trial, so even if the bail was set at $10 trillion, the only thing the court would get out of it is interest on the money once they deposit it in the bank.
No that is not. Your bail is not determined by your finances. It's based solely on the crime and the danger to the public. That is why you see TRUE indigents, I am talking about street walkers, who have higher bails. The court had no reason to believe GZ was a threat and therefore set the bail amount accordingly.
You're wrong, you don't know what you're talking about... "The purpose of a bail hearing is to decide whether the defendant should be released from custody prior to trial, not to argue the facts of the case itself. At the hearing, the judge will consider a variety of bail factors, including the nature of the crime(s) and the defendant's character, criminal history, financial resources and community ties." http://www.yourlegalguide.com/bail/
You are talking out of your ass. Those are factors, but so are finances. It is designed to entice you come get your money back, thus limiting flight risk.
I didn't say it was based on the case. I said it was based on the crime. If I did I mistyped. Bail is set to reflect the danger of the accused to the public. The facts of the case are relevant in that sense only, which is what I said. Financial resources are relevant only to determine if there is a risk of flight, which is why your character and community ties are investigated. I know exactly what I am talking about. The 100,000 wouldn't have made a big difference on his bail amount.
You said... "Your bail is not determined by your finances." And, while it is not the only factor, it is one that is considered when determining the probability that the defendant will flee. Zimmerman and his wife lied to the court about their finances, which damages their credibility and increases the flight risk, which is the reason that bail was revoked and Zimmerman is now in a cell. I am glad that you are walking back your inane comment, but you should just walk it back all the way and admit that you were wrong.
Lying doesn't increase your flight risk. This was not a secret bank account. This was a fund known to the public since day 1. I was not wrong. Finances still have little to do with bail hearings. They determine if your flight risk factor and your finances make it a risk for you to be on bail.
I am not a lawyer but from my knowledge the financial resources available to someone in custody is a factor in bail. The danger of the accused to the public means that bail should be to a level that will be a financial impediment to flight from trial. So a millionaire is likely to have a much higher bail than someone earning minimum wage for the same crime because the financial impediment for flight is different. As noted bail money is returned once a defendant shows up at trial. Anyway the fact that Zimmerman's wife has been arrested for perjury over this shows that their financial status was considered an important factor in the bail hearing.
Lying does increase flight risk. If you are lying about something, it decreases your credibility. It isn't just about the account (which was supposedly in a trust they couldn't touch), its about the wife moving around money in an intentional effort to hide that they had that much money. I don't know if that is money from the account they supposedly couldn't access or if that money is separate. They went through a great deal of effort to conceal the amount of cash they had readily available.
It is considered, but only if they are a flight risk. GZ wasn't considered a flight risk. He cooperated from the get-go. Higher bails are set to people with higher flight risks, regardless of their finances. If GZ was a flight risk and he reported the 100,000 would his bail have gone up? No. He was not a flight risk so his bail was not set high.
Why then did they even bother arresting Shellie Zimmerman on perjury charges? If the Zimmerman's finances weren't relevant? Finances are a factor in determining flight risk.
