I haven't followed all of the testimony closely, but the prosecution's case didn't appear to unfold as they had hoped, and if I were defense counsel, I'd put a muzzle on my client, and think that a not guilty verdict is on the horizon. Zimmerman would certainly hurt hgis case by testifying.

The best news for the defense is that reasonable doubt is a tough horse for a prosecutor to ride when the prosecution's witnesses fall short. In this case while some might draw the inference that Zimmerman was belligerent and purposely approached Martin, putting a guy away on murder 2 is a big jump when the picture of the events is still possibly hazy.

What would make the defense nervous is that they can't escape the conclusion that whatever verdict is considered, Martin shouldn't have died that night. It's a tragedy that can't be undone, and that Zimmerman, armed with a gun, pursued Martin despite being advised by 911 not to do so can invite an inference that his hands are unclean.

While this incident has fueled a national debate about the role of race, I don't think the jury will be concerned about race in its deliberations. There are so many pieces of testimony and evidence along with complex jury instructions about applying the facts to each element of the law with appropriate standards of proof that there will be little time for such distractions.

I don't think there's a small chance for Murder 2, at least a 50% chance Zimmerman will walk, and a moderate chance at manslaughter or assault.

In order to limit possible appellate issues, the judge may have Zimmerman, if they decide not to testify, to give an oral colloquy to state that he voluntarily agrees not to testify in his defense.