ORLANDO (Fla.) — A Florida judge has dismissed a conspiracy and defamation lawsuit former neighborhood volunteer George Zimmerman had brought against Trayvon Martin’s parents. The case drew international attention to gun violence and race.
Tallahassee Judge John Cooper dismissed all charges against Zimmerman’s parents Sybrina Fulton, Tracy Martin, and attorney Ben Crump who represented them.
The judge stated that Zimmerman had not shown “any fraudulent representation” in his order and declared that any further arguments would be futile.
Cooper stated that there can’t be a claim for conspiracy to fraud if the claim is not adequately stated,” Cooper wrote in an order filed over two weeks ago.
HarperCollins Publishers was also named as a defendant in the suit. They had published Martin’s parents’ book about the case. Brittany Diamond Eugene and Rachel Jeantel were also included.
Zimmerman’s lawsuit claims Brittany Diamond Eugene did not want to testify that Brittany had spoken to Martin before his death. Rachel Jeantel, her half-sister pretended she was talking with the teenager before he died. Jeantel was called to testify at Zimmerman’s 2013 trial in Sanford.
According to the lawsuit, Trayvon Martin’s parents and Crump conspired in the conspiracy to have Zimmerman tried. Zimmerman claimed that the defendants painted him as a racist murderer and racially profiled Martin. Martin was Black. Zimmerman’s father was white, and his mother is Hispanic.
Zimmerman was acquitted in a 2013 trial. This focused attention on race, and Florida’s self-defense law “stand your ground”, which allows people to use force without retreating when they feel threatened.
This case was filed in Polk County in Florida in 2019. However, it was transferred to Tallahassee state court to accommodate some participants.
