It's been apparent for some time that George Zimmerman's lawyers, Hal Uhrig and Craig Sonner, are among the worst defense lawyers in recent memory. And they underscored it in what was, for the moment, their final act as Zimmerman's attorneys. They know that Zimmerman is no longer in Florida, but didn't urge him to return in the event he's indicted for killing Trayvon Martin. In so doing, they may have seriously jeopardized Zimmerman's chances of appealing any conviction.
You'll recall that Uhrig and Sonner resigned as Zimmerman's lawyers because Zimmerman has been incommunicado since at least Sunday. Uhrig also made a shocking revelation--Zimmerman has left the state of Florida. However, unless I missed something during the press conference, at no point did Uhrig and Sonner urge Zimmerman to get his ass back to Florida in case Angela Corey decides to indict him. This could pose a big problem for Zimmerman later on, especially since Corey has indicated that she'll announce whether to indict Zimmerman within the next three days. If an indictment comes down and Zimmerman doesn't return in a reasonable time, he could be considered a fugitive. And past precedent--most recently what happened to Andrew Luster--holds that fugitives lose their right to appeal.
If you'll remember, Luster fled to Mexico in January 2003, about a month into his trial for raping three women. He was captured in June, five months after being convicted in absentia and sentenced to 124 years in prison. Luster appealed, but state attorney general Bill Lockyer moved to dismiss the appeal on the grounds that by fleeing to Mexico, Luster had flouted the court's authority and had thus forfeited his right to appeal. The California Court of Appeal agreed and threw the appeal out. Both the California Supreme Court and the SCOTUS refused to review the decision.
Seen in this light, Zimmerman's apparent decision to leave the state looks pretty stupid. Even if you allow for the threats to his life, about the last thing I'd do knowing that I might be facing an indictment would be to basically throw away my cell phone and leave the state without talking to my lawyers. While I believe Zimmerman is guilty, the way the Sanford Police Department screwed up the investigation should make an appellate lawyer salivate. Yet, if Zimmerman doesn't get back to Florida within a reasonable time if an indictment comes down, he may not get the chance to appeal.