Judge Reluctant to Delay in Zimmerman Case

SANFORD, Fla. (AP) _ The judge in the case of the former neighborhood watch leader charged in the shooting of Florida teen Trayvon Martin says it would take extreme circumstances for her to grant a continuance for his upcoming self-defense immunity hearing.

Judge Debra Nelson said Thursday that she would, however, consider rolling George Zimmerman’s immunity hearing under the state’s so-called “Stand Your Ground” law into the scheduled June trial.

Defense attorney Mark O’Mara will formally get to argue for that during another pre-trial hearing next week.

For now, Nelson has reserved the final two weeks of April for the immunity hearing.

She had also requested an initial jury pool of 500 for June’s second-degree murder trial.

Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty.