Judge to Decide If Zimmerman Can Leave Jail The neighborhood watch volunteer charged with killing Trayvon Martin is asking a Florida judge to let him out of jail while he awaits trial, and legal experts say he stands a good chance of being granted bail at the hearing Friday. George Zimmerman's attorney will make the request at the hearing at the Seminole County Criminal Justice Center. Two questions likely to be at the center of the proceeding are whether he would be allowed out of the country and how he would remain safe. Family members of Zimmerman's are expected to testify by phone at the hearing. Legal experts say factors in Zimmerman's favor include that he has ties to the local community and that he doesn't appear to be a flight risk since he turned in voluntarily after second-degree murder charges were filed against him last week. He also has never been convicted of a crime, which would indicate he doesn't pose a threat to society. A spokeswoman for special prosecutor Angela Corey's office said Thursday she wouldn't comment on whether Corey would object to Zimmerman being released on bond. Defense attorney Mark O'Mara indicated he would ask that Zimmerman be allowed to leave the area, if he is granted bond, because of concerns about his safety. Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer charged with murdering Trayvon Martin, has a bond hearing scheduled for Friday, April 20, 2012. Whether Zimmerman is allowed to leave Seminole County as he awaits trial, and how he will remain safe, are two questions that likely are going to be at the center of the hearing at the Seminole County Criminal Justice Center, legal experts say. (AP Photo/Orlando Sentinel, Pool, Gary W. Green, File) Close O'Mara has said he would prefer that Zimmerman be released so he can assist in building a defense case. Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder in the 17-year-old Martin's death during a Feb. 26 confrontation in a Sanford, Fla., gated community. Martin was walking home from a convenience store when Zimmerman spotted him from his truck and called police to report him as suspicious. Zimmerman has claimed self-defense under Florida's "stand your ground" law, which eliminates a person's duty to retreat under threat of death or serious injury. The lack of an arrest for 44 days spurred protests nationwide, several in Seminole County, in which participants chanted and held signs that said, "Arrest Zimmerman Now!" Anger over a delay in Zimmerman's arrest led to the Sanford police chief stepping down temporarily and the recusal of the prosecutor who normally handles cases out of Sanford. Sanford city officials were holding a town hall meeting Thursday to address some of the residual anger from the case. Anderson reported from Miami. Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/#!/MikeSchneiderAP Follow Curt Anderson on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/#!/Miamicurt