Friday, Jan. 4, 11:55 a.m. EST: Zimmerman's next court date: Trayvon's 18th birthday: The next court date in George Zimmerman's second-degree-murder trial was originally scheduled for Jan. 8, but the judge in charge of the case decided that the hearing wasn't necessary, so she rescheduled Zimmerman's next court appearance to "an eerily significant date," the Atlantic reports. It's Feb. 5, the day Trayvon would have turned 18.
Thursday, Jan. 3, 1 p.m. EST: Trayvon Martin's mother says, "I want justice in 2013": In an interview with Essence published late last month, Sybrina Fulton reflects on spending the holiday season without her son, calls the past year "bittersweet" and describes her hopes for justice for Trayvon as well as hopes for policy changes: "I want justice in 2013. The trial begins in June, and we want Trayvon's murderer held accountable for what he did. This was a murder. This was not a case of 'Stand your ground' or self-defense. One of the things Tracy [Trayvon’s father] and I have done is take a negative and make it positive. We want to try and engage the political process with the Change for Trayvon campaign to encourage people around the country to get involved and vote to help revise these 'Stand your ground' laws," she says.
Wednesday, Jan. 2, 12:53 p.m. EST: Zimmerman attorney surprised by new lawsuit: George Zimmerman, who is awaiting trial on second-degree-murder charges for the shooting death of unarmed teen Trayvon Martin, is the target of a new lawsuit by a security company that alleges he and his wife owe more than $27,000 for protection services. Attorney Mark O’Mara says that the lawsuit was a surprise and the company was paid some $40,000, WPTV reports.
Read last week's updates on the Trayvon Martin case here.
Read all of The Root's news and commentary about the Trayvon Martin case here.