Update: Judge Lester said today he'll rule on bond Thursday. He has started drafting the order.

As he waits for a ruling on bond, which may come today, Mark O'Mara, attorney for George Zimmerman, has posted the exhibits from Friday's hearing on bond at his case website.

At the June 29 Bond Hearing, the defense submitted a number of exhibits into evidence in an effort to demonstrate the weaknesses of the State’s case against George Zimmerman and illustrate the strength of Mr. Zimmerman’s claim of self defense. As evidence submitted by the defense is to be made public record, we feel it is appropriate to provide it here.

The medical records are here.

TalkLeft readers and commenters: Keep reading below, we have an announcement: [More..]

Thanks to DiwataMan2 for his You Tube posting of a very clear audio of the 2 and 1/2 hour bond hearing yesterday in the George Zimmerman case. It begins with the media arguments. The bond hearing begins at 11:18. O'Mara's closing arguments begin at 2:03.

In between, are the witnesses who were the subject of much discussion yesterday and don't need rehashing, and O'Mara's introduction of evidence: All 11 of George Zimmerman's statements and interviews, and all of the recordings and written statements of Witnesses 6, 11, and 20, all of whom help Zimmerman. The state introduced no witnesses or evidence.

While I linked to the video of the final hour yesterday, the audio in it wasn't clear. DiwataMan2's version is crystal clear, including the Judge's brief comments. [More...]

Update: The second hour of the bond hearing can be watched here on YouTube.

As the judge today considers whether to grant George Zimmerman bond, the City of Sanford is reeling from the costs of the investigation and prosecution to date. It's asking that the State of Florida chip in.

The costs so far: $385,000, including:

* $96,000 in overtime
* $182,000 in regular time
* $106,000 in other expenses

These costs don't include expenses of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the state attorney's office or the special prosecutor.

The New Zealand High Court has invalidated the search warrants executed on #Kim DotCom and his co-defendants. The raid on the Dotcom Mansion was illegal and based on invalid search warrants. The Judge also found that it was "unlawful for clones of digital material seized to be sent to the FBI."

Dotcom wiped tears from his eyes and left court as Mr Davison said his client had been "ripped from his family'' and was now before the court asking for the legitimacy of the police actions to be looked at.

Summary of Findings, from the 56 page decision: [More...]

Peter Madoff will plead guilty Friday in federal court to charges based on his role as a compliance officer for Bernie Madoff's firm. While the charges will include "falsifying documents, lying to regulators and filing false tax returns", the Times says he is essentially agreeing he was an "enabler."

Peter Madoff has agreed to a prison term of 10 years, prosecutors said in a letter filed with the court on Wednesday. As part of his plea deal, he has agreed to forfeit $143 billion, a staggering penalty that he is not likely to be able to pay.

...The guilty plea does not amount to an admission that Peter Madoff knew about or participated in his brother’s Ponzi scheme. Rather, it confirms the government’s allegations that Peter Madoff served as a sham compliance officer who exercised little if any legal oversight over the firm’s operations, effectively enabling his brother’s crimes.

The Trustee in the Madoff case says he will be distributing more than $8 billion to victims this week, bringing the total distributed to $9 billion, out of $18 billion sought to be recovered.

Investigator Chris Serino will no longer be acting as a homicide investigator starting July 1. He will be on night-time patrol duty. Apparently it's at his own request.

Yesterday, ABC's Matt Gutman responded to a question on Twitter asking if Serino was the leaker by answering yes, Serino was the leaker. But what did Serino leak? I'm not sure that's as clear. The person who asked apparently meant the police station video. [more...]

Update 6/27: The state has just released a voice exemplar of Zimmerman yelling for help. It was taken on March 22, the same date that Zimmerman met with investigators to provide his cell phone and and a consent to search it. You can listen here.

Original Post 6/26/12 below:[More....]

Kim DotCom is back. He's tweeting up a storm and posting pictures -- and making fun of law enforcement. His kids are adorable. He's gotten more than 32,000+ followers (including me) in the first 6 days. He follows one person: Barack Obama.

He's also picked up a big new supporter for his legal defense: Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. [More...]

Mark O'Mara has filed this motion seeking a new bond for George Zimmerman. The motion will be heard June 29. [More...]

I've made a new category called "Reference Docs" for the George Zimmerman case. It is for handy access to things like the witness interviews and case photos and maybe some legal documents. I'll be adding to it over the next few days.

I also made a special set of commenting rules for the George Zimmerman case. Please read them.

On to witnesses: Many have focused on Witness 6 (John) and Witness 13, but I'd encourage everyone to listen to the later interviews of W-11, who was the first to call 911 and lives with Jeremy at 1211 Twin Trees Lane. Her audio interviews are available here. [More....]

Jerry Sandusky has been convicted of 45 of 48 counts. He was not guilty of assault on victim 2 (McQueary count), Victim 5 and Victim 6.

He was remanded into custody immediately. He didn't display any emotion. Some of the counts have a 10 year mandatory minimum. Sentencing will be in 90 days. NBC says he will be sentenced to at least 60 years, an effective life sentence.

The cheering by the mob outside the courthouse was disgusting to watch. Do they think this is a football game?

His lawyer said earlier he would be shocked by an acquittal and the atmosphere at the Sandusky residence is like a funeral home.

We need another thread to continue the analysis of the George Zimmerman statements, interviews with police and crime-scene re-enactment.

So many were released yesterday, I doubt anyone but true case afficionados have listened to them all. I know I haven't. Yet across the internet, people are cherry-picking, pointing to minor variations as if they are contradictions affecting the totality of George Zimmerman's version of events.

If George Zimmerman told the exact same story over the course of days, people would say it was rehearsed and false. Variations are to be expected, human memory is not like a video recorder, it changes over time. So what is a reasonable test? How about this? [More...]