i agree hank, the past is the past, but it can also show how the person was, or could have acted during the confrontation... Trayvon was only at his dads house because he was suspended from school for 10 days due to being in an "unauthorized zone"... i was in highschool once myself, and find that a 10 day suspension is total bull crap in that case, and there is something else that happened... he also got in trouble for beating up a bus driver... while the past is the past, it still shows a pattern of behavior..

the 911 operator, told Zimmerman to stop following Martin, i highly doubt it was because they were afraid Zimmerman was going to do something, and rather, that a suspect could pose physical harm to him personally... he didnt listen, and got his [Bleeeeep!] kicked, and someone got shot... how he was shot, is the key in this tho... 10 feet away, saying FU to someone, cannot be an excuse for that, getting repeatedly punched in the face, in some states, warrants that... but as you said, its up to the jury to find out and decide... that poses another problem tho, as look at what happened and is happening all across this country due to this, how can they fully trust jurors to be completely unbiased in this case?

and, if he does get found innocent, or aquitted, watch the riots that erupt in Florida, and across the country due to this... if you thought Rodney King was bad, you have another thing comin....