Set up exclusively by George Zimmerman’s attorney, Mark O’Mara, the website www.gzlegalcase.com, will soon offer a new way to donate.
The last legitimate website set up in Zimmerman’s name pulled in more than $200,000.
If the website was up and running for around three weeks, that would mean almost $10,000 a day poured in.
Who donated all that cash?
The reason we might not know is the same reason why witnesses in the investigation may be kept secret.
Lawyer and News 13 legal expert David Fussel says the concern is two-fold.
“The defense is concerned with the witness names getting out and they getting harassed. As you see in the Casey Anthony case, a lot of stuff piece-mealed out, and when it’s piece-mealed, then you have a misconception of what occurred,” explained Fussel. “So it seems like what is going to happen is they are going to file a protective order asking that the information be kept secret between the defense and the state, and the public not be allowed to access it.”
Following the money is something Judge Lester is looking to do as well.
He told Mark O’Mara to find out who was in charge of the old Zimmerman website.
Sworn in over the phone during George Zimmerman’s bond hearing, his wife Shelley and parents testified that they had little money, and no knowledge of the hundreds of thousands of dollars sitting in bank account in Zimmerman’s name.
“The other issue though is if somebody lied to him, and if somebody lied to him in the hearing, that is someone knew about the exact amount of money and lied about it, then he can either hold them in contempt for lying to them or someone in the state could charge them with perjury and then they could have a perjury trial which is a felony,” said Fussel.
O’Mara has also set up a twitter account for his client at @GZEGALCASE. Followers to the twitter account have already expressed an interest in donating to Zimmerman’s defense fund.
Zimmerman attorney fears for witness safety
New questions have emerged about evidence released to the public in the case against George Zimmerman, specifically involving witness information.
Zimmerman's lawyer, Mark O'Mara, said he will delay a request for evidence from prosecutors because he is concerned about witnesses' safety.
Both O'Mara and the prosecution voiced their concerns about witness safety during a hearing Friday at the Seminole County Courthouse.
Now, in a statement on the new website set up specifically for George Zimmerman's legal case, O'Mara said he will delay a demand for discovery, the process in which prosecutors are required to share evidence with the defense.
The problem is that discovery would be made public, and O'Mara said he wants to have time to file motions to protect that information.
According to the website:
"While the media and the public have an absolute right to know about this case, that right has to be balanced with the rights of these witnesses. They are doing their civic duty in testifying in this case. We doubt any of them enjoy the scrutiny they are under due to the coincidence of their involvement in such a high profile matter. We are delaying demanding the discovery until we can file motions to protect these witnesses. Once that is in place, discovery will flow to us, then the media and the public has access to it, under our rules."
That could mean weeks of delays before the George Zimmerman case moves forward.
Officials said discovery materials are usually released in 15 days after the defense makes it demand. However, Zimmerman, himself, has the legal right to delay that request.
At Friday's hearing, Judge Kenneth Lester said he would take requests to block information to the public -- or to unseal information -- on a case-by-case basis.