Mr. Zimmerman, 28, is likely to appear with a new lawyer, Mark M. O’Mara, a well-known criminal lawyer, but it is not clear if a judge will set bail, or if Mr. Zimmerman will formally enter a plea.

Mr. O’Mara said in a brief interview on Wednesday night when the time comes his client would plead not guilty.

Mr. O’Mara also said he hoped the judge would take up a bond motion at Thursday’s hearing — which is expected to be brief — but he expected the issue of bail might have to wait for a more extensive hearing in the near future.

The charges, which Mr. Martin’s family praised but called overdue, opened a new chapter in a case that set off a searing national discussion of racial profiling, Florida’s expansive self-defense law and the fairness of the criminal justice system.

People's An American Tragedy in writing an unarmed 17 year old was killed from a chance encounter turned deadly leaving a family devastated and a country outraged, is a travesty of American justice and slap at America's Hispanics.

People magazine found Zimmerman guilty accused without due process.

Now that Zimmerman is charged with killing Martin, a court of law will decide who is guilty and who is the victim.