Updated to reflect the original article has been edited to make clear B-37 signed with a literary agent who is seeking a deal for her book, but she doesn't actually have a book deal yet.

Zimmerman juror B-37 and her husband have a literary agent who is seeking offers for their book on the George Zimmerman trial. What a surprise (not) - her husband is an attorney.

What B-37 said during the voir dire round on pre-trial publicity (from our forums where it was live-blogged.) [More...]

Here's an open thread for all topics except George Zimmerman. Please use a Zimmerman thread to comment on his case.

Thanks again to everyone who donated to TalkLeft this past week. It has been a huge help, and I will send thank you emails soon. I like to respond to every contributor, and this week there were a lot of them, almost all in response to our Zimmerman coverage.

I'll be back tonight.

HLN is promoting an interview with Angela Corey and Bernie de la Rionda tonight in which the preview has Corey describing George Zimmerman as a "murderer." Poor choice of words. Not every killing is a murder. Some are excusable, some are justifiable, some are murder.

The jury instructions say:

A killing that is excusable or was committed by the use of justifiable deadly force is lawful. If you find Trayvon Martin was killed by George Zimmerman, you will then consider the circumstances surrounding the killing in deciding if the killing was Murder in the Second Degree or was Manslaughter, or whether the killing was excusable or resulted from justifiable use of deadly force.

[More...]

Lawyers are hitting the airwaves en masse to opine on the verdict in the George Zimmerman trial. I gave up TV commenting in 2008 (12 years was enough), but having spent so much of the last 16 months analyzing every detail of the George Zimmerman case here and at our forums, I made an exception yesterday for a quick appearance on CNN. Since I've received requests from a few readers, I'm posting a short clip of the last thing I said.[More...]

Here's what I wrote last week on the legacy of the George Zimmerman case. It's as true today as it has been for the past 16 months.

The legacy of this case will be that the media never gets it right, and worse, that a group of lawyers, with the aid of a public relations team, who had a financial stake in the outcome of pending and anticipated civil litigation, were allowed to commandeer control of Florida's criminal justice system, in pursuit of a divisive, personal agenda.

Their transformation of a tragic but spontaneous shooting into the crime of the century, and their relentless demonization of the person they deemed responsible, not for a tragic killing, but for "cold-blooded murder," has called into question the political motives and ethics of the officials serving in the Executive branch of Florida's government, ruined the career of other public officials, turned the lives of the Zimmerman family, who are as innocent as their grieving clients, into a nightmare, and along the way, set back any chance of a rational discussion of the very cause they were promoting, probably for years. [More....]

Here's an open thread for all topics. except George Zimmerman, who has his own threads.

Bump and Update: Today is the final day of our TalkLeft Appreciation Week. Thank you to all who contributed so far, I'll be sending out thank you emails over the weekend.

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If you have appreciated TalkLeft's s intensive coverage of the George Zimmerman case and trial over the past 16 months, here or at our forums, I hope you will consider making a donation to TalkLeft.

Debunking the myths, reviewing the discovery and pleadings, watching the hearings and trial, researching Florida law, writing extensive posts on the case and moderating comments to maintain a civil level of discourse and remove false information on the case, has consumed a huge amount of my time. It has been my pleasure to share my analysis and opinions with readers, and provide a place to comment, in an ad-free environment.

Here is the the paypal link. It's very easy (and takes credit cards even if you don't have a paypal account.)[More...]

O'Mara and West at press conference. O'Mara begins by reading a letter he wrote to the Seminole County Sheriff before the verdict thanking him and the department for their excellent security and ensuring the process was peaceful.

Don West: The state's actions were disgraceful.

West on the opening joke: It was a needed disconnect from the act the state put on in it's opening argument. [More...]

Angela Corey is holding a press conference. She has adopted a patient, reasonable tone, speaking slowly and with a smile.

Unbelievable: "We believe we brought out the truth about Trayvon Martin." Translation: We respect the jury's verdict but we still think our version, not the jury's version, was correct.

If the jury agreed the state brought out the truth about Trayvon Martin and his actions the night of the shooting, it would have returned a different verdict. [More...]

There's a verdict in the George Zimmerman trial.

Not Guilty!!!!

GPS monitor ordered removed, bond discharged.

Congratulations to Mark O'Mara, Don West, Jury consultant Robert Hirschhorn and all of the defense team. They prevailed over a prosecutor who bowed to public pressure and private interests in overcharging this case as second degree murder.

I've been avoiding stories about the protests, I really don't care about them. But with the TV on just now, they flashed on the protesters and they were really loud. Are they right outside the courthouse? Can the jury hear them?

I would make a motion to stop the deliberations and either move the jury deliberations or have the protestors move to where the jurors can't see and here them. It's rank intimidation.

Also, of course the crowds are more anti-Zimmerman. Guilt-mongerers are not known for their intelligence or emotional stability.

Where is law enforcement? How are they letting this go on while the jury is inside deliberating? I would think an appeals court could throw out a verdict for this alone. [More...]

The media has been moved to the first floor of the courthouse. The jury is finished with dinner. Why would the court have the media wait around if they didn't ask a follow-up question to their first question about manslaughter? Did they resolve it without needing more guidance?

Why would the jury still be working at 9:00 pm with the court, lawyers and media in the courtroom if a verdict weren't about to be announced? The judge previously said she'd only give the media 15 minutes notice of a verdict. So I think a verdict may be imminent. What would that be and what would that mean? [More...]