Posted on 07/21/2013 12:14:08 PM PDT by RoosterRedux
He can be tried in federal court, but NOT because Fed and state are separate. He can be tried because the “crimes” are different. Murder vs. “hate crime”, however, I think one could argue in federal court that he can’t be convicted of a hate crime without murder being a part of that. The ONLY thing he did to Martin was kill him. Without considering murder, you have no crime. If you have no crime, you can’t prove what his attitude was. Murder can not be considered in federal court because then THAT would be double jeopardy.
No, but it's much more logical to charge cops a second time with Federal civil rights violations because they are acting under the color of law. Zimmerman was a private citizen, so there really is no coherent Federal case to be made against him. In this rare case, the ACLU is actually setting aside its collectivist agenda for a moment and telling the truth.
In a case that is obviously groundless for additional prosecution, the ACLU is simply getting itself some cheap publicity by standing on the side of the obvious.
If there had been the slightest shred of evidence upon which the federal prosecution could have gone forward, the ACLU would have either kept its mouth shut and it’s finger to the wind, or it would have been cheerleading from the sidelines, all based on their perception of the strength of the case.
They are carrion eaters.
Just goes to show the abuses of power and the current police state/Banana Republic stink so much as to turn off even some of the hard-core Leftist base.
Pretty outstanding, IMHO.
Check around while you're up there.
Dream On....Holder and Obama are fascists...they see far too much rascist propaganda value remaining that they can dedicate to the destruction of the US Constitution, to leave the Trayvon Martin case ( its no longer the Zimmerman Case) alone.
Holder and Obama are treasonous usurpers and both should be impeached, and Congress needs to get on with it.
Anyone doubt that Holder will use NSA and the IRS and any other agency he can to get Zimmerman and his family members?
There have been cases where cops who crimes were subjected to sham prosecutions. In such cases, it would seem that federal prosecution might be appropriate but the federal government should first have to demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that the first prosecution was a sham that it never subjected the defendant to any "real" jeopardy (e.g. the judge issued a directed verdict because the prosecution failed to show that the crime was committed in the county where the case was being tried); additionally, a jury that ultimately hears the case should likewise be presented with enough information about the original case to allow them to decide whether the prosecution was done in good faith, or was done in bad faith with the intention of avoiding putting the defendant in any real jeopardy.
If cops want to be subject to all of the same protections as everyone else, on the same terms, they should be subject to the same rules as well. Exemptions from rules which would apply to ordinary citizens carry with them extra responsibilities. Cops who are not willing to accept and honor those responsibilities should be instantly subject to the same rules as anyone else.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.