Experts can’t testify on 911 call at Fla. trial, judge rules

Associated Press

SANFORD, Fla.

The judge in the murder trial of George Zimmerman said Saturday that prosecution audio experts who point to Trayvon Martin as screaming on a 911 call moments before he was killed won’t be allowed to testify at trial.

The screams are crucial pieces of evidence because they could determine who the aggressor was in the confrontation before Zimmerman fatally shot the unarmed teenager. Martin’s family contends it was the teen screaming, while Zimmerman’s father has said it was his son.

Judge Debra Nelson ruled that the methods used by the experts aren’t reliable. But her ruling doesn’t prevent the 911 calls from being played at trial.

She reached the decision after hearing arguments that stretched over several days this month on whether to allow testimony from two prosecution experts.

Opening statements are set for Monday in the second-degree murder trial for the former neighborhood-watch volunteer who says he fired on the black teenager in self- defense last year. Zimmerman is pleading not guilty.

The elimination of the audio experts likely will shorten the trial by a week. Before the ruling, attorneys had predicted the trial could last two to four weeks after opening statements.