you have tanya miller, defense attorney and former prosecutor. rney in miami. welcome to both of you. tanya, let me begin with you. you and i sat here yesterday. we were watching a lot of this. tomorrow is a huge day. >> absolutely. >> we know the state will be resting. we're guessing, we don't have the witness list, we're guessing possibly sybrina fulton, trayvon martin's mother takes the stand. how does the state handle this so this is a home run for them? >> the state at this point is going to do what they really missed an opportunity to do with rachel jeantel. that's humanize trayvon martin. we are going to hear from his mother. we expect heart wrenching, emotional testimony from his mother that's going to really bring that back in the forefront of this jury. remind them that this case is about the loss of a child who was on his way home from the 7-eleven unarmed. >> michael, as you have this grieving mother on the stand, i'm sure a very poignant witness, indeed. how do you, if you're the defense attorney, how do you cross-examine someone like

tanya miller, former prosecutor, current defense attorney, do you think this was effective? or was this too much? >> i thought it actually fell a little flat. the problem with this nonstra demonstration was, one, the state never said the cement couldn't hurt you. what they said was george zimmerman is exaggerating the extent of his injuries and that trayvon martin didn't use the concrete and the cement in the way that george zimmerman says he did. i think the state effectively pointed out in their rebuttal all of these lies and inconsistencies in his statements, including the injuries. and the defense did not effectively deal with that in their closing argument. i think this was a feeble attempt to do it. it just sort of fell flat. of all the things you can show sort of righteous indignation about and be disgusted about, that just didn't seem to be one of them. >> what do you think, trent? do you agree with that? you heard from the state, they pointed out zimmerman said he was hit dozens of times. 25 times. but they say the injuries on the back of his head were not consisten

criminal attorneys darryn kavinoky and tanya miller. darren, you get to kick things off because all of this talk of zimmerman getting out of the car and following this teenager. it sounds like what it came down to was the final moments when zimmerman felt threatened. do you think that was because the case or evidence was weak or because the defense did a really great job? >> well, i think both of those things were a factor. i think the prosecution made some critical missteps in their presentation of the case. the most grievous of which was choosing to play zimmerman's interviews early on relatively speaking in their case which removed the need for zimmerman himself to take the stand and removed any opportunity for them to do a vigorous cross examination which would have cleaned up some of the mistakes that happened early on in the investigation. you know, this was a case with so many opportunities, so many times i should say when the prosecution snatched defeat from what could have been the jaws of victory. >> i want to get back to this

also joining us, prosecutor tanya miller and ann bremner. tanya, what do you think about the attorney general saying we have to do away with the stand your ground laws? >> i think it was one of the strongest takes at the naacp. he also put a very personal face on the issue of racial profile, which when it meets with the stand your ground law can be deadly for young african-american males. he did not give any indication whether the department of justice would file charges, not that i expected him to. i think what he said will resonate with african-americans and i think he's feelin personal pressure to take action in this case, whether he ultimately can or not. >> what did you think of his recommendation to do away with these state laws in florida, for example, stand your ground? >> well, i think that if he was going to announce today charges investigating further in civil rights violations or hate crimes, we would have heard it. i think there's more of an outcry saying let's get all of these laws out there that made this possible or impossible

tanya miller here in sfud owe. current criminal defense attorney, former prosecutor here. also eleanor odom, prosecutor. welcome to you. in stanford, florida, where the trial is takes place we have sunny hostin. now the trial is back. so we listen. >> -- toxicology purposes, in this case you're saying was not available through a peripheral source? >> in this case, i don't remember. but generally speaking, we should get blood from peripheral if there is one. >> okay. >> in this case i do not believe there is one. >> do you do that yourself? are you the one that draws the blood for that purpose? >> i never draw blood. >> so in this case, who drew the blood that was submitted as part of the toxicology -- >> objection, your honor. >> when there's an objection you can't answer until i make a ruling. thank you. the court has made a pretrial determination, and i'm asking counsel so make sure you abide by that. >> certainly. do you know who drew the blood? >> i believe it's ben dalton. >> he was the hands-on guy, correct? in terms of assisting with the -- >> yes. >> whereas ms. fe

tanya miller is a former prosecutor. good morning to all of you.aw trayvon martin's mother. and certainly that's probably what she's going to be like on the stand tomorrow. how powerful will that be, page? >> i think it is going to be very powerful. i think the jury expects to hear a lot of things about trayvon martin. i think the jury will then start to connect with trayvon martin. i really think though this type of a witness may have been better for the prosecution earlier in the case. go ahead and get the jury thinking about who this person is, this life that we have lost. i think that would really have focused them in more on the prosecution's case. but regardless of when it happens, it is going to be powerful. >> tanya, would you think they would have put trayvon martin's mom on the stand right after they played the 911 call at trial. >> i would have put his mom on the stand first thing. you're lucky as a prosecutor when you have the ability to put the victim's mother or family member on the stand because oftentimes they don't have any legally

let's bring in our legal experts here, tanya miller, defense attorney, former prosecutor, i think i have that right, as well as eleanor odom, a prosecution attorney. so we're watching this right now. first off, one thing i would like to analyze before we talk about this witness was that exchange that we saw between the judge and the defense. everyone wants to know, is george zimmerman going to testify? and she got pretty testy with him. what did you think, eleanor? >> i was a little bit surprised. usually judges will let the defense attorney answer for their client and not press the defendant right away. she really wanted to get an answer. do you intend to testify? what is your intent? a defendant can always change his mind. which is the beauty of that. what do you intend to do right now and do you need some time to talk to your attorney about that. so she was giving him that opportunity but she wanted to know. >> why did she get upset, do you think? >> i think don west has this persistent problem of not knowing when to stop. not knowing when enough is enough. he objected. she overruled.

we have page pate and tanya miller.e've been talking about race here and whether it's an issue and why it's an issue and how. let me put something on the table. prosecutors were talking about profiling and why they believe and argue that george zimmerman was targeting trayvon martin because he reminded zimmerman of black kids wearing hoodies who had been committing crimes. that was their theory, they used prior 911 calls. here is what i want to ask you, mr. pate. if race is a part of this trial why didn't the prosecutors charge george zimmerman with a law that's on the florida books called aggravation of crime by selecting victim based on prejudice? >> you're right, chris, that charge is available to the state. but it's a tough charge to make. i don't know that you want to stand in front of a jury and not only accuse george zimmerman of being a murderer, but being a racist murderer. >> what you're doing, mr. pate, as the prosecutor when you're saying listen to these old 911 calls, not the calls that night, not anything

let's bring in defense attorney and former prosecutor tanya miller as well as criminal defense attorneydanny sevalos. thanks for coming in. i'm sure a late night for you. tanya, everyone saying you have to wait until the verdict. you cannot get into the jury's mind, but when you see this verdict of not guilty and you know the charges, the potential convictions that the jury could have picked, do you see any point where the prosecution failed or where the prosecution lost the jury during the trial? >> you know, i don't really think you can pinpoint it to any particular moment. i, frankly, think that the prosecution did a good job. i think they presented their case well. i think they believed in their case and that came across very clearly, particularly in the closing arguments. the bottom line is this, is that it's not easy to get a conviction in our criminal justice system. it affords defendants tremendous protection under the law. the prosecution had a high burden to meet. and i, frankly, think the defense did a good job of convincing this jury that doubt existed. they held that doubt

. >> wow, page pate, tanya miller, i'm sure you'll be back because it just gets stranger and stranger. >>> just ahead in "newsroom" stand your ground. the controversial law raised in the shooting death of trayvon martin. one of the sponsors of that bill, that law will be here next, i promise. we'll be right back. bacon?! gotta get that bacon! bacon?! bacooon! smokey bacon, meaty bacon, tasty bacon! bacon? ohh la laa. i say, is that bacon? oh! good heavens! bacon! bacon! who wants a beggin' strip?? me! i'd get it myself but i don't have thumbs!! mmm mmm mmm mmm mmmm it's beggin! mmm i love you... (announcer) beggin' strips...made with real bacon. there's no time like beggin' time! righsave hundreds onrain, beautyrest and posturepedic. choose $300 in free gifts with tempur-pedic. even choose 48 months interest-free financing on the new tempur-choice. the triple choice sale ends soon at sleep train. >>> florida stand your ground law, let's just say florida's self-defense statute is under heavy fire. in some circles it made florida a national joke. >> folks, this is a victory for the rule

. >> jeffrey toobin, page pate and tanya miller, thank you for joining us. >> and san diego's maybe bob filner vowing to seek counseling now amid allegations of sexual harassment. but is that enough? and the woman involved in anthony weiner's latest sexting scandal, she weighs in on his wife to stand by his side. >> i don't think it's really my place to say that but if i were in her shoes, i wouldn't stay. [ male announcer ] don't miss red lobster's four course seafood feast, just $14.99. start with soup, salad and cheddar bay biscuits then choose one of nine entrées plus dessert! four perfect courses, just $14.99. offer ends soon, so come into red lobster and sea food differently. offer ends soon, so come into red lobster to experience the precision handling of the lexus performance vehicles, including the gs and all-new is. ♪ this is the pursuit of perfection. ♪ when you do what i do, iyou think about risk.. i don't like the ups and downs of the market, but i can't just sit on my cash. i want to be prepared for the long haul. ishares minimum volatility etfs. investments designed for a

tanya miller, holly hughes. let me start first with you, tanya. one of the things we saw bernie de la rionda doing was try to kind of revive what was supposed to be, you could still argue was, his star witness, rachel jeantel. was he able to do it, you think? >> i think he did what he had to do with rachel jeante lerks. look, the jury is going to have an opinion one way or another about whether or not they liked rachel jeantel. whether or not she was an effective communicator. what he's telling them is, look, put aside whether or not you think she spoke well and whether or not you'd invite her to your house for dinner and evaluate whether or not she's credible. is she telling the truth? is she corroborated by independent evidence? he's telling them, yes, she is. >> holly, big issue in the case was george zimmerman's state of mind as he was in the car, as he obviously came into contact with trayvon martin. we heard bernie de la rionda say he didn't even try to revive the kid. was he effective in, do you think, building this case against george zimm

darren kavinoky and tanya miller join me in studio seven.s in this whole thing. i want to talk about the attorney general's remarks out of florida in just a litittle b. first, the comments we have heard from prosecutors and the defense. s guys, tell me in my ear if we have the sound since we went to the white house. to we have the sound from angela corey and de la rionda? have you heard the sound from either of them? >> i have. >> what did you make of that? for folks who don't know what i'm talking about, angela corey the person who came in initially and said this should be a murder two case called george zimmerman a murderer. de la rionda calls him lucky. >> yes. she has to believe that. think about it. she charged him with second-degree murder. she's the prosecutor in this case. she is the one that evaluated this evidence and fully believed, as she should have before she charged him, that he was a murderer. and i think -- >> despite what the jury decided. >> despite what the jury decided. up fortunately, that's our system. but as the prose

tanya miller making a really valid point that they have to go through the science, as wonky and nuancerhaps a little over the heads of some of the jurors. it's important to establish. this is important. this guy knows his stuff because he may, as we're waiting to see, be able to come out and say yes or no, trayvon martin's, you know, dna was found on the gun. and that could be important. >> absolutely. look, i think anyone who has had significant experience trying these kinds of cases know that there are parts that are always boring. a trial is not some excitement filled event where they're on the edge of their seats at all times. this is important evidence. this jury is probably on the edge of their seat wanting to know what the scientific evidence says about this event. >> let's watch. >> about using obviously state's exhibit 203, i want to talk about the four swabs that were taken from the defendant's gun. the first one i want to talk about is the swab taken from the pistol grip. if you could, using that part of state's exhibit 203, tell us the significance of your findings there. a