Zimmerman Trial, Day Eight: Prosecution in Trouble

Somewhere in Florida, George Zimmerman's defense attorney, Don West, is eating more celebratory ice-cream. To put it simply: the prosecution's attorney, Angela Corey, has been indicted by the Citizen's Grand Jury for falsifying Zimmerman's arrest warrant.

To say that it hasn't been a good week for Corey would be putting it mildly. The state attorney has been indicted for, allegedly, rushing the criminal charges against Zimmerman in response to the media frenzy. According to the state (which is now, technically, indicting the state; irony prevails!), Corey withheld photographs of Zimmerman's bruised and bloody head in a career-boosting move.

Previous to this new low, Corey's prosecution team already seemed to be struggling. The witnesses she's put on the stand have been unable to come up with a clear alternative to Zimmerman's narrative of events, offering mixed accounts, and tripping up on details. The lead investigator into the case said on the stand that he believed Zimmerman was telling the truth, and the defense has tripped up several witnesses (like Rachel Jeantel) into admitting that they'd lied before, or were sketchy on details.

What might happen next for Corey? She could be replaced, or the case could be dismissed altogether—since the charges were drawn up using alleged "falsified evidence," this wouldn't be impossible. Either way, Zimmerman appears to have benefited from the trial's early stages, and some are saying, is more likely than was expected to walk free.

On Wednesday morning, teacher Alexis Carter—who was Zimmerman's instructor in the criminal justice course he took at Seminole State College—took to the stand.

"How are you doing, George?" Carter asked Zimmerman, smiling at him. He went on to testify that Zimmerman was one of the "better students" in the class, and that he'd earned an A.

The course's chief professor, Gordon Pleasants, then spoke to the courtroom via Skype. The call, however, was inundated by pranksters who called the professor's Skype line during his testimony. The judge grew increasingly irritated, and eventually gave the prosecution permission to interview Pleasants over the phone instead.

Judge Debra S. Nelson also admitted more evidence into court today—evidence the defense furiously tried to block—such as Zimmerman's failed application to join the Virginia police, his course work for Carter's class, and his application to ride along with police.