Donald R. West, the attorney for George Zimmerman, will speak today (Thursday, Feb. 26) at noon in the Law Center McQuade Law Auditorium.

His free, public talk is titled “The National Media in the Zimmerman Trial.”

Zimmerman, the Florida man who claims to have shot and killed teenager Trayvon Martin in self-defense, was acquitted of second-degree murder in July 2013. In the weeks and months preceding the not guilty verdict, the national media was acutely focused on Zimmerman and the facts of his case. This intense media presence had real consequences for Zimmerman and his defense.

West will look back on his representation of Zimmerman and examines how media attention affected the trial.

A veteran criminal defense attorney, West has been lead counsel in several high-profile death penalty cases in state and federal courts in Florida and Puerto Rico, and has been designated as learned counsel in death penalty cases in state and federal courts. He is also the former senior litigation counsel for the Federal Defender’s Office and supervisor of its capital defense team.

West holds a bachelor of arts and master of science degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and a law degree from the State University of New York Buffalo Law School.

The lecture is sponsored by the UT College of Law and its chapter of the Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity.

Media Coverage
The Blade (Feb. 24, 2015)
The Blade (Feb. 27, 2015)

Tags: College of Law