George Zimmerman's neighbors are speaking up. Three of them tell Reuters they told police they saw Zimmerman had injuries and bandages the day after the Travon Martin shooting:

Jorge Rodriguez, Zimmerman's next-door neighbor, told Reuters that when he saw Zimmerman the day after the incident, "he had two big, butterfly bandages on the back of his head, and another big bandage...on the bridge of his nose." He was talking to a police detective in his driveway.

Rodriguez's wife Audria also said she saw the bandages and a third neighbor, who spoke only on condition of anonymity, agreed with the Rodriguez couple's account. "I saw two bandages on the back of his head, and his nose was all swollen up," said the witness, who had watched from a nearby second-floor window.

The neighbors say they were interviewed by Sanford police, but don't recall being contacted by anyone with the state prosecutor's office. My take: [More...]

As anticipated, Mark O'Mara has filed a formal request to recuse Judge Jessica Recksiedler because of the potential for a conflict of interest due to her husband being a law partner of Mark Nejame, who has been hired by CNN to provide analysis on the case.

O'Mara told the judge on Friday (video of status hearing here) he had discussed NeJame with his client, and that NeJame had contact with the Zimmerman family and maybe even Zimmerman himself, and that while he wasn't sure of all the facts involved in the relationship between Zimmerman and NeJame, and Zimmerman's family and NeJame, he believed NeJame had "agreements" or "waivers" in place based upon their contact. His concern was that the Zimmerman's might continue to give NeJame information as "exclusives" or just as additional insight.

Curiously, NeJame today says he never met with or talked to Zimmerman and implies he never met with Zimmerman's family. [More...]

Gary Lozow is one of Denver's most prominent criminal defense attorneys and a terrific guy. Yesterday morning, a driver ran a red light at a busy intersection and crashed into his car, sending it upside down into a creek, where it became submerged in water, with Gary locked inside. Here's the video.

Passersby and two security guards from an adjacent medical center jumped down a 14 foot embankment to reach the car, got it unlocked using a block of concrete they found, and pulled Gary, who was unconscious, out of his vehicle. The water was so cold, one of the rescuers required medical attention. Another seriously injured his leg. The creek was so high, had he not been pulled quickly from the car, he would have drowned. [More...]

John Anthony Borell III of Toledo, Ohio, aka "ItsKahuna", age 21, who allegedly is part of CabinCr3w and affiliated with Anonymous, appeared in federal court in Salt Lake City today. He's been charged with computer intrusion for hacking into the Utah Police website and accessing its database. The Affidavit for the criminal Complaint, available here, says:

CabinCr3w is a defined group of individuals, two of whom use the Twitter accounts @ItsKahuna and @Anonwormer, who associate and conspire to differing levels to hack computer systems. CabinCr3w specifically targets law enforcement agencies, non-governmental organizations associated with law enforcement; and the personal lives of those who work in law enforcement related fields. While CabinCr3w is a distinct and definable group of individuals, their activities are justified by the concept of Anonymous,-and their activities are ascribed thereto.

The FBI identified Borell through his Twitter posts and messages, Facebook page, online chats and pastebin postings. The Complaint alleges he admitted on Twitter and in chats that he was responsible for the Utah hacks. [More...]

Atrios has Fred Hiatt at #2, securing Tom Friedman the top spot for sure. It brought to mind my own retrospective (in 2006!!!) of Hiatt wankery. Here's my favorite part of it and particularly telling in the age of the Radical Roberts Court:

The media joins forces to request the unsealing of all records in the George Zimmerman case. The motion is here. My view: Keep it sealed. The time to release it is after the case ends, whether by pre-trial dismissal or verdict. The public can then decide if they believe the judge or jury's actions were justified. There's no need for them to "play along" as the case progresses. The media's motion makes the best case for keeping it sealed. It says:

"Defendant's confession has already been disseminated in various news articles."

Zimmerman has not confessed to any crime. He hasn't publicly said anything yet. No statement signed by Zimmerman or police recording of any of his statements has been released. A police report and statements by his lawyers and family that he acknowledged shooting Martin is not a confession of wrong-doing or confession to a crime. By all reports, he is denying he committed a crime.

Since the media cannot be trusted to report fairly, the motion should be denied. Update below, with a change in my position: [More...]

Jose Godinez-Samperio, 25, came to the U.S. on a tourist visa with his parents when he was 9. He stayed in the U.S. (a civil infraction, not a crime), was an Eagle Scout, the valedictorian of his high school and graduated from the Florida State University law school. He fully disclosed his status on every application. Florida's Rules of the Supreme Court Relating to Admissions to the Bar do not require proof of citizenship or immigration status. But now there's an issue as to whether he, as an undocumented immigrant, can be admitted to the Bar, and the Florida Supreme Court will decide.

Many Amicus Briefs have been filed on Jose's behalf. The Dream Bar Association's brief is really good, as is the brief by three former ABA Presidents, including two who are friends of mine, Martha Barnett and Reece Smith. Jose also has the support of his Congresswoman,Kathy Castor, of Tampa: [More...]

The Taliban is resurging in Afghanistan. Hundreds of prisoners are freed in a militant raid in Pakistan, for which the Pakistani Taliban take credit.

Pakistan's Taliban said they carried out the attack, but the claim has not been verified.

"We attacked the Bannu prison and got our special members freed," Ehsanullah Ehsan, a Taliban spokesman, told Agence France-Presse.

On TV tonight: New episodes of Nurse Jackie, The Killing, Harry's Law and the Good Wife.

Who thinks Mark O'Mara will file a motion to recuse the judge in the George Zimmerman case tomorrow? He said Friday he thought he'd decide by Monday. According to the 18th Judicial District's Criminal Operations Manual, available on its website, there are only three other judges in the division. Judge Marlene M. Alva (Administrative Judge); Judge Donna L. McIntosh and Judge Debra S. Nelson.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Great choice by Atrios. The recounting of all of Sully's wanking is virtually impossible, but I do think Atrios should have mentioned Sully's championing of the Stupidest Man Alive, Donald Luskin over Paul Krugman as well as running his own entry for Stupidest Man Alive.

But these a re quibbles. All efforts to remind folks who and what Andrew Sullivan is and was are welcome. Yea Atrios!

Speaking for me only

Obama weighs in on HookerGate, in which some secret service agents may have retained the services of prostitutes in Colombia, before Obama arrived.

I hope it doesn't get buried that Obama also ramped up the war on drugs while there:

He announced an increase to more than $130 million of funds dedicated to bolstering security and going after narco-traffickers and "gangs" in the region.

Here are his comments from the summit addressing drug legalization. Not surprisingly, his view is "Just say no" to legalization:

"I personally, and my administration's position is, that legalization is not the answer." He reiterated that position while talking at the summit itself, saying "the United States will not be going in this direction."

I'm still trying to figure out why the state's attorney in Florida would charge George Zimmerman with second degree murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, and approve the filing of such an empty affidavit for an arrest warrant, that with all its other faults, fails to even refer to, let alone establish, the elements of the charged crime.

Where is their evidence that Zimmerman's act of shooting Trayvon demonstrated a depraved mind and was an act "done from ill will, hatred, spite, or an evil intent," indicative of an indifference to human life, as required for a second degree murder conviction? What is their theory?

Here's my theory: Every Affidavit Tells a Story. When examining an affidavit, the choice of words, the sequence of events and the facts omitted are all key to something. The story may not be the truth, but it represents the state's version of what it believes to be the truth. Affidavits are intended to tell the story in such a way that the reader will conclude it is both accurate and makes sense. They can also be a road map showing how the state intends to prove its case.

After reading the affidavit for George Zimmerman's arrest at least 10 times, each time more perplexed than I was here by the lack of probable cause for a second degree murder charge and its other shortcomings, I decided to focus instead on the state's story. (If this isn't it, then I'm out of guesses and there is just no excuse for the heavy-handed charging.) [More...]

Radley Balko examines The Unchecked Charging Power of the Prosecutor with reference to, among others, the George Zimmerman case.

If Angela Corey is a Minister of Justice, why is she prosecuting this 12 year old as an adult for murder?

Cristian Fernandez was charged as an adult at age 12 for murder 1, which carries a life sentence. He is the youngest person ever charged as an adult for murder in Jacksonville. If convicted, he will be the youngest person convicted of adult murder in America. [More...]