Posted on 07/07/2013 11:40:06 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Almost 20 years ago this week, America fell in love with televised trials. On July 7, 1995, O.J. Simpson’s “Dream Team” defense took over his murder trial and televised court proceedings were transformed from a novelty for seniors and stay-at-home moms to must-see TV.
America was split, with many people rooting for Simpson’s conviction and others praying for him to be found innocent. The courtroom changed from a legal proceeding to a spectacle, a talking point, a sporting event, with the public wanting scores and breakdowns every day.
So it’s fitting, sadly, that this week, George Zimmerman’s defense team will take the stage and many Americans still want to see this newest “Trial of the Century” analyzed and broken down, play by play.
But the Zimmerman trial is different, and it might be time for us to realize that we can’t rate this case like others in the past.
Most televised trials don’t have sides. While we watched the Jodi Arias, Menendez brothers and Casey Anthony trials, it was more for the spectacle than any larger issues or passions. But that's not the case with the Zimmerman trial. Even if polls show that Americans believe Zimmerman is guilty, there are sides, and many people believe that there are real consequences to this trial.
Legal analysts, court observers and scholars provide analysis and context for the Zimmerman trial, but explaining which legal team made a good argument is not the same thing as keeping a tally of wins and losses, which is what all too many people want.
It is perfectly understandable why some want the Zimmerman trial to be scored like a football game. As a nation, we aren’t too fond of long, drawn-out and nuanced experiences. We want a poll after every debate, a score after every witness....
(Excerpt) Read more at hlntv.com ...
PROFESSOR Jason Johnson, author of this crap!
Beat me because I had words to add!
Johnson served as campaign manager on legislative races in Virginia, South Carolina and Maryland
Lol...
So says this guy who works for HLN, this a ratings boom for them.
Florida law does not condition self-defense on no ability to retreat. Florida law states the test: whether the defendant was under a reasonable apprehension of imminent and serious bodily harm. If the facts warrant the jury to conclude that he was under such a reasonable apprehension, he is justified in using deadly force. The statute explicitly authorizes use of deadly force under these factual circumstances.
These pundits are continually trying to rewrite Florida law to cover their tracks and to lay down the predicate for an acquittal. Nor is it accurate to say that the defendant could not claim self-defense if he had an evil intent. So long as he passes the test expressed above, he has the right use deadly force and whether that use of deadly force betrays, as the prosecutor suggests, a depraved mind or not is utterly irrelevant to his right of self-defense. That depraved mind test has only to do with the elements which the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt of murder 2 or manslaughter. Even if the state proves these elements and establishes a case for either murder II or manslaughter, Zimmerman still has the right of self defense if he reasonably apprehends that he is in imminent danger of immediate bodily (not life-threatening) harm.
True. I have never watched their channel before. Now I am averaging 30+ hours a week.
Yeah but see it was the O.J. Defense team that was doing the antics and got the whole trial to hinge on:
"If the glove don't fit, you must acquit."
In the Zimmerman Trial the roles are reversed and it is the Prosecution with the antics and has got the whole case hinged on:
"If da glove don't fit, it don't matter, its your duty to lock up dat 'Crazy Ass Cracker'"
No, this case is about whether we will live under the rule law or under the tyranny of identity justice.
>> These pundits are continually trying to rewrite Florida law to cover their tracks
Exactly. Observed this earlier today while walking in proximity of a CNN broadcast. It’s obscene.
>> No, this case is about whether we will live under the rule law or under the tyranny of identity justice.
That too!
The polls I’ve looked at say Zimmerman is innocent. It must depend on the crowds people hang around.
Wrong analogy.
Last time they suspected they could get away with stealing and mayhem (in re Reginald Denny).
This time they have planned it no matter which way the decision goes.
Why? Fox carries coverage of the trial without the propaganda.
...this case is about whether we will live under the rule law or under the tyranny of identity justice.
America hasn't been ruled by law in a long, long time.
No they don’t. I didn’t find HLN til Friday,they carried it all,not bits and pieces in between fluff and crap like FNC,plus fill in anchorette that my skin crawls when I hear her voice.
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