Zimmerman denied trial delay in Trayvon slaying

George Zimmerman's trial will begin as planned in June, with a Florida judge denying the request by the former neighborhood watchman's lawyer to delay it.

Issuing her decision Monday, the day that slain teenager Trayvon Martin would have turned 18, Judge Debra Nelson told Zimmerman's defense his concerns were not enough to support pushing the trial back from mid-June to November.

Nelson said that Zimmerman's lead attorney, Mark O'Mara has been on the case for nearly a year, and the problems gathering evidence for the defense are not insurmountable, Central Florida News reported.

O'Mara issued the request last week on the grounds that the prosecutor has been too slow in turning over evidence, putting undue pressure on the legal time to piece together a defense with too little time and money.

"I think it's physically impossible for us to be properly prepared," O'Mara said.

The state attorney has denied the accusation, jabbing at O'Mara's regular media appearances.

Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty second-degree murder, maintaining his claim that he shot the unarmed teen in an act of self defense under Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law.

Jury selection for the trial is scheduled to begin June 10.