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Judge revokes Zimmerman's bond for concealing material facts
by Joseph Earnest June 1, 2012
Newscast Media WASHINGTON, D.C.—Embattled defendant George Zimmerman, has been ordered to surrender himself within 48 hours by a judge who also revoked his bond for "deceiving" the court. Zimmerman killed a black teenager Trayvon Martin,but was released from jail early on April 23 on bail of 150,000 U.S. dollars.
A motion was filed on Friday by prosecutors to revoke Zimmerman's bond, accusing him of lying to the court about his finances and claimed Zimmerman had $200,000 available before the bond hearing, raised from a PayPal account.
Prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda told the judge today that "this court was led to believe that they didn't have a single penny" at the earlier bond hearing. Zimmerman's wife "flat out lied to this court," de la Rionda said. Judge Lester agreed, and revoked Zimmerman's bond.
Judge Kenneth Lester said Zimmerman and his wife, Shellie, were well aware of the money that was available but misled the court about it when his bond was set for 150,000 U.S. dollars in April. The judge said that Zimmerman engaged in "material falsehood" about money in issuing his ruling.
The keyword is "material falsehood" which means Zimmerman concealed facts that the judge deemed were material, when he requested for relief namely: to be allowed a reasonable bond because he was broke. The law precludes anyone who misleads or misrepresents material facts to the court from receiving relief, that's why the judge revoked his bond. This principle is universal in courts across the world which require both parties to be truthful in their testimonies and pleadings.
The United States Supreme Court has ruled:
"[T]hat whenever a party who, as actor, seeks to set the judicial machinery in motion and obtain some remedy, has violated conscience, or good faith, or other equitable principle, in his [or her] prior conduct, then the doors of the court will be shut against him [or her] in limine; the court will refuse to interfere on his [or her] behalf, to acknowledge his [or her] right, or to award him [or her] any remedy." (Keystone Driller Co. v. Gen. Excavator Co., 290 U.S. 240, 244–45 (1933).
The remedy Zimmerman had obtained was to post a bond then walk free until trial. The violation of conscience or good faith was deceiving the court. The refusal to interfere on Zimmerman's behalf was for the court to revoke the bond, and is now sending him back to jail. This principle is applicable not just in courts of equity, but also in criminal cases. The initial charges filed in the court can be read or downloaded here. (pop-up)
You may also read the state's affidavit of probable cause here. (pop-up)
Zimmerman has now lost his credibility, which the prosecution is expected to attack during trial. The new conditions set by judge Lester, require Zimmerman to wear an electronic monitoring device and contact authorities every three days. There should also be no contact with the victim's family, no guns and no use of controlled substances other than prescribed by a physician. Add Comments>>
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