[Malveaux:] We're watching the courtroom in Sanford, Florida. You can see the live pic there. That is just the seal. They're on a lunch break. They'll be back shortly, probably about 10 15 minutes. Testimony set to resume any moment. This is George Zimmerman's murder trial. We'll take you back to the courtroom as soon as that starts, just moments away. Most emotional testimony we heard so far in the trial has come from, no doubt, the family members. Both from the victim as well as the defendant. You might think the jurors give special consideration to the family's testimony, right? Doesn't always work that way. Here's Randi Kaye.
[Randi Kaye, Cnn Correspondent:] Dueling testimony from mothers on both sides over just who was screaming during the 911 call.
[Unidentified Male:] That screaming or yelling do you recognize that?
[Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin's Mother:] Yes.
[Unidentified Male:] Who do you recognize that to be?
[Fulton:] Trayvon Benjamin Martin.
[Unidentifief Male:] Do you know whose voice that was screaming in the background?
[Gladys Zimmerman, George Zimmerman's Mother:] Yes, sir.
[Unidentified Male:] Whose voice was that?
[Zimmerman:] My son, George.
[Kaye:] During emotional trials, family members are often star witnesses, put on the stand for their sometimes emotional and personal insight in hopes of gaining favor with the jury. The question is, is it effective? Sometimes yes and sometimes no.
[Mark Nejame, Cnn Legal Analyst:] A lot of times jurors will disregard family testimony because they simply believe there's so much bias involved that that's not a neutral witness or necessarily a truthful witness.
[Kaye:] But that hasn't stopped attorneys from trying. Sometimes the person testifying helps. After sentencing one of the killers to death, several jurors from a horrific triple murder case in Cheshire, Connecticut said they were amazed by the strength of the victim's husband and father in court.
[Unidentified Female:] Seeing him there, seeing his courage and seeing his strength after everything he's been through, that transferred to us.
[Kaye:] But, it can be risky and backfire. After Michael Jackson was acquitted of child molestation charges, jurors said they had a hard time believing the accuser's own mother.
[Unidentified Male:] We just couldn't abide the story of the mother for one. We just thought that shw as not a credible person.
[Kaye:] In George Zimmerman's case, both sides see it as a risk worth taking. Two members of his family testified and three from Trayvon Martin's.
[Tracy Martin, Trayvon Martin's Father:] As I said over and over, that was my best friend in life and to have him gone is a tragedy.
[Jorge Meza, George Zimmerman's Uncle:] I was on the computer and that voice just came and hit me. It hit me in a way I heard that but I felt it inside my heart that is George.
[Nejame:] They've got to believe somebody and a lot of it goes down to credibility.
[Kaye:] And with a case where the facts remain so elusive, credibility may ultimately be the key. Randi Kaye, CNN New York.
[Malveaux:] Anybody that has done home renovations will tell you it's a long process but Christine Romans, she's got some basic steps that will help make it all worth it.