Social media infiltrate Zimmerman trial

Associated Press

SANFORD, Fla.

Trayvon Martin’s fatal shooting garnered worldwide attention when the man who fatally shot him wasn’t arrested for weeks — a backlash fueled largely by social media. Now, social-media sites such as Twitter and Facebook have permeated George Zimmerman’s trial both inside and outside the courtroom.

A witness who testified via Skype was inundated with calls from other users on the Internet-based phone service, and a defense attorney was tripped up by a photo his daughter posted on Instagram. Jurors and witnesses have been grilled about their postings and whom they follow.

Social media have become inextricably tied to daily life, a fact reflected by its presence in Zimmerman’s murder trial. The trial is a top trend almost daily, with thousands of people tweeting with the hashtag #ZimmermanTrial. Witnesses have tweeted about their testimony, including Martin’s friend Rachel Jeantel, who after tense questioning became the brunt of spoof accounts poking fun at her candid statements and dialect.

It’s not the first time social media have become the backbone of a high-profile criminal case: Casey Anthony’s trial on charges she killed her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, was closely watched, too. Photos posted on social-media accounts showing Anthony’s partying in the days after her daughter’s disappearance became a key point in the case.

Zimmerman, a former neighborhood-watch volunteer, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and says he shot the unarmed 17-year-old Martin in self-defense during a scuffle in the townhome complex where he lived and Martin was visiting his father.

The trial began with attorneys scouring potential jurors’ profiles, using Facebook postings to keep two off the jury. Witnesses haven’t been immune, either, a fact Zimmerman’s lead defense attorney recently acknowledged.

Zimmerman’s team was no stranger to social media before the trial began, using Twitter and a website to raise money for his defense and make public statements. Still, experts say the legal profession is still catching up to technology so easily accessed on smartphones.