Dershowitz: Knock-knock joke could be grounds for mistrial motion
A knock-knock joke by George Zimmerman’s lawyer was neither funny nor appropriate, according to Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz.
The defense lawyer, Don West, began his opening statement on Monday with a joke intended to highlight the difficulty of choosing a jury in his client’s high-profile trial for the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, Fox News reports. Zimmerman, a former neighborhood watch volunteer, has claimed he acted in self-defense.
Here is West’s joke: “Knock-knock. Who’s there? George Zimmerman. George Zimmerman who? All right, good. You’re on the jury.”
Dershowitz told CNN’s Piers Morgan on Monday that the joke could be the basis for a mistrial motion. “I would be furious at my lawyer” unless notified in advance about the joke, Dershowitz said. “In fact, I would ask my other lawyer to make a motion for a mistrial to start all over again.”
Prior coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Six jurors picked for Zimmerman trial; none are male and none are black”
