Ex-lawyers to George Zimmerman: 'Call us'

Video: Ex-attorney: Zimmerman not a flight risk

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   >> uhrig are now both joining us. good morning, gentlemen.

   >> good morning.

   >> good morning.

   >> craig , first let's start with you. based on what you know, is george zimmerman a potential flight risk? and can you even confirm that he's still in florida?

   >> i don't believe he's a flight risk. he is not in the area. he is -- i can't disclose where he is. but, again, like we said before, if you're, you know, people staking out his house, my office, his parents' house and so on, he's not here. so, that being said, you know, don't keep -- you don't need to keep looking there. he's where he won't be found. he is in contact with fdle, when it becomes necessary for him to turn himself in, i believe he'll do it. i don't believe he's going to flee the country.

   >> hal , you suggested that mr. zimmerman may be suffering from some type of post-traumatic stress syndrome . what causes you to make that statement?

   >> well, let me say this, we've been in contact, and when i say we, primarily i'm talking about mr. sonner, has been in contact with both him and the family, able to draw some conclusions about maybe his mental state , or emotional state , perhaps is a better way to say it. and frankly, his actions here recently don't speak of someone who's completely doing very well. you've used the term that we're dropping him. i'm not sure that's the fair way to characterize it. let's say that we're simply announcing that the relationship no longer exists based on learning from the special prosecutor directly that he had contacted them, when they said we won't talk to you without your lawyers, he said, well they don't really represent me now, they were just my legal advisers, so i can come in and talk to you.

   >> it's interesting you talk about this announcement, because you, of course, know that some people in your profession are criticizing the two of you for making this announcement so public. you're on television this morning. you were last night. and that you're making this announcement while also casting aspersions, essentially, on your former client's mental acuity. i mean -- or ability -- or i -- i suppose his wellness. you believe that you are crossing a line of what lawyers should be doing here? craig ?

   >> let me be clear on two things. first of all, we're not casting any aspersions on george zimmerman whatsoever. we're expressing a concern for his emotional state , given the way that actions have taken place recently. you do that any time you go to a bond hearing. you do it in sentencing hearings. and sometimes you do it in the court of public opinion .

   >> but do you do it publicly --

   >> it cast him in a more favorable light to let the public know he's not a bad guy . he may just be an emotionally beat down guy by this process.

   >> and so to what end --

   >> as far as crossing the line . let me finish. as far as us crossing the line and the criticism of some of the other people that are out there, we've listened to some of them and quite frankly i've got a list of people whose opinions i value and for the most part those that are trashing us aren't on the list.

   >> okay. all right. well, and then, sorry by the way for interrupting you earlier trying to get some answers. let me ask you then, craig , about why stepping down just two days after losing contact with zimmerman was not a rash decision.

   >> oh, it's not a rash decision. i can't keep coming on tv and saying i represent him when he's made statements apparently to the prosecutor that he doesn't -- he wants to handle the case himself, and he doesn't want me to take part in it. and i've tried to contact him many times. family have tried to contact him. he's not returning calls to me. he is calling other people. he's saying i'm going to call you back at 9:00. he doesn't call back at 9:00. he's not returning e-mails, he's not returning text messages . the only conclusion i can draw is that he doesn't want me to represent -- to want us to represent him anymore. i can't keep going forward with the evidence shows he doesn't want us to represent him. he's not going to be in contact with me. then it's my ethical duty to step down. it's not -- it doesn't work the other way around.

   >> right -- you can't --

   >> it's a one way street.

   >> you can't reach him. if he is watching right now what is your message to george zimmerman , hal ?

   >> same message we sent to him by phone, fax, text, and e-mail through his website. give us a call. if you've got something you'd like to talk to us about, we're here. we've been ready for you. waiting for you. but if you're -- even if you don't want us to represent you, just call us and tell us that so that we're clear on it.

   >> hal uhrig and also craig sonner. thank you so much. again sorry for interrupting you earlier.

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