Neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman is set to appear in bond court for the second time Friday, after a judge ordered him back in jail when prosecutors said misled the court about his finances.
A recently published report, however, shows Zimmerman failed to show up at his deposition for a civil case in 2007 and was subsequently fined $10,000.
The Miami Herald reported Zimmerman sued Aames Funding Corp in 2006 as part of a class-action suit, citing he was never paid overtime for working 70-hour work weeks as a loan officer there.
Though he eventually won the civil lawsuit in arbitration, the Herald said Zimmerman never appeared at his deposition where he was expected to give a sworn statement. It is not known why Zimmerman missed the deposition.
His attorney in the Trayvon Martin case, Mark O’Mara, has argued in court that Zimmerman should be released on bond come Friday as he poses no threat to the community, isn’t a flight risk and stayed in touch with law enforcement officials after he was initially released.
In response to the Herald’s report, O’Mara emailed the newspaper and said, “To the extents that courts concern themselves with a client’s appearance, missing a noticed or scheduled court proceeding is considered significant.” He continued and wrote, “Missing a deposition, while we don’t know why Mr. Zimmerman missed a deposition in a civil case, missing a deposition is not missing a scheduled court proceeding.”
Prosecutors did not comment on how or if the issue would pertain to the upcoming bond hearing.
Local
More on the Trayvon Martin Case
Zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder in the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in a gated community in Sanford in February. Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty, and says the shooting of the Miami Gardens teen was self-defense.
Benjamin Crump, the attorney for the Martin family, told the newspaper the matter should be taken into consideration by the judge on Friday.
“I think a $10,000 sanction is huge; they don’t sanction you for nothing,” Crump said. “I think it should be taken into consideration by the judge, because this has to do with whether he is going to appear in court when he is supposed to.”
Zimmerman was paid the $18,000 ordered by arbitrator in 2011 - years after he won the civil case. However, no fees were deducted to pay off the $10,000 sanction, the Herald reported.
