Skype testimony in Trayvon Martin Case shows courtroom may not be ready for modern-day technology

A year and five months have passed since the nation got word of the Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman case and it’s been 10 years since the invention of Skype. But what does a popular video and voice application have to do with a highly controversial case ruling that rocked the country? Skype was one of the major technology failures that took place during a witness testimony. It’s obvious that this case was tried not only in court but over social media, and here’s where things went wrong.

The three-week trial included accounts from witnesses, family, and friends of Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman before a jury of six in Sanford, FL, where the shooting took place. On July 3, 2013, Professor Scott Pleasants called into the courtroom on his Skype account to testify for George Zimmerman, his former criminal-justice student at Seminole State College of Florida. The court case was being aired on live television before an anticipating nation when Pleasants called in, but when the viewers got a look at his Skype username, they bombarded his account with attempts to call into the conversation. 

Richard Mantei, Assistant State Attorney for Trayvon Martin, started to read an excerpt from Pleasants when the woosh-woosh pop up sound first began. Mantei started to repeat himself when Judge Debra Nelson cut in asking if the calling was coming to Pleasants phone. The next minute was pure frustration, followed by laughter in the courtroom as the judge commanded the volume to be turned off and Pleasants chuckled trying to decline all of the invitations. Mark O’Mara, George Zimmerman’s attorney, said, “There is now a really good chance that we’re being toyed with” as the event was going on. The rest of the testimony was given by Pleasants through an iPhone on speaker on the witness stand.

See below to watch the full video from the Orlando Sentinel .

As if failing to Skype into a murder trial wasn’t a big enough social media slip-up for one case, Don West, one of George Zimmerman’s defense attorneys, found himself in a minor social media scandal. On a break from the case, West was seen in a photo on his daughter’s Instagram enjoying an ice cream cone with his two daughters with the caption saying, “We beat stupidity celebration cones #zimmerman #defense #dadkilledit”. West denied knowing the picture was published and had to issue a statement saying, “As a parent, we’re not always proud of things our children do but we love them anyway, and then we move on.” 

Throughout the duration of the trial, the hash tag “#Zimmerman Trial” became a popular trend on Twitter. Defense attorney Mark O’Mara tried to avoid spoof accounts from the beginning by creating a website for Zimmerman and explaining that the reason for putting him on social media was to dispute misinformation, discourage speculation, acknowledge the significance of the case, raising funds, and give his client a voice. The Martin family showed their rallying skills as well by creating an online petition to have George Zimmerman arrested, receiving over 2.2 million signatures.

Technology and social media are taking over our world. But who would have thought that they would change the way we conduct a case in a Unites States criminal courtroom. The justice system that serves as the foundation as our country is in for a major reality check starting with a large social media presence in the State of Florida v. George Zimmerman trial.