Tell that to the Politicians who made the case personal, Al, and all the rest of those people who have already made up their mind on the verdict.Originally Posted by tokengator
I wonder if there is a chance of having the trial somewhere else? Alot of media attention, and some people in state probably would'nt mind Zimmerman hung without trial. Not like that is going to matter really.
I don't know, you would think moving it out of state would be best but they didn't with Casey Anthony and that turned out to be a debacle for the state. I suspect this case won't be any different, especially since they seem to have even less evidence. This time, however, because of the media race baiting this is going to result in destruction and death.
No prosecutor will charge/indict a case that they don't think they can't win at trial. Of course anytime anything goes to a jury all bets are off, but a prosecutor will always have enough to prove their case before they file charges.
Whether or not it goes to trial will depend on the defense and how willing the state is to accept a plea. I have had cases where the only deal on the table was to plead to the indictment/information. In some cases they took it and in other cases it went to trial.
It's going to be difficult to find someone who hasn't heard about this case to put on a jury.
That doesn't mean an automatic change in venue. A judge will rule if the defense submits a motion requesting it. The question will be not if they heard of the case but if they a) keep an open mind to the facts of the case and b) have they prejudged Zimmerman as guilty. Still may be a tall order in Central FL.
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/...-show-accident
Atleast someone seems to be not calling out for blood.George Zimmerman woke up in a Seminole County jail cell this morning as the mother of Trayvon Martin, the teen he killed, revealed on national television that she thinks the shooting was an accident.
Zimmerman is set to go before Judge Mark Herr at 1:30 p.m. today on a charge of second-degree murder.
Asked what she would like to ask to Zimmerman, Trayvon's mother, Sybrina Fulton, said on The Today Show that she wants an apology from him.
"I believe it was an accident. I believe it just got out of control and he couldn't turn the clock back," Fulton said, revealing her opinion about what happened the night her 17-year-old son was shot to death. "I would ask him, did he know that that was a minor, that that was a teenager and that he did not have a weapon."
I agree with her. I don't think Zimmerman is a psycho racist bent on shooting black teenagers. I just think he's a chucklehead that shouldn't have been playing neighborhood cop. And the more Rev Al and the rest scream about this and assume the intent, or extrapolate this out to gross generalizations, the more they poison the jury pool and distort "justice".
Zimmerman is pretty much f*cked, one way or the other...
I have no legal background; however, I think the a 2nd degree murder charge could be hard to prove. Despite her denials, I think public sentiment influenced her decision to charge Mr. Zimmerman with murder.
Real shock waves will occur if Mr. Zimmerman walks out of court a free man, since I doubt this case will result in a plea bargain. Then the second guessing will begin.
That might be the end game. Officially charge Zimmerman with something so that you can get the media circus and race baiters to shut up a bit, but charge him with something that will be ridiculously hard to prove so that he skates. Best of both worlds. You get to say you did your job by charging him and if you're on the take you get to watch him walk away because what you charged him with wasnt reasonable to begin with.
On the other hand, the people you're talking about could have gotten upset if they had charged him with a lesser crime than murder (like manslaughter). Personally I think they did the right thing charging him with 2nd Degree murder, but it probably will be difficult to prove. Unless the prosecutor has an ace up her sleeve we don't know about....
If he's white then I'm a pink eyed albino bubble boy.ABC News has uncovered questionable police conduct in the investigation of the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white neighborhood watch captain in Florida
I've been in law enforcement for over 20 years in 3 different states. I've never seen or heard of a prosecutor purposely charging a crime hoping they would lose the case, especially in high profile cases. Cases are charged or indicted based on the facts of the case. No prosecutor wants to LOSE a case, no elected prosecutor wants their office to lose a case.
If I'm not mistaken purposely mischarging a crime is not only a violation of ethics, it may be a criminal violation and grounds for disbarment.
I make it a point to read Laconian's posts.
Just saying.
I'm interested to see how the Stand your Ground law will play out here.
I'm generally supportive of such legislation, but I can see some problems with it. There was a commentator on NPR today discussing a case in Florida where a man had his stereo stolen and he chased the thief down. When the man caught up to the thief, the thief swung a bag of stereos at him, and the man stabbed the thief to death. The man was not charged because of the stand your ground law. - - I don't know anything else about that case other than what was discussed on NPR.
I read a legal commentary on that case. The lawyer broke it down to it's elements. What applied where and why the judge ruled it the way he did. There are several parts that are legally separate from each other. Part 1; A person has the right to go after stolen property. Part II, he had the right to seek return of his property. Part III, the bag of radios was sufficient to cause serious injury. When the bag was swung, the situation changed, the perp was now attacking the victim. The victim stood his ground.
Any way, if my memory is correct, that is the way it kind of went.
Also the governor and original defense attorney stated that in this shooting stand your ground did not apply.
There is also another case where a 71 year old retired man, shot and killed a man who came over to his property in a verbal altercation.
Last edited by Hollis; 04-12-2012 at 11:01 PM.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
