The tapes were played so the judge could decided whether the jury will be allowed to hear them. Prosecutors want jurors to hear the tapes, but Zimmerman's legal team argued that they are irrelevant to the case.
Judge Debra Nelson heard several calls without the jury present, listening to Zimmerman tell police about black males he deemed suspicious. In one call he told police about a black man he had seen before on trash day.
"He keeps going to this guys house. I know him. I know the resident. He's Caucasian," said Zimmerman. "He's going up to the house and going up to the side of it and coming to the street and going to the side of it. I don't know what he is doing. I don't want to approach him."
During the calls, Zimmerman referred to the strangers at times as black, another time as African American or "a gentleman."
In dismissing defense objections to the calls, prosecutor Richard Mathias said, "The defendant made the calls, he created these tapes, he created these situations. He shouldn't complain."
Prosecutors believe the calls speak to Zimmerman's mindset the night he encountered Martin, a 17-year-old black teenager.
"We are talking about the bare relevance of his state of mind….motive and intent are classic jury questions. What was the motive for seeking out these individuals?" Mathias asked the judge. "I think the state should be allowed to establish through relevant evidence if he thought [Martin] was suspicious because he was walking out in the rain or were there other things."
Zimmerman's lead defense attorney Mark O'Mara said the calls are irrelevant and would confuse jurors.
"We know now they have little or any evidence to suppose second degree murder," said O'Mara. "They are trying to set up a circumstantial evidence case....They are not acts that show ill will or second degree. They will show he was acting fine."
Judge Nelson said she will listen to the tapes and review case law before issuing the ruling.
Zimmerman, 29, is charged with second degree murder in Martin's death on Feb. 26, 2012. He has insisted that he shot Martin in self defense
Listen to George Zimmerman's Call to Police
The racially charged case has revolved so far around Zimmerman's calls to police.
In the opening day of testimony both sides parsed a call Zimmerman made to a non-emergency police number to report what he said was a suspicious black teenager in his Sanford, Fla., neighborhood.
Source: abcnews.go.com
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