Last week , George Zimmerman had a hearing to reduce his bail bond . It was anticipated Mr. Zimmerman would make the request .The way in which he made the request was a terrific move on his lawyer’s part. In most cases , I do not put the accused on the stand at a bond hearing . Under Tennessee criminal law , one of the factors for reducing the bail bond is the likelihood of the conviction. So , the client should not testify in most cases since the assistant district attorney can make an inquiry about the facts of the criminal offense.

In the Zimmerman case , Mr. Zimmerman took the stand and made a public apology to the family . Great move. It appeared to be heartfelt and may have turned the public opinion of him in this tragic case. In most cases , it would be unwise to take this path. Due to the unique facts of this case , it was the right choice . Now everyone in America knows he is remorseful including prospective jurors. I think the public apology was a very strategic move by his lawyer. One thing was missing. Why did not the prosecutors cross examine Zimmerman on the facts. In Tennessee , this would have been fair game.

Reducing a bail bond in Tennessee is base upon several factors like the likelihood of conviction. I have previously written about all the factors the court will consider in lower bail bond.