Nordic wrote:seemslikeadream wrote:George Zimmerman is not in Florida....so say his former lawyers..... MSNBC
He's hanging out in one of the Koch brothers' mansions.
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by General Patton » Tue Apr 10, 2012 11:27 pm
Nordic wrote:seemslikeadream wrote:George Zimmerman is not in Florida....so say his former lawyers..... MSNBC
He's hanging out in one of the Koch brothers' mansions.
by General Patton » Wed Apr 11, 2012 12:29 pm
http://www.franklinnow.com/news/franklin-tagged-with-trayvon-martinrelated-vandalism-fu4usq7-146968625.html
Residents in Franklin got some unexpected mail recently - along with some current events and social commentary.
According to the Franklin police reports:
On April 3, residents in the 10200 block of Scepter Circle reported that someone had taped a black and white photo of Trayvon Martin, with the word "Revenge" in red, to several mailboxes.
In a separate incident, a resident in the 10200 block of West St. Martins Road reported two stickers were placed on his mailbox, one with a picture of Trayvon Martin with "Revenge" written in red, the other was a fist that said "Kill Whitey."
Special watches were requested in both cases.
http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/holder-quotes-mlk-sharptons-trayvon-rally/474871
Attorney General Eric Holder rallied with Al Sharpton, whose activism in the Trayon Martin case is well-known, to promise "a thorough and independent review" of the case.
Holder invoked the most powerful images of the civil rights era before discussing Martin. "'Only when it is dark enough,' Dr. King said, 'can you see the stars,'" Holder told the crowd at Sharpton's annual National Action Network Convention, per prepared remarks. "Today, once again, it is dark enough."
"If we find evidence of a potential federal criminal civil rights crime, we will take appropriate action," Holder added. "And, at every step, the facts and the law will guide us forward," he added.
Al Sharpton, Holder's host, has called for an "escalation" in civil disobedience if George Zimmerman -- the shooter in the Trayvon Martin case who said he acted in self-defense -- is not arrested.
by seemslikeadream » Wed Apr 11, 2012 3:42 pm
Zimmerman to be charged in Trayvon Martin case
(CBS/AP) CBS News has confirmed that neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman will be charged in the February shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla.
State Attorney Angela Corey is scheduled to hold a news conference at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the state attorney's office in Jacksonville, Florida related to the Martin investigation.
According to a senior law enforcement official, Corey is expected to announce that Zimmerman will face state charges. The number or nature of the charges was not immediately known.
Zimmerman says he shot Martin in self-defense after following the teenager in a Sanford gated community outside Orlando on Feb. 26. He said he was returning to his truck when Martin attacked him and that he shot the unarmed teen during the fight. He was briefly held by police but was not arrested, in part because of Florida's "stand your ground" self-defense law.
The lack of an arrest has led to protests across the nation and spurred a debate about race and the laws of self-defense. Zimmerman's father is white and his mother is Hispanic. Martin was black.
On Tuesday, Zimmerman's attorneys announced they were no longer representing him and that they had not heard from him since Sunday, although he had contacted talk show host Sean Hannity and the special prosecutor.
"As of the last couple days, he has not returned phone calls, text messages or emails," attorney Craig Sonner said. "He's gone on his own. I'm not sure what he's doing or who he's talking to."
However, the person with knowledge of the case said law enforcement knows where Zimmerman is. His former attorneys have said he is in hiding and suffering from high levels of stress from the intense public scrutiny he is under.
Earlier Wednesday, Attorney General Eric Holder said that the Justice Department will take appropriate action in the killing of Trayvon Martin if it finds evidence that a federal criminal civil rights crime has been committed.
Holder said the department will conduct a thorough and independent review of the evidence in the Martin matter. One of the department's top priorities, said Holder, is preventing and combating youth violence and victimization.
The Justice Department launched an investigation of the Martin killing three weeks ago.
"I know that many of you are greatly — and rightly — concerned about the recent shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, a young man whose future has been lost to the ages," Holder told the 14th annual convention of the National Action Network, three days of discussion on race issues. Martin's parents were scheduled to hold a news conference Wednesday afternoon at the meeting.
"If we find evidence of a potential federal criminal civil rights crime, we will take appropriate action," said the attorney general. "I also can make you another promise: that at every level of today's Justice Department — preventing and combating youth violence and victimization is, and will continue to be, a top priority."
by beeblebrox » Wed Apr 11, 2012 5:40 pm
by seemslikeadream » Wed Apr 11, 2012 6:03 pm
George Zimmerman Charged With Murder in Trayvon Martin's Death, AP Reports
By MATT GUTMAN
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. April 11, 2012
George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch captain who admits he shot unarmed Florida teenager Trayvon Martin, was charged with murder today and has been taken into custody.
The charge of second degree murder was brought by special prosecutor Angela Corey, according to the Associated Press. She is expected to announce the charges during a 6 p.m. news conference.
The prosecutor's ruling is certain to provoke controversy in Sanford, Fla., where shooting took place and across the country.
Zimmerman, 28, a white Hispanic neighborhood watch captain, shot and killed Martin, who was 17 and black, on Feb. 26 after following the teenager for several minutes.
Martin's father, Tracy Martin, attended a news conference with Rev. Al Sharpton this afternoon before Corey's decision was announced.
"I feel confident in Miss Corey," the father said.
The special prosecutor's ruling came one day after Zimmerman's legal team quit because they had lost contact with him, and suggested that the pressure of the case had "pushed him over the edge."
The lawyers said that Zimmerman had left Florida, but he has been taken into custody, ABC News has learned.
Earlier this week, Sanford Mayor Jeff Triplett said his city has become a "kindling box" due to the high emotions surrounding the case, and that he would "plan for the worst and hope for the best."
The case gained national prominence with rallies across the country demanding that Zimmerman be arrested and charged with murder. Zimmerman and his supporters say that the shooting had nothing to do with race and that he shot Martin in self-defense.
The U.S. Justice Department is also carrying out an investigation into the shooting.
Attorney General Eric Holder indicate today that the feds will have a higher bar to establish that the shooting was a hate crime.
"For a federal hate crime we have to prove the highest standard in the law it is something that was reckless, that was negligent... We have to show that there was a specific intent to do the crime with the requisite state of mind," Holder said.
The city of Sanford has been getting increasingly tense as the decision neared. Six shots were fired into an empty police cruiser earlier this week in the neighborhood where Martin was killed.
The New Black Panther Party offered a $10,000 bounty for Zimmerman and his lawyers said Zimmerman had received death threats.
The New Socialist Movement, a white supremacy group, said they were patrol Sanford to protect whites and racists comments about the shooting have sprung up on social media sites.
Debate over the shooting became so widespread that even President Obama commented, saying if he had a son he would have looked like Trayvon Martin.
On his website, Zimmerman released a statement about the shooting this week, calling the incident a "life-altering event."
"As a result of the incident and subsequent media coverage, I have been forced to leave my home, my school, my employer, my family and ultimately my entire life," he wrote.
In a written statement to police on the night of the shooting, Zimmerman said that he'd called 911 to report a suspicious man and that as he returned to his car, Martin attacked him. Zimmerman said that Martin punched him in the nose and knocked him down, slammed his head on the ground and tried to take his gun.
The police report noted that Zimmerman was bleeding from the back of the head and nose. His lawyer said later that Zimmerman suffered a broken nose.
After Zimmerman received medical attention, it was decided that he was in good enough condition to travel in a police cruiser to the Sanford police station for questioning. He was not arrested.
by General Patton » Wed Apr 11, 2012 6:25 pm
by Nordic » Wed Apr 11, 2012 9:12 pm
by wordspeak2 » Thu Apr 12, 2012 12:23 pm
by General Patton » Thu Apr 12, 2012 12:49 pm
by wintler2 » Thu Apr 12, 2012 7:05 pm
McDonald's Says It Has Dumped ALEC
Add another name to the list of corporations who've ditched the American Legislative Exchange Council: McDonald's.
The fast food giant tells Mother Jones that it recently decided to cut ties with ALEC, the corporate-backed group that drafts pro-free-market legislation for state lawmakers around the country. ..
McDonald's sought to clarify its relationship with ALEC after a coalition of progressive groups with members in all 50 states, including Common Cause and Color of Change, announced plans on Tuesday to target McDonald's for its ongoing membership in ALEC. Rashad Robinson, Color of Change's executive director, said groups in the coalition were "flooding" McDonald's, Johnson & Johnson, and State Farm with phone calls demanding they stop backing ALEC.
"Major corporations like Pepsi, Coca-Cola, and Kraft understand that supporting voter suppression efforts and dangerous 'Stand Your Ground' legislation puts their brands at great risk in the black community," Robinson said. "We hope that McDonald's, Johnson & Johnson, and State Farm also get that message. Today, our members are flooding these companies with phone calls to demand that they stop supporting ALEC." ..
by General Patton » Thu Apr 12, 2012 8:03 pm
wintler2 wrote:Related ..McDonald's Says It Has Dumped ALEC
Add another name to the list of corporations who've ditched the American Legislative Exchange Council: McDonald's.
The fast food giant tells Mother Jones that it recently decided to cut ties with ALEC, the corporate-backed group that drafts pro-free-market legislation for state lawmakers around the country. ..
McDonald's sought to clarify its relationship with ALEC after a coalition of progressive groups with members in all 50 states, including Common Cause and Color of Change, announced plans on Tuesday to target McDonald's for its ongoing membership in ALEC. Rashad Robinson, Color of Change's executive director, said groups in the coalition were "flooding" McDonald's, Johnson & Johnson, and State Farm with phone calls demanding they stop backing ALEC.
"Major corporations like Pepsi, Coca-Cola, and Kraft understand that supporting voter suppression efforts and dangerous 'Stand Your Ground' legislation puts their brands at great risk in the black community," Robinson said. "We hope that McDonald's, Johnson & Johnson, and State Farm also get that message. Today, our members are flooding these companies with phone calls to demand that they stop supporting ALEC." ..
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/harvard-prof-alan-dershowitz-zimmerman-arrest-affidavit-irresponsible-and-unethical/
“You’ve seen the affidavit of probable cause. What do you make of it,” Smerconish asked. “It won’t suffice,” Dershowitz replied without hesitation.
“Most affidavits of probable cause are very thin. This is so thin that it won’t make it past a judge on a second degree murder charge,” Dershowitz said. “There’s simply nothing in there that would justify second degree murder.”
Dershowitz said that the elements that would constitute that crime are non-existent in the affidavit. “It’s not only thin, it’s irresponsible,” said Dershowitz.
Dershowitz went on to strongly criticize Cory’s decision to move forward with the case against Zimmerman. “I think what you have here is an elected public official who made a campaign speech last night for reelection when she gave her presentation and overcharged. This case will not – if the evidence is no stronger than what appears in the probable cause affidavit – this case will result in an acquittal.”
Smerconish identified the total lack of any mention of the supposed fight that occurred between Martin and Zimmerman prior to Martin being shot. He said he was disappointed that he did not see any mention of that conflict that led to Martin’s murder.
“But it’s worse than that,” said Dershowitz. “It’s irresponsible and unethical in not including material that favors the defendant.”
by justdrew » Fri Apr 13, 2012 4:05 am
by General Patton » Fri Apr 13, 2012 9:14 am
justdrew wrote:not too surprising if they play to lose, she'll get to have her cake and eat it too, and if they can proceed and throw the case, he'll be immunized by double jeopardy. Perhaps the Feds will end up having to take over, but I think they couldn't prosecute any murder charges, just civil rights violations.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2012/04/casey-anthonys-lawyer-george-zimmermans-a-victim-of-prosecutors-political-prostitution.html#storylink=cpy
Cheney Mason, the freewheeling criminal defense attorney who successfully defended tot mom Casey Anthony, is shaking his head over the second-degree murder charge against George Zimmerman in the shooting of Trayvon Martin.
The charge leveled by prosecutor Angela Corey is too severe and reeks of political calculus, Mason said.
“It’s political prostitution,” Mason said. “Now I don’t have all the facts – no one does – but you look at what we know of the case and it looks like the prosecutor bowed to other pressures.
“The fact is there is lots of racial bigotry in this case,” Mason said. “And a lot of it is coming from the side of Trayvon Martin’s family. I can understand why his family is upset. They lost a child. But they weren’t at the crime scene. None of us was.”
Mason said Corey is too zealous of a prosecutor.
"This is a person who wanted to put a 12-year-old boy as an adult for murder. It’s just too much,” Mason said.
To prove Zimmerman was guilty of second-degree murder, Corey will have to show Zimmerman acted with a “depraved mind” when he shot Trayvon.
“The only evidence we have now is what Zimmerman says and what an eyewitness says – that Trayvon was beating him,” Mason said. “Well, if that’s the case, this shouldn’t reach a jury. There’s just no evidence showing he acted with a depraved min. If Zimmerman was being beaten, it’s clearly a homicide. He had a right to carry his weapon. He had a right to confront a person who was walking around in a hoodie in the rain around dark when there had been crimes in the neighborhood.”
One-time federal prosecutor, former U.S. Attorney Kendall Coffey, suggested Corey might not stick with the second-degree murder charge through trial.
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/ ... -r-lott-jr
The charges brought against George Zimmerman sure look like prosecutorial misconduct. The case as put forward by the prosecutor in the “affidavit of probable cause” is startlingly weak. As a former chief economist at the U.S. Sentencing Commission, I have read a number of such affidavits, and cannot recall one lacking so much relevant information. The prosecutor has most likely deliberately overcharged, hoping to intimidate Zimmerman into agreeing to a plea bargain. If this case goes to trial, Zimmerman will almost definitely be found “not guilty” on the charge of second-degree murder.
The prosecutor wasn’t required to go to the grand jury for the indictment, but the fact that she didn’t in such a high-profile case is troubling. Everyone knows how easy it is for a prosecutor to get a grand jury to indict, because only the prosecutor presents evidence. A grand-jury indictment would have provided political cover; that charges were brought without one means that the prosecutor was worried that a grand jury would not give her the indictment.
The affidavit consists of six main points:
● Zimmerman was upset about all “the break-ins in his neighborhood” and expressed anger at how criminals “always get away.”
● According to a discussion with Trayvon Martin’s girlfriend, who said that she was talking to Martin before the attack, Zimmerman followed Martin. He did so despite the police operator’s saying “we don’t need you to do that.”
● Zimmerman “confronted Martin and a struggle ensued,” though no evidence is cited on this point.
● Trayvon Martin’s mother identified the voice crying for help on a 9-1-1 call as her son’s.
● Zimmerman shot Martin in the chest, and this is confirmed by both Zimmerman’s statement and ballistics tests.
● Martin died from the gunshot wound.
Note some of the points that are missing. The prosecution doesn’t claim Zimmerman had racial animus against blacks. There was no “f***ing coons” on the police call. Some extremely relevant information from the police report is completely excluded: There is no mention of the grass and wetness found on the back of Zimmerman’s shirt, the gashes on the back of his head, the bloody nose, or the other witnesses who saw Martin on top of Zimmerman, beating him, before the shot was fired. There is not even an attempt to say that the police report was in error; instead the affidavit just disregards it.
Even if everything in the affidavit is correct, it does not even begin to deal with the most crucial question: Who attacked whom? Even if it is true that “Zimmerman confronted Martin and a struggle ensued,” there may have been no wrongdoing on Zimmerman’s part. “Confronted” does not mean “provoked” or “assaulted.” It could simply mean that Zimmerman followed Martin and asked him what he was doing in the neighborhood. Surely Zimmerman had the right to investigate a strange person in his neighborhood. The police operator’s advice that “we don’t need you to do that” was merely suggestive, not an order to stop. Indeed, the police had no authority to give Zimmerman such an order.
Now take the charge of “second degree” murder. There is no way that the affidavit justifies such a charge. In Florida, second-degree murder is defined as “the unlawful killing of a human being, when perpetrated by any act imminently dangerous to another and evincing a depraved mind regardless of human life, although without any premeditated design to effect the death of any particular individual.” But if Zimmerman was being beaten, there was no “depraved mind regardless of human life,” and the act “imminently dangerous to another” would be justified as self-defense.
Angela Corey, the special prosecutor who filed charges, claimed multiple times on Wednesday that the prosecutors “are seekers of the truth.” In our legal system, grand juries can sometimes provide a check on prosecutors who indict based on political pressure or the desire to seek the limelight. It is no surprise that Corey avoided the grand jury.
http://www.popehat.com/2012/04/13/how-not-to-draft-a-probable-cause-affidavit/
I'm in a rush, but I can't avoid commenting on the affidavit of probable cause submitted in the matter of George Zimmerman's shooting of Trayvon Martin.
It's a piece of crap.
Explaining why could be an epic post, but I don't have much time, so I will make it brief.
The affidavit is argumentative, it's conclusory, and it lacks attribution.
An affidavit shows proper attribution when it explains how the affiant knows each piece of information in the affidavit. That doesn't mean that a proper affidavit can't be based on second-hand or even third-hand or fourth-hand information — it can. But a proper affidavit must explain how each link in the chain gained the information — how everyone knew what they knew — so that the judge can make an intelligent assessment of the sufficiency of the evidence.
For example, a properly attributed affidavit might say "On April 13, 2012, I spoke with Officer Smith, one of the other officers on the case. Officer Smith told me the following: a few hours before he spoke with me, he interviewed witness Jane Doe. Ms. Doe told Officer Smith that she was walking down Main Street when she saw a man she recognized from the neighborhood as Dastardly Dan running out of the bank."
By contrast, a bad affidavit would say "Witnesses indicated that Dastardly Dan was seen running out of the bank." An even worse one says "Dastardly Dan ran out of the bank," and offers nothing to indicate the basis for knowledge.
Even though it was produced under the supervision of a special prosecutor, under circumstances that I'd assume would warrant extreme care, the Zimmerman affidavit falls into the "even worse" category."
The affidavit takes the lazy way out, starting with a paragraph that says, in effect, "we investigated a bunch of stuff, and here's what we learned," followed by a narrative of what the affiant believes happened. Almost nothing is specifically attributed — that is, for most facts asserted in the affidavit, it is impossible to determine whether a witness told the affiant the fact, how the witness knew, or whether it is just a conclusion drawn by the affiant.
by General Patton » Sat Apr 14, 2012 10:31 am
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57414081/strength-of-case-against-zimmerman-questioned/
Trial lawyer Richard Hornsby has litigated 15 "Stand Your Ground" cases - none of them homicides - and won them all.
Hornsby told CBS News he thinks Corey's affidavit is more significant for what it leaves out than for what it includes.
"The moment George Zimmerman fired that shot is the key question in this entire case," Hornsby said. "Did he reasonably believe he had to fire that shot to defend himself? And the fact (Corey) completely left that out, begs the question, does she not have any evidence to refute his version of the events?"
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