With 200 news organizations expected in Sanford for the second-degree murder trial of George Zimmerman, which starts Monday with jury selection, Florida is in the spotlight in the racially charged case.
The consequences could be far-reaching, but they're not likely to affect state laws — and certainly not the "stand your ground" self-defense law that became the focus of controversy and led to calls for change after Trayvon Martin's death in February 2012.
Protests spread across the country after Zimmerman, then a 28-year-old neighborhood watch volunteer, shot and killed the 17-year-old Martin but wasn't arrested for weeks.
It was up to the Sanford police to decide whether he would go free under "stand your ground." Longstanding tension between Sanford's black community and its law enforcement grew.
By April 11, 2012, when Zimmerman turned himself in, Gov. Rick Scott had appointed a new state attorney to the case and named a panel to review the "stand your ground" law. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton led rallies in Sanford.
Zimmerman is half white, half Hispanic; Martin was black. Zimmerman was armed; Martin was not. When no arrest quickly followed Martin's death, his family brought in attorney Benjamin Crump, who drew national attention to the case.
Demands for an arrest swelled, especially after the release of a 911 tape in which a police dispatcher told Zimmerman not to track Martin's movements.
"Are you following him?" asked the dispatcher. "Yeah," Zimmerman replied. "OK, we don't need you to do that," said the dispatcher. "OK," Zimmerman said.
That call was followed by others from residents of the Retreat at Twin Lakes, the gated community where Martin was visiting his father. On the 911 tapes, screams and then a gunshot are heard.
But with no witness to Martin's death, the evidence has been fiercely debated in court, online and in the media. Whose voice was screaming for help? Who attacked whom first?
Rep. Dennis Baxley (R-Ocala), and House sponsor of the "stand your ground" law in 2005, has argued repeatedly that it was never intended to apply to
crimes in which the victim was pursued.
The law does allow Floridians to "stand their ground" and shoot at people they believe are threatening them, without having any duty to first retreat.
After meeting for six months, Scott's Task Force on Citizens Safety and Protection proposed only a few tweaks to the law, including a need to redefine "unlawful activity," increase education for law enforcement and review neighborhood watch guidelines.
During the 2013 legislative session, a handful of bills calling for change or outright repeal of "stand your ground" failed without committee hearings.
On April 30 this year, Zimmerman waived his right to immunity under "stand your ground." He has pleaded not guilty on the grounds of self-defense.
"I feel some affirmation about the wording and content of our self-defense bill being accurate, the fact that it's not being
used in this case," Baxley said. "And the facts of the case
will bear out, and we're all anxious to see what resolution comes."