Irresponsible and Unethical…
Harvard University law professor Alan Dershowitz made an appearance on on MSNBC’s Hardball to discuss the Zimmerman arrest affidavit, and had some incredibly harsh language for Angela Corey concerning her actions in the George Zimmerman prosecution.
Dershowitz is a well-known Democrat with a column on the Huffington Post, but seemed stunned by how poorly written the affidavit was, going so far as to call it “irresponsible and unethical,” as well as Corey’s actions politically motivated. He also said that if the prosecution didn’t have more evidence for the case than what we’ve seen, “a good judge would throw it out.”
Regarding the affidavit in support of 2nd degree murder, “It won’t suffice. 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. There’s simply nothing in there that would justify second degree murder. The elements of the crime aren’t established.” Dershowitz said.
According to a report from ABC Newss Matt Gutman, the lead homicide investigator in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin recommended that George Zimmerman be charged with manslaughter, not 2nd degree murder, on the night of February 26.
Multiple ABC News sources claim that investigator Chris Serino was instructed to not press charges against Zimmerman at all because the state attorneys office headed by Norman Wolfinger determined there wasnt enough evidence to lead to a conviction.
When we wrote affidavits in support of a complaint, (and I have literally written several thousand) they cited points and authority to show the elements of the crime had been satisfied and the charges requested were appropriate.
The DA would then go over the summary, looking at the elements and either there was probable cause to believe a felony was committed or there wasn’t. If there wasn’t then the subject was released, otherwise we got our complaint.
I’m going over and over the evidence in the Zimmerman case and I am having serious difficulty establishing the elements for a second degree murder charge. Look…this was my profession, just like it was Soaps. Based on what has been made public was just don’t see 2nd degree murder here. If this is the whole case then something is grossly wrong.
2nd degree murder is a non-premeditated killing, resulting from an assault in which death of the victim was a distinct possibility. Second degree murder is different from First Degree Murder which is a premeditated, intentional killing, or results from a vicious crime such as arson, rape, or armed robbery. Exact distinctions on degree vary by state.
In Florida there is an extra element for 2nd degree murder…a depraved mind. Murder with a Depraved Mind occurs when a person is killed, without any premeditated design, by an act imminently dangerous to another and evincing a depraved mind showing no regard for human life.
The primary distinction between Premeditated First Degree Murder and Second Degree Murder with a Depraved Mind is that First Degree Murder requires a specific and premeditated intent to kill.
Where is the depraved mind in this case? Shooting Martin only after Zimmerman was in the process of being attacked and sustaining life threaten injuries does not rise to the level of 2nd degree murder.
A prudent person would conclude under the circumstances that Zimmerman’s mens rea (state of mind) was likely somewhere between panic, confusion and desperation when he finally fired the fatal shot.
Don’t think he was sustaining life threatening injuries? ANYTIME a person is struck in the head there is a reasonable possibility that it will cause serious injury of death. The grave yards are full of people who died from being hit just once in the head. One of the more comment ways of death is a lesion to one of the arteries at the base of the skull at the brain stem. A sudden shock or hit to the head and the brain twists slightly and it could cause a fatal bleed. I’ve worked two homicides where the victims died from just one punch and I am aware of many more. But, it’s not even necessary to sustain injury or wait until you are attacked before you can use lethal force. If you have reasonable cause to believe that you are about to suffer serious bodily injury or death you can take defensive action at that point where the attack has made an over move toward you to carry out the threat or the attack.
You make great points and present the facts clearly enough that even I understood them. The problem with it is the MSM, the Left and Obama do not deal in facts, facts only get in the way of their nasty agenda.
I meant to ask this and forgot. How does a grand jury fit into this system and what is the point of having one if a DA can go around it?
The Grand Jury is an alternate system and it is sometimes convened by the District Attorney when he is looking for political support or he has a thin case and needs their approval. The Grand Jury can refuse to indict on any case when they feel it lacks the evidence and this is a good way for the DA to test the strength of his case, but this rarely happens. When a D.A. presents a case to the Grand Jury they almost always feel he or she (DA) must know what they are talking about and they are inclined to grant the indictment.
The problem with this case, (the only problem in my opinion) is the lack of evidence collection. I haven’t worked in law enforcement, but the basic administration of justice class I took for fun one year clearly explained how to investigate and take witness statements and these guys failed. If they had done their job in the first place, we wouldn’t even know this happened. Their failure to investigate and document evidence hurts Zimmerman too. Where are their photographs? Why didn’t they take his clothes? Why didn’t they check the numbers on Martin’s phone? He was in the morgue for quite some time. His parents reported him missing, law enforcement didn’t call them.
Zimmerman is getting screwed over big time by the media but it all happened in the first place because law enforcement failed. And I have to say that in a state with Stand Your Ground laws, I think people like Zimmerman are more likely to assume that everyone is armed and ready to shoot. Florida certainly doesn’t look real good.
Princess: “Where are their photographs? Why didn’t they take his clothes? Why didn’t they check the numbers on Martin’s phone? He was in the morgue for quite some time. His parents reported him missing, law enforcement didn’t call them.”
We know only what has been reported in the media and what activists have claimed. We don’t know everything about the investigation or about what the police collected.
Also, what was your source that his parents reported him missing and law enforcement didn’t call them?
Anybody with experience: Is it the responsibility of investigating police to call the parents or does someone else do that?
Well Princess, I’m sure you’ve heard what happens when you break down ASSUME (makes an ASS out of U and ME). And so there you go looking like an ASS by leaping to conclusions based on assumptions that the Sanford Police did not properly collect evidence and conducted an incompetent criminal investigation and make me look like an ASS for calling bull$#it on your comments, when in fact the Sanford Police collected evidence you ASSUMED they did not. You should have ended your comments with “I don’t know $#it about evidence collection or criminal investigations, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night”.
I try to only get information about this case from the Miami Herald. I feel like almost every other source has been corrupted by special interest shills like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson who always ride in to save the day (and line their own pockets and stoke their own egos) when a brown person is hurt by a white person. The Miami Herald has done an excellent job reporting on this from the very beginning in my opinion and it was in their many articles on the subject that I read about the police not identifying Martin for at least a day.
The problem with the information we get about this case is that internet news on Google isn’t exactly sourced correctly and the dialogue has shifted from a kid being shot and the shooter not being charged; to a black kid being shot by a white shooter because he was black and wearing a hoodie (which is not the case at all)
And I would like to hear from law enforcement personnel out there about the responsibility of law enforcement to try to identify shooting victims and notify families. I would love for someone to lay out a step by step explanation of the correct way to investigate a case like this without the racism hype, or the political hijacking. For discussion purposes, what should have happened?
My understanding was Zimmerman lived very close and that he may have been taken home to change. This would explain why he showed up at the police station in clean clothes. If he was his clothes would have been placed in evidence at that time. His clothes would have gun powder and blood on them if he shot the gun from close range. His head would have been cleaned by the responding medic to see if he needed stitches and taken to a hospital to get them. EMTs and Medics don’t do stitches. At least they took pictures of his head before cleaning it.
I too heard it was several days before Martins parents were able to locate where he was and what had happened. If true, of course they were in a panic and no doubt contributes to everything that is happening now. (Looked for an article about it, but didnt find anything.)