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UPDATED 7/9/13, 10:57 a.m.:

In a hearing in the murder trial against George Zimmerman (pictured far right), the defense will be allowed to introduce in to evidence the toxicology report from Trayvon Martin.

This toxicology report will reportedly show that Martin had low levels of marijuana in his system.

To many observers of the trial, this development seems unfair since Zimmerman was never tested for any drugs when he was detained by police.

Obviously, this is a pivotal attack on Trayvon’s character in an effort to taint him and imply that he was a troubled youth.

Before the trial, the defense released photos of a gun reportedly from the cell phone of Martin and the defense untruthfully stated that a video from Martin’s cell phone was of Martin instigating a fight.

Soon after, the Zimmerman defense team had to recant the fabrication.

As NewsOne previously reported:

In a hearing last week, O’Mara stated that they obtained cellphone video of a pair of Martin’s friends beating a homeless person in a bid to connect violent behavior to the teen’s past. O’Mara was forced to recant the video, after it was discovered that the video taken from Martin’s phone was that of two homeless men fighting over a bike.

Unfortunately, the defense was well-aware that this “evidence” would not be admissible in trial, so they released it to the public in order to intentionally taint Martin’s character before trial.

Testimony resumes Tuesday morning.

__________________________________________________

The six jurors deciding the fate of George Zimmerman (pictured) will have several choices while deliberating whether he is guilty of second-degree murder in teen Trayvon Martin’s untimely death. The jury could decide that Zimmerman is:

RELATED: Zimmerman Jury To Ponder Conflicting Testimony [VIDEO]

  •    Guilty of Murder in the Second Degree

OR

  •     Guilty of Manslaughter

OR

  •     Not Guilty of Everything

There is another possible outcome.

The burden of proof lies on the State to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. The verdict of the jurors must be unanimous, meaning all six must agree on the same verdict.

If they cannot all agree, then that results in a hung jury.

In order to prove Murder in the Second Degree, the Prosecution (State) must prove:

1)    Trayvon Martin is dead.

AND

   2)    The death was caused by a criminal act of George Zimmerman.

AND

   3)    There was an unlawful killing of Trayvon Martin by an act imminently dangerous and demonstrating a depraved mind without regard to human life.

An act is imminently dangerous to another and demonstrating a depraved mind if it is an act or series that:

  a) A person of ordinary judgment would know is reasonably certain to kill or do serious bodily injury to another

AND

  b) The act is done from ill will, hatred, spite, or an evil intent

AND

   c)  Is such in nature that the act itself indicated an indifference to human life

In summary, the Prosecution must show that Zimmerman, without lawfully killing Trayvon Martin because of self-defense, had ill will, hatred, spite or evil intent in his mind during the act. That major requirement is an issue for the State, although they must prove all of the elements beyond a reasonable doubt in order to convict Zimmerman.

If the jury finds Zimmerman not guilty of Murder in the Second Degree, they may choose a lesser-included charge of Manslaughter. A lesser included is a charge that is similar to the offense originally charged, but does not have all of the same requirements as the initial allegation.

The lesser included charge of Murder in the Second Degree is Manslaughter, which will be the second possible choice for the jurors.

In order to prove Manslaughter, the State must prove BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT the following:

1)    Trayvon Martin is dead

AND either 2a OR 2b OR 2c

  2a) George Zimmerman intentionally committed an act or acts that caused Trayvon Martin’s death.

     2b) George Zimmerman intentionally procured an act that caused Trayvon Martin’s death. Procured means he persuaded, induced, prevailed upon or caused a person to do something.

   2c) The death of Trayvon Martin was caused by the culpable negligence of George Zimmerman.

Culpable negligence is gross or flagrant conduct showing reckless disregard for human life, or of the safety of persons exposed to its dangerous effects, or such an entire want of care as to raise a presumption of a conscious indifference to consequences, or which shows wantonness or recklessness, or a grossly careless disregard for the safety and welfare of the public, or such an indifference to the rights of others as is equivalent to an intentional violation of such rights.

HUNG JURY

As aforementioned, a hung jury is when the jury cannot reach a unanimous verdict. If that occurs, the case may be deemed a mistrial and the state must decide to either go to trial again, make a plea deal with Zimmerman, or dismiss the charges. If the case has to be tried again, the State is in a compromised position because the defense team has the State’s entire case laid out for them. The defense will have the benefit of transcripts of the testimony of witnesses and may use those transcripts to catch witnesses in mistakes or lies if they testify differently than before.

Eric L. Welch Guster is founder and managing attorney of Guster Law Firm in Birmingham, Ala., handling criminal and civil matters, catastrophic injuries, criminal defense, and civil rights litigation. Mr. Guster has become a go-to lawyer for the New York Times, NewsOne, NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, Black  America Web, and various radio programs about various court issues and high-profile cases.

Follow Guster on Twitter @ericguster.

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