Originally Posted By: Matter-eater Man

That of course goes both ways. Besides Zimmerman's assaulting a cop with violence and domestic abuse allegations there was also a cousin that alleged he was molesting her.


As I noted before, prior bad acts are not necessarily admissible in a civil trial. That cuts both ways.

However, as noted before, from what I understand, the biggest potential exposure to the Martins is a countersuit from Zimmerman for assault by Trayvon and negligence on their part in failing to adequately supervise their son.

It's possible that Trayvon's past might be admissible in that context to show negligence by the parents in that they had knowledge of his bad character and still let him out at night unsupervised.

But that would not mean Zimmerman's alleged past was fair game as well. Most likely, it would come out there, if at all, on cross examination, in an attempt to show an alleged propensity for falsehoods or putting his own needs above society's. Even then, however, depending on the laws of FL, crimes which did not result in a conviction very well could be inadmissible to impeach.