Trayvon

[GH2001]

Next thing we'll see is a picture of you wading through the flood carrying a case of cheap beer.

The person nearest to me in the office asked what I was laughing so hard at. I literally drew that picture in my head and guffawed with no restraint.

[JR4AU]

killing a man because you find them suspicious

Again, you insert your own fucking ridiculous, emotional, liberal, race baiting spin.  He didn't kill him because he found him suspicious.  He claims to have shot him in self defense.   

 

despite them being unarmed,

At the time, Zimmerman had no knowledge that he was unarmed.  And one doesn't have to be armed to pose a threat of death or serious bodily injury.

[GH2001]

Again, you insert your own fucking ridiculous, emotional, liberal, race baiting spin.  He didn't kill him because he found him suspicious.  He claims to have shot him in self defense.   

 
At the time, Zimmerman had no knowledge that he was unarmed.  And one doesn't have to be armed to pose a threat of death or serious bodily injury.

Don't call Chad no liberal! Call him a faggot if you must, but don't you dare lump him in with hippies.

[AUJarhead]

JR4AU, question.  What's the next step?  He's been charged, does this go before a judge who will determine if there's enough evidence?  Will they start trying to plea bargain this down?

[Snaggletiger]

You need to move out of NO.  It done corrupted your brain. 

Next thing we'll see is a picture of you wading through the flood carrying a case of cheap beer.

He only drinks the good stuff

[JR4AU]

JR4AU, question.  What's the next step?  He's been charged, does this go before a judge who will determine if there's enough evidence?  Will they start trying to plea bargain this down?

Since it seems in FL you can bypass grand jury all together, I guess it goes to their Trial division (Circuit Court is what we call it in AL) for Arraignment, then it will be set for trial.  I guess they allow the DA to determine probable cause, but there may be a PC hearing of some kind, I don't know how it works in FL.  Between arraignment and trial, there will be the discovery process, and whatever pre-trial hearings are called for.  Wes I think is a FL attorney and may be able to shed more light on the exact process. 

ETA: In reading their rules of criminal procedure, it appears that they charged him by "information" and a warrant was issued, at which time a probable cause determination was made.  So, it appears to me, though I may be wrong, that there won't be a PC hearing.

And yes, I'm certain there, at some point, will be talk of pleas.  I don't see any way this doesn't go to trial. 

[Token]

Since it seems in FL you can bypass grand jury all together, I guess it goes to their Trial division (Circuit Court is what we call it in AL) for Arraignment, then it will be set for trial.  I guess they allow the DA to determine probable cause, but there may be a PC hearing of some kind, I don't know how it works in FL.  Between arraignment and trial, there will be the discovery process, and whatever pre-trial hearings are called for.  Wes I think is a FL attorney and may be able to shed more light on the exact process. 

ETA: In reading their rules of criminal procedure, it appears that they charged him by "information" and a warrant was issued, at which time a probable cause determination was made.  So, it appears to me, though I may be wrong, that there won't be a PC hearing.

And yes, I'm certain there, at some point, will be talk of pleas.  I don't see any way this doesn't go to trial.

If this doesn't go to trial and Zimmerman pleads to a lesser charge, shit will get ugly. 

[GarMan]

If this doesn't go to trial and Zimmerman pleads to a lesser charge, shit will get ugly.

Let it...  Perhaps, it's time for a culling. 

[Snaggletiger]

Actor and comedian Bill Cosby says the debate over the killing of Trayvon Martin should be focused on guns, not race.

In an interview on CNN's "State of the Union" aired Sunday, Cosby said calling George Zimmerman a racist doesn't solve anything. Cosby says the bigger question is what Zimmerman was doing with a gun, and who taught him how to behave with it.

Cosby said during the interview that he once owned a gun but no longer does. He says there is a need to get guns off the streets, and that people should be taught to use every possible alternative before shooting someone.

The Trayvon Martin shooting has also put a spotlight on the Stand Your Ground laws, which allow the use of lethal force in self defense.

After the Feb. 26 shooting, George Zimmerman persuaded the Sanborn, Fla., police not to charge him for killing unarmed teenager, but last week the state prosecutor has accused him of murder. Soon, armed with unparalleled legal advantages, Zimmerman will get to ask a judge to find the killing was justified, and if that doesn't work, he'll get to make the same case to a jury.

The wave of National Rifle Association-backed legislation that began seven years ago in Florida and continues to sweep the country has done more than establish citizens' right to "stand your ground," as supporters call the laws. It's added second, third and even fourth chances for people who have used lethal force to avoid prosecution and conviction using the same argument, extra opportunities to keep their freedom that defendants accused of other crimes don't get.

Martin's shooting has unleashed a debate across America on the validity of these laws, which exist in some form in most states and which prosecutors and police have generally opposed as confusing, prone to abuse by criminals, and difficult to apply evenly. Others are concerned that the laws foster a vigilante, even trigger-happy mentality that might cause too many unnecessary deaths.

An Associated Press review of federal homicide data doesn't seem to bear that out. Nationwide, the total number of justified homicides by citizens rose from 176 in 2000 to 325 in 2010. Totals for all homicides also rose slightly over the same period, but when adjusted for population growth, the rates actually dipped.

At least two-dozen U.S. states since 2005 have adopted laws similar to Florida's, which broadly eliminated a person's duty to retreat under threat of death or serious injury, as long as the person isn't committing a crime and is in a place where he or she has a right to be. Other states have had similar statutes on the books for decades, and still others grant citizens equivalent protections through established court rulings.

[Townhallsavoy]

Cosby's usually spot on.  This time, not so much.  The problem isn't guns.  The problems are statistics and human nature. 

[GH2001]

Cosby's usually spot on.  This time, not so much.  The problem isn't guns.  The problems are statistics and human nature.

Agree...

And the fact that culture is being De-sensitized to glorified violence through entertainment. Taking guns out of the hands of good guys does NOT prevent the bad guys from using them. Every time some cuckoo idiot goes on a shooting spree, the gun control people shout from the rooftops to implement gun control (on the good guys).

On a side note, every prosecutor Ive seen interviewed worth their weight in anything is saying the same thing JR has said. They don't know what this special Prosecutor was thinking and don't see anyway a Jury can convict on 2nd degree murder. Even Dershowitz has said it boggles his mind why she did it.

[Townhallsavoy]

Agree...

And the fact that culture is being De-sensitized to glorified violence through entertainment. Taking guns out of the hands of good guys does NOT prevent the bad guys from using them. Every time some cuckoo idiot goes on a shooting spree, the gun control people shout from the rooftops to implement gun control (on the good guys).

On a side note, every prosecutor Ive seen interviewed worth their weight in anything is saying the same thing JR has said. They don't know what this special Prosecutor was thinking and don't see anyway a Jury can convict on 2nd degree murder. Even Dershowitz has said it boggles his mind why she did it.

Is the special prosecuter planning on running for political office in a predominantly black district?  Just a hunch.

[GH2001]

Is the special prosecuter planning on running for political office in a predominantly black district?  Just a hunch.

To use my baseball analogy, I think she's an up and coming rookie slugger looking to make a name in the major leagues. And she is attempting to do it against a Verlander Fastball in her first game. Go big or go home. Those are her end result options.

[JR4AU]

To use my baseball analogy, I think she's an up and coming rookie slugger looking to make a name in the major leagues. And she is attempting to do it against a Verlander Fastball in her first game. Go big or go home. Those are her end result options.

She's been prosecuting for 26 years.  Not exactly a rookie in that realm.  Not sure how long she's been a State's Attorney, which is what I think they call their DA's.  Her 3 county circuit is predominantly white, and Republican.  To say "I don't get what she did" would be an understatement.

As for Cosby, agree with THS, usually like the guy, but he's way off base here. 

[Tarheel]

Haven't they executed Zimmerman yet?

[RWS]

I've been on a cruise for the past week, but I nearly shit my pants when I saw that they had charged Zimmerman. As a few have already said, either there is some solid forensic evidence that makes this a slam dunk, or the prosecutors have committed career suicide. It has to be one extreme or the other. Just looking at what is out in the public right now, it makes no sense for them to take the route that they did.

And as for these protests and marches that demanded charges be brought against Zimmerman? Are you fucking kidding me? Is that the solution to everything in this country now? We're actually going to put bounties on people, hold marches, etc to attempt to force law enforcement to charge certain people with certain things? Whether that is what happened here, I don't know. We don't know all of the evidence that the state has yet, but they better have their shit in order. Otherwise, Mr. Zimmerman will own the State of Florida in a few years. If the state fucks this case up, things are going to get nasty for alot of people on both sides.

[GH2001]

She's been prosecuting for 26 years.  Not exactly a rookie in that realm.  Not sure how long she's been a State's Attorney, which is what I think they call their DA's.  Her 3 county circuit is predominantly white, and Republican.  To say "I don't get what she did" would be an understatement.

As for Cosby, agree with THS, usually like the guy, but he's way off base here.

Didn't say she was a rookie DA. I used it in the sense of the analogy of being in the Major Leagues. This is her first HIGH profile national level case of this magnitude. I think she wants to make a statement and be Matthew McConahey in "A Time to Kill". It just ain't gonna happen.

In Cosby's Defense, he didn't say get rid of guns. He said it would be good to find a way to get them "off the streets". Which in theory is ok. But Gun Control has nothing to do with that premise. He may have good intentions, but I think he only has it about half right.

[JR4AU]

Didn't say she was a rookie DA. I used it in the sense of the analogy of being in the Major Leagues. This is her first HIGH profile national level case of this magnitude. I think she wants to make a statement and be Matthew McConahey in "A Time to Kill". It just ain't gonna happen.

In Cosby's Defense, he didn't say get rid of guns. He said it would be good to find a way to get them "off the streets". Which in theory is ok. But Gun Control has nothing to do with that premise. He may have good intentions, but I think he only has it about half right.

Actually, I thought you were suggesting she's a rookie in the political realm, ie trying to use this to vault her to a higher office.

Agree on Cosby.  But there's simply no way to "get guns off the streets" yet allow the citizens their 2A rights.

[JR4AU]

Can't understand how a warrant was issued here.

You need to watch the video.  Investigator admits there is no evidence to show who was the initial aggressor.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/george-zimmerman-case-exclusive-photo-shows-bloodied-back/story?id=16177849#.T5Ryx9Uf-Ij

Pic of Zimmerman's head.

[Token]

In a dramatic moment during the hearing, a detective, under questioning from O'Mara, admitted that it has no clear evidence that Zimmerman attacked Trayvon Martin first.

That, with the picture of Zimmerman's head moments after the attack, tells me the "special prosecutor" was brought in solely to charge Zimmerman with murder.  It's going to be a rough trial for the special prosecutor, not having the testimony of the law enforcement agency to fall back on when it gets to "witnesses" in this case.  At this point, forensics better show Zimmerman was standing over Trayvon or shooting him in the back.  Otherwise, Zimmerman and his family will be sleeping on money when this is over.