Lawyer Who Repped George Zimmerman Accused of Witness Tampering in Juvenile Rape Case

A prominent Florida attorney who made headlines nearly a decade ago for briefly joining George Zimmerman’s defense team is back in the spotlight, this time for allegedly tampering with witnesses in a juvenile rape case. Hal Uhrig, a 75-year-old lawyer with The Defense Group, was arrested Monday on charges of witness tampering and solicitation to commit perjury. Osceola County Sheriff Marcos López said in a news conference that Uhrig arranged a meeting between a man accused of rape, the victim, and her father. Uhrig represents the man, who allegedly raped the girl, now 19, when she was 9 years old. During the meeting with the victim and her father, according to López, Uhrig told them to pen a letter to the state attorney saying “that the rape didn’t happen.” He also allegedly advised them to evade a subpoena. The victim reported the attorney’s misconduct to the state attorney’s office in July. Uhrig said he intends to fight the charges.

Uhrig made headlines when he picked up George Zimmerman, accused of killing unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin, as a client on April 3, 2012. Seven days later, Uhrig announced he had lost contact with his client and would be dropping him. Zimmerman was later found not guilty on all counts.