Zimmerman bail hearing next week in Florida shooting

Trayvon Martin Shooter George Zimmerman Charged Wi
George Zimmerman, left, appears for a bond hearing with his attorney Mark O'Mara at the John E. Polk Correctional Facility April 12, 2012 in Sanford, Florida. Zimmerman was charged with second degree murder in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, who died Feb. 26, 2012.
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By TAMARA LUSH and GREG BLUESTEIN, Associated Press

SANFORD, Fla. (AP) -- Trayvon Martin's supporters fought for weeks to win an arrest after the 17-year-old was fatally shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer in Florida. Now George Zimmerman's attorney has begun what could be a lengthy legal battle to free his client from the second-degree murder charge filed in the case.

The first step for Zimmerman attorney Mark O'Mara will be to try to get his client out of jail while the legal process continues. A hearing for the 28-year-old probably will be held on April 20 to determine if he will be allowed to post bail and leave jail, O'Mara said late Thursday.

Earlier Thursday, Zimmerman stood straight and held his shaved head high during a four-minute hearing at a jailhouse courtroom while prosecutors briefly outlined their murder case in court papers.

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O'Mara said his client's appearance and demeanor belies what he is going through.

Trayvon Martin Shooter George Zimmerman Charged Wi
Mark O'Mara, top at center, attorney for defendant George Michael Zimmerman, is surrounded by the news media outside the John E. Polk Correctional Facility in Sanford, Fla., after Zimmermanan's first court appearance was held inside on April 12, 2012.
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"He is tired. He has gone through some tribulations," said O'Mara after the court appearance. "He is facing second-degree murder charges now. He is frightened. That would frighten any of us."

Zimmerman did not enter a plea during the hearing, although O'Mara previously said his client ultimately will plead not guilty. Zimmerman will be able to enter a plea during his May 29 arraignment.

At some point soon, O'Mara also is expected to ask the judge for a hearing on Florida's "stand your ground" self-defense law, which gives people a broad right to use deadly force without having to retreat from a fight.

"It is going to be a facet of this defense, I'm sure," he said in an interview. "That statute has some troublesome portions to it, and we're now going to have some conversations and discussions about it as a state. But right now it is the law of Florida and it is the law that is going to have an impact on this case."

For all the relief among civil rights activists over the arrest, legal experts warned there is a real chance the case could get thrown out before it ever goes to trial because of the "stand your ground" law.

At a pretrial hearing, Zimmerman's lawyers would only have to prove by a preponderance of evidence -- a relatively low legal standard -- that he acted in self-defense in order to get a judge to toss out the second-murder charges. And if that fails and the case does go to trial, the defense can raise the argument all over again.

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Bluestein reported from Atlanta. Associated Press reporters Bill Kaczor contributed from Tallahassee, Fla., Mike Schneider from Orlando, Fla., and Sonya Ross from Washington.