(Image source: Wikimedia Commons )

BY STEVEN SPARKMAN
ANCHOR LAUREN GORES

Florida prosecutors sent confidential files in the George Zimmerman case to the media — including a photo of Trayvon Martin’s body. HLN has more .

“It was part of some court documents mistakenly sent out yesterday. A judge has ruled the photos cannot be released.”

The files were part of a larger bundle of materials sent out by the prosecutor’s office. Media outlets pay to see those materials, but certain documents weren’t supposed to be included. WTVT reports — the photo wasn’t the only confidential file.

“George Zimmerman’s college transcripts were in there, too. They show he got a D in criminal justice and was on academic probation. ”

One question that came up in news story comments is how Zimmerman’s grades are relevant to the case. A reporter for the Miami Herald quotes a legal analyst who tries to answer that question.

“Legal experts said prosecutors probably reviewed Zimmerman’s school records because they could suggest that he had enough knowledge of criminal justice to concoct a self-defense claim. ‘To the extent that he had some knowledge of self defense, he would have been able to put together a story that made some sense...’”

The prosecutor’s office quickly sent out an email to media outlets asking them to ignore the files. But the cat was out of the bag. Several websites published the photo, and many more news sources delved into Zimmerman’s college performance.

A writer for The Atlantic Wire says just imagine how bad it could have been if the documents included a bombshell.

“Zimmerman’s performance in school is only tangentially related to the case, and the photo was barely recognizable. But it was a dangerous mistake for prosecutors under scrutiny from pretty much every national news organization. Had they accidentally released something big, there would be no stuffing it back in the bottle.”

Zimmerman’s attorneys say they will try to get the charges against their client thrown out under Florida’s so-called “stand your ground” law in a hearing later this year.