Unnarmed 17 year old shot dead "in self defence"

[Aramike]

Sorry, Hap. I get what you're saying but I'm not buying it. For one, it appears you're basing your argument on "evidence" that is circumstantial at best, and the timeline is still being questioned.

In the end, you lose me because your argument comes down to a premise I find flawed - that Zimmerman should have his freedom of movement through his neighborhood be different merely because he was armed.

If it is okay for Zimmerman to follow someone he deems suspicious while unarmed, the same should be true if he's legally carrying. I haven't read an interpretation of the law that suggests otherwise in a concise way. Moreso, it wouldn't make sense.

Whether or not I believe Zimmerman was guilty will be based upon one simple thing: did Zimmerman actually confront Martin. Everything else, to me, is a "crystal ball" argument.

[Stealhead]

Originally Posted by nikimcbee

This.
I don't know how grand jury duty works in Florida, but I bet between grand jury selection and the regular jury selection process is going to be a total circus with the media coverage.

I do not know the entire process but a good friend of mine was pinned(actually they asked him and he said yes but they can simply pick you) as a grand juror from what he told me they actually pick certain people to be on a grand jury pool for lack of a better term when a case comes along they call you in and they still run a selection process and you might get picked or you get picked as a back up or you do not get picked at all.My friend thus far has only been picked as a back up grand juror for a case though it was for some racketeering case the interesting thing is that the back ups have to be close at hand when on a grand jury.

The down side is that when you are a grand jury member you have the "duty" for one full year in FL so it is bad news for most employed people as not so good for your almost always higer paying job and a case might last for months or longer.My friend is self employed so it was not such an issue for him.

Interesting side story I had another friend get out of jury duty by calling the court house the day of and claiming(lying) that he had lost his wallet(pure genius) and it worked I would not have believed him had I not witnessed him call the clerks office on his cell phone.In the old days in Florida the pool was from the registered voters in a county until they figured out that people where not registering to vote in order to avoid jury duty now they base it on drivers licenses as far fewer people will go without that in order to avoid jury duty.

[nikimcbee]

I did grand jury duty around five years ago for one month. It was some interesting insite to how the process works.

In Oregon, you only hear the prosecution side of the story. They must prove that a law has been broken and there is just cause to charge somebody with a crime. The GJ can vote the DA down.
We did have one case withdrawn due to a consistant story from the whitnesses.

it's relevant to the this case in how some people who know the law will ignore it in order to suit their agenda.They get away with it at times because most people just do not understand it.

Yet from your very first post in this topic and consistantly ever since you have shown that either you don't know the law at all or understand it.
Given your history on legal expertise in this topic and others it isn't that you are ignoring it it is simply that you don't know it.

No, it is not unknown.Witness statements and physical evidence show Trayvon attacked Zimmerman

Bull, witness statements and physical evidence show there was an incident, what they show is not yet established.

despite the laws protecting him.

once again you carry on with the same rubbish, there were 22 current cases mentioned long ago in this topic which trash your claim about that "protection"...though of course you ignore the legal aspects as they don't fit your agenda.

[CaptainHaplo]

Originally Posted by nikimcbee

In Oregon, you only hear the prosecution side of the story. They must prove that a law has been broken and there is just cause to charge somebody with a crime.

This is how the grand jury process works, it is in most cases a rubber stamp for a prosecutor because the GJ only hears one side and it needs only "just cause" to recommend charges.

This is also why the special prosecutor did not use a grand jury in this case. There is no specific florida statute that they could point to that says unequivically that Martin broke the law. This case, legally speaking, rests on very old common law precedence and plain ole common sense - neither of which are codified in florida statute. This is why the DA and police did not charge/arrest Z for the death of Martin. It violated no codiefied law. That however does NOT mean that no crime occured. It will be an interesting case, to be sure.

[nikimcbee]

it is in most cases a rubber stamp for a prosecutor

They (the DA) say that's not true, but in hind sight, it sure felt like a rubber stamp. Some of it was good, but some cases were just a waste of time. I don't know why they would go through all of the fuss for the prosecution. (see failure to appear)

[Platapus]

Why did Special Prosecutor Corey choose not not to use the Grand Jury?

Because she did not have to.

Supreme Court case Hurtado v. California, 110 U.S. 516 (1884) ruled that states could choose not to require Grand Juries and not violate the 5th and 14th amendment of the Constitution.

Florida statutes only require Grand Juries for specific crimes. In this context of this case, only if the Prosecutor wanted to levy First Degree Murder charges. Since she is only going for Second Degree Murder, no Grand Jury is required under Florida State law.

There are advantages and disadvantages for a prosecutor to choose whether to use a Grand Jury. Clearly people will have their own opinions and make their own inferences. But unless someone can penetrate the mind of Corey, that's all they will be: Opinions and inferences.

My opinion? I think she should have gone through the Grand Jury. But I am not a prosecutor in Florida nor, despite what has been opined here, do I have access to all the evidence.

Corey is calling the shots in this case. Upon her rests much of the accountability for the outcome. It will be an interesting case to observe.

[soopaman2]

Yes Platypus, I agree.

Very interesting case despite the outcome.

I see a Casey Anthony like overreach on charges here.
I am not always as articulate as I should be, but what I am saying is the prosecution is trying more for the max, than what is prudent.

Out of public outcry.

It will royally screw them in the end, just as it did with Miss Anthony. Who walked free in the face of malicious neglect for her child, because the prosecutor reached for the stars, tryin to be the next celebrity lawyer on court TV.

Maybe Coreys daughters will one day have a reality show like Bob Kardashians little girls do today. Or a show on right after Nancy Graces (tabloid...cough) show.

Justice is being corrupted by fame seeking. Whatever lawyer wins, will have a great TV career ahead of them.

I am at a point where I feel justice is corrupted on both sides. I feel bad for both Treyvon Martin and George Zimmerman, as well as their families.

Both deserve the truth, but we are far beyond that.