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<p><div class="image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><p class="source">CNN</p></div></div></div></p>
<p>Less than 48 hours after a not-guilty verdict was handed down in the <keyword id="982829" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="George-Zimmerman">George Zimmerman</keyword> case, the controversial witness who was on the phone with <keyword id="982826" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Trayvon-Martin">Trayvon Martin</keyword> minutes before his death said she was "<span>disappointed, upset, angry, questioning, and mad" at the verdict.</span></p>
<p><span>In an interview with CNN's <keyword id="107844" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Piers-Morgan">Piers Morgan</keyword>, Jeantel also blasted an anonymous juror who had told CNN's Anderson Cooper minutes before that she was not a "credible witness." Jeantel said she was "angry" at the description. </span></p>
<p>And Jeantel refuted the anonymous juror known as B37 who <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/george-zimmerman-juror-on-racial-profiling-2013-7" target="_blank">said that the case and the verdict wasn't about race</a>.</p>
<p><span>"<span>It was racial. Let's be honest. It was racial," she told Morgan.</span></span></p>
<p><span>Jeantel said that the jury's verdict was based on "just B.S." She painted a light-hearted picture of her friend Martin, saying he was not the "thug" the defense tried to make him out to be. She was open about his frequent use of marijuana — but she said it made him "hungry," not violent.</span></p>
<p><span><span>"Weed didn't make him go crazy. It made him go hungry," Jeantel said.</span></span></p>

Star Witness And Trayvon Martin's Friend Blasts Juror Who Called Her 'Not Credible'

<p><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:480px"><div class="image"><p class="source">AP</p></div></div>Radio personality Tom Joyner has offered Rachel Jeantel, the friend of <keyword id="982826" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Trayvon-Martin">Trayvon Martin</keyword> who spoke to him shortly before he died, a full <keyword id="49588" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="scholarship">scholarship</keyword> to any Historically Black College or University she chooses.</p>
<p>The website Joyner founded, BlackAmericaWeb.com, <a href="http://blackamericaweb.com/146558/trayvon-martins-friend-rachel-jeantel-offered-full-ride-scholarship-from-tom-joyner/">confirmed the news</a>. Jeantel spoke to Joyner on his radio show Tuesday morning.</p>
<p>He said to her: "I<span>f</span> you want to graduate from high school, and go to an HBCU, even if it’s not in Florida but especially Florida,like Florida Memorial, Edward Waters or FAMU, if you want to do that, I want to help you do that. I will help you get tutors to get you out of high school, tutors to help you pass the SAT and I will give you a full ride scholarship to any HBCU you’d like."</p>
<p><span>Joyner said he was moved by Jeantel's testimony. The funding for the scholarship will come from the Tom Joyner Foundation.</span></p>
<p>Jeantel reluctantly took the stand to testify for the prosecution in the second-degree murder <keyword id="42907" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="trial">trial</keyword> of <keyword id="982829" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="George-Zimmerman">George Zimmerman</keyword>. She told the courtroom that <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/rachel-jeante-testifies-in-trayvon-martin-case-2013-6">she heard Martin say "get off, get off"</a> before the call cut out and Zimmerman shot him. During her testimony, which spanned two days, she was mocked online by people insulting her dress, mannerisms, and intelligence.</p>
<p>Zimmerman was <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/george-zimmerman-verdict-2013-7">acquitted of all charges</a> on Saturday.</p>

Trayvon Martin's Friend, Rachel Jeantel, Offered A Full College Scholarship

<p><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:480px"><div class="image"><p class="source">Reuters/Jacob Langston/Pool</p><p class="caption">Witness Rachel Jeantel continues her second day testimony in <keyword id="982829" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="George-Zimmerman">George Zimmerman</keyword>'s murder <keyword id="42907" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="trial">trial</keyword> for 2012 shooting death of <keyword id="982826" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Trayvon-Martin">Trayvon Martin</keyword> in Seminole circuit court in Sanford, Florida, June 27, 2013.</p></div></div>During closing statements in George Zimmerman's trial, the prosecution attempted to salvage testimony of the woman on the phone with Trayvon Martin moments before he died.</p>
<p>The Zimmerman defense team tried to attack the credibility of Rachel Jeantel, 19, pointing out <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/rachel-jeantel-is-crumbling-on-the-stand-2013-6">inconsistencies in her story</a> and implying she was not bright by asking if she understood English.</p>
<p>Bernie De La Rionda, lead attorney for the prosecution, asked the jurors Thursday if they "disregarded" her words just because of her Haitian background, poor education, and inability to read cursive.</p>
<p>Da La Rionda even paraphrased Martin Luther King, Jr.: "I had a dream that my witness will be judged not on the color of her character but on the content of her testimony."</p>
<p>Zimmerman claims self-defense for shooting and killing 17-year-old Martin. Jeantel's testimony that Martin told her he was being followed by a "creepy-ass cracker" could be very useful for the prosecution.</p>
<p>Zimmerman's defense still needs to make its closing arguments. The jury will start <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/george-zimmerman-lesser-charges-2013-7">deliberation</a> tomorrow. </p>

Zimmerman Prosecution Tries To Restore The Credibility Of Controversial Witness

<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><keyword id="982829" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="George-Zimmerman">George Zimmerman</keyword>'s televised second-degree murder <keyword id="42907" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="trial">trial</keyword> has captivated America.<br /></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><span>Major news networks have caught heavy criticism for carrying nonstop Zimmerman coverage and brushing other news to the side. CNN has devoted an <a href="http://www.mediaite.com/tv/as-egypts-military-deadine-passes-cnn-turns-focus-to-zimmerman-trials-failed-skype-testimony/">inordinate amount of time </a>to covering the trial, and a </span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/media-coverage-of-egypt-george-zimmerman-trial-2013-7">graph of Google searches</a><span> shows drastically more people searched news about Zimmerman than the recent chaos in Egypt.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>The Zimmerman trial has huge implications for race relations in America, as he shot an unarmed black teenager he deemed "very suspicious." Despite the high stakes of the case, the trial </span>esembles a made-for-TV media circus — with embarrassing courtroom fumbles distracting from the gravity of the case.<br /></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">The trial, now spanning almost three weeks minus jury selection, has included some shocking moments. </span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">From expletives to distasteful Instagram photos, we've listed the strangest ones. </span></p>
<h2><strong>The F-Bomb</strong></h2>
<p><div class="image-container" style="width:800px"><div class="image"><p class="source">AP</p></div></div></p>
<p>Prosecutor John Guy <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/zimmerman-prosecutor-opens-with-f-bomb-2013-6">opened the trial with an f-bomb</a> that shocked viewers and got some network TV stations in trouble. During his opening statements, Guy quoted Zimmerman from the night of the shooting, saying, "<span>F---ing punks. These a--holes, they always get away." </span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">MSNBC, which has been broadcasting much of the trial, implemented a seven-second delay after the swear word made it through to the broadcast.</span></p>
<h2><strong>The Knock-Knock Joke</strong></h2>
<p><div class="image-container" style="width:800px"><div class="image"><p class="source">AP</p></div></div></p>
<p>The defense also got a lot of attention during opening statements for attorney Don West's <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/zimmerman-defense-attorney-tells-knock-knock-joke-2013-6">poorly received knock-knock joke</a>. He said to the courtroom:  <span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">"Sometimes, you have to laugh to keep from crying. So let me, at considerable risk, let me say: I'd like to tell you a little joke. ... </span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Here's how it goes: knock, knock. Who's there? George Zimmerman. George Zimmerman who? All right, good, you're on the jury." He <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/george-zimmerman-defense-attorney-apologizes-for-bad-joke-during-opening-statements-2013-6">later apologized</a>.</span></p>
<h2><strong>Rachel Jeantel's Testimony</strong></h2>
<p><div class="image-container" style="width:800px"><div class="image"><p class="source"><a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/witness-rachel-jeantel-gives-her-testimony-to-the-news-photo/171552078">Getty Images/Pool</a></p></div></div></p>
<p>Rachel Jeantel, a 19-year-old who was on the phone with Trayvon Martin right before he died, took the stand to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/rachel-jeante-testifies-in-trayvon-martin-case-2013-6">testify about what was said during that phone call</a>. Jeantel was considered the prosecution's star witness, but her testimony became a boon for Zimmerman's team after inconsistencies in her story emerged. She was <a href="http://live.huffingtonpost.com/r/segment/negative-reactions-to-rachel-jeantels-testimony/51ccc6382b8c2a38300003d3">mocked online</a>, and The Smoking Gun <a href="http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/twitter/rachel-jeantel-758403">published a series of incriminating tweets</a> that had been deleted from her account before she testified.</p>
<h2><strong>The 'Celebration Cones' Instagram Post</strong></h2>
<p><div class="image-container" style="width:800px"><div class="image"><p class="source">Twitter/TylerJRollinson</p></div></div></p>
<p>Defense attorney Don West's daughter <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/george-zimmermans-attorney-in-instagram-post-2013-6">posted a photo to Instagram</a> of her and West eating "celebration" ice cream cones after a day in court. The photo, which had the caption "we beat stupidity," went viral online the day after Rachel Jeantel testified, although it was taken earlier in the week. Prosecutors later <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/george-zimmerman-prosecutors-want-instagram-photo-inquiry-2013-7">asked for an inquiry into the photo</a>, and West apologized and said he wasn't aware it had been posted online.</p>
<h2><strong>The Skype Testimony That Went Wrong<br /></strong></h2>
<p><div class="image-container" style="width:800px"><div class="image"><p class="source">Screenshot</p></div></div></p>
<p>Several people tried to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/scott-pleasants-skype-testimony-pranked-2013-7">interrupt the Skype testimony</a> of one of Zimmerman's former college professors by incessantly calling one of the accounts being used for the session. The testimony had to be halted and <span>defense attorney Mark O'Mara said, "</span><span>There's now a really good chance that we're being toyed with, just so you know." The judge became visibly frustrated and demanded the defense ditch the Skype session and call the witness on a different number.</span></p>
<h2><strong>The Accidental Leak Of Zimmerman's Personal Data<br /></strong></h2>
<p><div class="image-container" style="width:800px"><div class="image"><p class="source"><a href="http://www.mediaite.com/tv/cnn-accidentally-airs-george-zimmermans-social-security-number/">Screenshot/Mediaite</a></p></div></div></p>
<p>Prosecutors <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/george-zimmerman-social-security-number-shown-2013-7">inadvertently displayed a document containing Zimmerman's social security and telephone numbers</a> among other personal information to the courtroom, and the document was aired on CNN. The numbers were mistakenly not redacted from the document before they were displayed in court.</p>
<p><strong>The circus-like televised trial has further polarized public opinion.</strong> Conservative columnist <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2013/07/12/coulter-zimmerman-hype-effort-to-show-america-is-out-to-rape-and-murder-black-people/">Anne Coulter</a> called the situation a "fake case of how racist America is out trying to rape and murder black people." Days earlier, Fox News "liberal voice" <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jul/9/foxs-bob-beckel-declares-george-zimmerman-racist-w/">Bob Beckel</a> called Zimmerman a "wannabe cop who didn't like black people."</p>
<p>Closing arguments concluded Friday. Many expect the drama to continue after the verdict. <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2013/07/11/psa-for-zimmerman-trial-verdict-no-laugh-riot/">The Washington Post</a> reported America has legitimate fears of riots if the jury doesn't bring back a guilty verdict. One Florida police department even released a <a href="http://www.sheriff.org/posts/post.cfm?id=bf1326e0-d238-0577-7446-a3a4ca5438d3">public service announcement,</a> entitled "Raise Your Voice, Not Your Hands."</p>

The Craziest Moments Of The George Zimmerman Trial

<p><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:480px"><div class="image"><p class="source"><a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/witness-rachel-jeantel-gives-her-testimony-to-the-news-photo/171552078">Getty Images/Pool</a></p><p class="caption">Rachel Jeantel, 19, the <keyword id="6414389" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="witness">witness</keyword> on the phone with Trayvon Martin moments before he died, testifies in court. </p></div></div>A lawyer for second-degree murder defendant George Zimmerman recently <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/rachel-jeantels-inconsistent-story-2013-6">attacked the credibility</a> of the prosecution's star witness in a brilliant fashion.</p>
<p>That witness, Rachel Jeantel, was a friend of Trayvon Martin's who ended up <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/rachel-jeantel-is-crumbling-on-the-stand-2013-6">fidgety and hostile</a> after the defense poked many holes in her story. Her testimony ended up being a boon for the defense.</p>
<p>Zimmerman's lawyer, Don West, may have been following a simple but effective set of rules of cross-examination. We spoke to legal experts about these rules and other tips for breaking down a witnesses without breaking the rules. Here's how they do it:</p>
<h2>1. Always ask "yes" or "no" questions</h2>
<p>"With cross-examination, there are some rules that are never broken. The first is you always ask close-ended questions," trial consultant <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Trials-Deliberations-Inside-Practice-Series/dp/0071722831">Dr. Amy Singer</a> tells us.</p>
<p>By asking "yes" or "no" questions, <keyword id="41930" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Lawyers">lawyers</keyword> ensure witnesses can't explain their answers to put themselves in a better light. <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The close-ended questions lawyers ask often begin with "is it possible" or "isn't it true" because those questions may be more difficult to answer with a "no."</span></p>
<p>A lawyer wouldn't start off by asking a defendant, "Did you murder your mother?" Singer says. Instead, a lawyer would say, "Isn't it true you had problems with your mother? Is it possible there was a knife in the house that day?" It drives witnesses crazy when they have to answer "yes" without explaining themselves.</p>
<h2>2. Never ask "why"</h2>
<p>By asking a question that starts with "why," lawyers give witnesses the chance to explain themselves and tell their own story. "Why" questions are open-ended, and lawyers generally shouldn't ask them during cross-examination.</p>
<p>"It's a game of control," Singer says. "If you ask why, the other person has control."</p>
<h2>3. Point out the inconsistencies in the witness' story</h2>
<p>"You want to ask a lot of questions and then point out the inconsistencies [in their story]," Singer says. "If they're not prepared for it it's traumatic."</p>
<p>In the Zimmerman case, defense lawyer Don West rattled star prosecution witness Rachel Jeantel by pointing out a number of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/defense-cross-examines-rachel-jeantel-2013-6">discrepancies in her story</a>. Prosecutors also pointed out inconsistencies in her demeanor, <a href="http://www.juryconsulting.com/founder.htm">jury consultant Dr. Marshall Hennington</a> noted in an interview with Business Insider.</p>
<p>On her first day of testimony, Jeantel was combative and not particularly polite, Hennington says. She became less adversarial the second day of the trial, and West asked if she'd been coached.</p>
<p>"They were able to show that she was someone who was not very credible," Hennington told us. <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">"The defense was able to make it appear that she did not like the defense and was very angry towards the defense." </span></p>
<h2>4. But don't call witnesses flat-out liars </h2>
<p>Many states have rules that bar lawyers from calling witnesses liars, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/tre-critelli-on-having-guilty-clients-2013-3">says Tre Critelli</a>, a lawyer on the Iowa Supreme Court disciplinary board. It may also be unethical for lawyers to go around calling witnesses liars.</p>
<p class="p1">"There is never a reason to call a witness a liar, even if I happen to personally believe that the witness is lying. My 'job' on <span class="s1">cross</span>, so to speak, is to have the jurors themselves see enough that <em>they</em> will call the witness a liar," Critelli said in an email. "Once that happens, their mind has been made up and when they go back to the jury room to deliberate they will discount anything that witness had to say."</p>
<h2 class="p1">5. Lawyers can still find other ways to trip witnesses up without calling them names</h2>
<p>On cross-examination, lawyers should pay close attention to how quickly their witnesses talk, and to how quickly they're breathing, Singer tells us.</p>
<p>"If somebody is a fast talker, you want to speak slowly. If somebody is a slow talker, you want to talk very quickly," Singer says. "It trips them up. I'm a fast talker, and if somebody speaks slowly, I want to kill them."</p>
<p>Lawyers should look at how quickly witnesses breath and try to push their buttons to make their hearts race. But lawyers need to be subtle button-pushers. If lawyers blatantly attack witnesses on cross-examination, they may end up looking like bullies.</p>
<p><span>"A jury's sympathy will always be with the witness because they identify with the person ... They expect that the lawyer has all of the cards and the witness is at a disadvantage, especially on cross," Critelli says. "So as an attorney you need to anticipate this and try and figure out a way to get the jury to turn on the witness — that is come to a belief that they can't trust the person."</span></p>

How To Destroy A Witness On The Stand

<p><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:480px"><div class="image"><p class="source">Florida State Attorney</p><p class="caption">Blood can be seen beneath <keyword id="982829" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="George-Zimmerman">George Zimmerman</keyword>'s ear after he killed <keyword id="982826" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Trayvon-Martin">Trayvon Martin</keyword>.</p></div></div>During day five of the second-degree murder <keyword id="42907" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="trial">trial</keyword> of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/s?q=George+Zimmerman">George Zimmerman</a>, eyewitness Jonathon Good took the stand for the prosecution and gave his account of Zimmerman's fight with the 17-year-old he killed.</p>
<p>Oddly, Good — who was a neighbor of Zimmerman's — didn't mention Zimmerman or the slain teenager Trayvon Martin by name. But Good's description of the fight suggests Zimmerman was on the bottom of the "tussle" with Martin and that Zimmerman was yelling for help.</p>
<p>Good's testimony reflects what he told Sanford, Fla. police after Zimmerman killed Martin in February 2012.</p>
<p>At the time, Good told Sanford police officer Chris Serino that he saw a "darker-skinned guy on top pretty much throwing down blows." Considering that police photos show Zimmerman's bruised and bloodied head, Good's account could back up Zimmerman's self-defense claims.</p>
<p>One part of Good's testimony won't be good for Zimmerman's story, though. Good said repeatedly in court that he didn't see Martin slamming Zimmerman's head in the ground, which Zimmerman claimed happened.</p>
<p>There have also been discrepancies in Good's account.</p>
<p>During the defense's cross-examination Friday, Mark O'Mara, one half of Zimmerman's team, asked Good if "Trayvon was reigning down blows on Zimmerman." Good responded, "That's what it looked like." </p>
<p>But at the prosecutor's request, Good clarified that couldn't see Martin throwing punches at Zimmerman but instead saw a "downward hand movement."</p>
<p>The visibility that evening could be behind Good's uncertainty. The fight between Zimmerman and Martin occurred at night in the rain, and Good watched it unfold through vertical blinds.</p>
<p>Earlier this week, the jury heard testimony from Martin's friend <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/rachel-jeantels-inconsistent-story-2013-6">Rachel Jeantel</a>, who was talking on the phone with him when the fight with Zimmerman started. Her testimony was inconsistent but suggested  suggested Zimmerman followed and approached Trayvon.</p>
<p>Good's testimony putting Trayvon on top of Zimmerman could place more doubt on her testimony.</p>

Witness Says He Thinks George Zimmerman Yelled For Help As Trayvon Martin Straddled Him

<p><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:480px"><div class="image"><p class="source">Reuters/Joe Burbank</p><p class="caption">George Zimmerman talks to court personnel during his murder trial for 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin in Seminole circuit court in Sanford, Florida, June 28, 2013.</p></div></div>Testimony in George Zimmerman's <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/a-minute-by-minute-timeline-of-everything-thats-known-about-the-trayvon-martingeorge-zimmerman-shooting-2012-6?op=1">highly anticipated trial</a> started last week, and prosecutors trying to prove he's guilty of second-degree murder for the shooting death of Trayvon Martin <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/rachel-jeantel-is-crumbling-on-the-stand-2013-6">didn't get off to a very good start</a>.</p>
<p>Zimmerman, a 29-year-old neighborhood watch volunteer, says the unarmed 17-year-old attacked him first, and witnesses for the prosecution are bolstering his self-defense claims, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/01/us/in-zimmerman-trial-prosecution-witnesses-bolster-self-defense-claims.html">experts told The New York Times</a>.</p>
<p>One of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/eyewitness-testifies-in-zimmerman-trial-2013-6">those witnesses was Jonathon Good</a>, a neighbor of Zimmerman's who watched his fight with Martin through his blinds on a rainy night in February 2012. Despite being called by the prosecution, Good told the court that Zimmerman was on the bottom of the "tussle" with Martin.</p>
<p>Even more damning for the prosecution, Goode said he believed Zimmerman was the one yelling for help. Both of these observations would back up Zimmerman's belief that his life was in danger.</p>
<p>The other problematic witness for the state was Martin's friend Rachel Jeantel, who was on the phone with him right before he died and was supposed to be the prosecution's star witness. Zimmerman's lawyers found a number of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/rachel-jeantels-inconsistent-story-2013-6">inconsistencies in her story</a>, potentially damaging her credibility and helping his case.</p>
<p>“When you are talking about state witnesses as if they are defense witnesses, that is a problem for the State of Florida,” Orlando, Fla. lawyer Diana Tennis told The Times. “And any time you end each day with either a zero-sum game or the defense coming out ahead, that’s a problem when you’re the prosecution.”</p>
<p>Legal analysts also told The Times that prosecutors should have gone for a manslaughter conviction instead of second-degree murder, which involves “hatred, spite, or evil intent.”</p>
<p>“The state is overreaching, and I think that may well come back to bite them in terms of credibility,” Miami lawyer Michael Band told The Times.</p>
<p>To be sure, the prosecutors did score a few points last week. Good, for example, said repeatedly that he never saw Martin slamming Zimmerman's head into the ground as the neighborhood watch volunteer claimed. It was also clear from a nurse's testimony that Zimmerman didn't sustain any life-threatening injuries from Martin.</p>
<p>At the same time, George Zimmerman's lawyers made a lot of bad PR moves, including <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/george-zimmerman-defense-attorney-apologizes-for-bad-joke-during-opening-statements-2013-6">telling a knock-knock </a>joke during an opening statement and taking a photo that appeared on Instagram <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/george-zimmermans-attorney-in-instagram-post-2013-6">with a terrible caption</a>.</p>
<p>Prosecutors could score some more points this week, as they plan on showing evidence of inconsistencies in Zimmerman's own account of what happened that night, <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/george-zimmerman-prosecutions-woes/story?id=19541263&amp;page=2#.UdGu-ut5HJw">ABC News points out</a>.</p>

George Zimmerman Prosecutors Messed Up The First Week Of His Second-Degree Murder Trial

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image"><p class="source">Jae C. Hong/AP</p><p class="caption"><keyword id="6354493" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="children">Children</keyword> practicing cursive handwriting</p></div><p></p></div><span style="color: #000000;">When was the last time you wrote in cursive? Fifty-eight years ago <a href="http://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/" target="_blank">The Saturday Evening Post</a> was already calling America a "nation of scrawlers."</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000000;">Now, the recently established <a href="http://www.corestandards.org/in-the-states" target="_blank">Common Core State Standards</a>, the standardized <keyword id="6355445" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Education">education</keyword> benchmarks for U.S. public <keyword id="37180" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="schools">schools</keyword>, omits cursive as a graduation requirement. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/07/indiana-schools-no-longer_n_892377.html" target="_blank">Indiana</a> and <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/01/hawaii-no-longer-requires_n_915402.html" target="_blank">Hawaii</a> waved goodbye to cursive in 2011 and welcomed keyboarding classes to their curricula.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000000; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Still, states like California, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky and Massachusetts have kept cursive instruction in place or allowed individual school districts to decide. </span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000000; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">The technique has many defenders, </span><span style="color: #000000; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">including </span><span style="color: #000000; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><a href="http://www.nasbe.org/">The National Association of State Boards of Education</a>, which recently compiled evidence that <keyword id="6401954" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="learning">learning</keyword> cursive makes you smarter.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000000;">Below evidence from a <a href="http://www.nasbe.org/wp-content/uploads/PU_HandwritingDebate9_12.pdf" target="_blank">NASBE policy brief</a>:</span></p>
<div class="column">
<ul>
<li>
<p><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Cognitive and Motor Skills Development</strong>: Because handwriting is a complex skill that involves both cognitive and fine motor skills, direct instruction is required to learn handwriting (it is not good enough to just give a workbook to students and hope for the best). However, the result of good instruction is that students are benefited both in their cognitive development and in developing motor skills.</span></p>
</li>
<li>
<p><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Literacy Development</strong>: Handwriting is a foundational skill that can influence students' reading, writing, language use, and critical thinking. Students without consistent exposure to handwriting are more likely to have problems retrieving letters from memory; spelling accurately; extracting meaning from text or lecture; and interpreting the context of words and phrases.</span></p>
</li>
<li>
<p><span style="color: #000000;"><strong><keyword id="115440" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Brain-development">Brain Development</keyword></strong>: The sequential hand movements used in handwriting activate the regions of the <keyword id="6361813" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="brain">brain</keyword> associated with thinking, short-term memory, and language. In addition, according to Virginia Berninger, Ph.D., professor of educational <keyword id="6363047" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="psychology">psychology</keyword> at the University of Washington, cursive in particular is linked with brain functions around self-regulation and mental organization. "Cursive helps you connect things," Dr. Berninger said in an interview.</span></p>
</li>
<li><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Memory</strong>: The act of handwriting helps students (and adults) retain information more effectively than when keyboarding, mostly likely because handwriting involves more complex motor functions and takes a bit longer. One study comparing students who took notes by hand versus classmates who took notes by computer found that the hand writers exhibited better comprehension of the content and were more attentive and involved during the class discussions.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Written Expression</strong>: Elementary-age students who wrote compositions by hand rather than by keyboarding, one researcher found, wrote faster, wrote longer pieces, and expressed more ideas.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Learning Disabilities</strong>: Handwriting instruction can be especially valuable to many students with disabilities. As one professor of occupational therapy has written, "One of the first things educators can do to ensure that students with special needs develop good writing skills, besides teaching them spelling and basic writing processes, is to provide them with formal handwriting instruction." Students with learning disabilities are more likely to need extra support to improve their handwriting, but improved handwriting can both help improve academic outcomes and help in fine motor skill development.</span></li>
</ul>
<p> And you never know when cursive will be useful.</p>
<p><span>For instance, the technique proved crucial in this year's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_Florida_v._George_Zimmerman" target="_blank">Florida v. George Zimmerman</a> murder trial. L</span><span>ater <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/george-zimmerman-verdict-2013-7" target="_blank">acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter of </a></span><span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/george-zimmerman-verdict-2013-7" target="_blank">17-year-old Trayvon Martin</a>, Zimmerman's defense team attempted to discredit Martin's childhood friend's testimony. </span><span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPtQqEFGBpo">Rachel Jeantel's was forced to admit she could not read the cursive letter</a> she wrote to Martin's parents, bringing into question if she could truly <keyword id="6379230" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="write">write</keyword> in cursive.</span></p>
</div>

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