Posted on 04/13/2012 6:47:55 AM PDT by marktwain
George Zimmerman can ask to have the second-degree-murder charge against him dropped without having to stand trial in the death of Trayvon Martin.
Two years ago, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that anyone claiming "stand your ground" immunity in a death, battery or assault case can request a hearing on the evidence.
The hearing allows the prosecution and defense to argue all the elements of self-defense in the case evidence. To get charges dismissed, the accused must convince the judge that a reasonable person would believe that using deadly force or the threat of deadly force was the only way to protect his or her life, court records show.
The state's "stand your ground" law passed in 2005 says:
"A person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked in any other place where he or she has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony."
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Berman said he thinks Mark O'Mara, Zimmerman's lawyer, will request an evidentiary hearing as part of his defense of Zimmerman's "stand your ground" claim.
(Excerpt) Read more at articles.orlandosentinel.com ...
And yet it happens over and over again as if the Lynch Mob Media oracles on high have some spell-casting power over their minds. I am also amazed!
I think I agree.
When you are in your home, it is a reasonable presumption that a stranger there uninvited is an aggressor, and then, I believe, you have the right to act accordingly.
When people get into scraps on the street, or in a bar, it's much harder to PRESUME who is in the right. It can't be the law that, if you get into a fight you didn't NEED to get into that, once the fight goes against you such that you are in fear of serious bodily injury (i.e., you are getting your ass kicked) that you can then use deadly force to stop the fight.
If THAT is what the FL SYG law says, then I think it's a bad law.
I was quoting someone else’s post. Scroll up from my post to verify and then go to the Romper room website where nobody else knows what quotation marks mean either. Duuuuuuuh
Hopefully the defense lawyer will this still unnamed girlfriend why she didn’t call anybody else, after hearing the confrontation start. I would love to hear her answer.
How does Zimmerman manage to get a judge that hasn't been either coerced or bought by the Obama administration? Sounds like an impossible task.
When quoting someone else upthread I put the quote in italics and with a horizontal rule underneath to highlight the fact that it is someone else's opinion, not mine. I found quotation marks don't stand out. To each his own.
I think it's going to be an interesting trial. If the judge doesn't dismiss it at this pre-trial hearing.
776.041 Use of force by aggressor. —The justification described in the preceding sections of this chapter is not available to a person who: (1) Is attempting to commit, committing, or escaping after the commission of, a forcible felony; or (2) Initially provokes the use of force against himself or herself, unless: (a) Such force is so great that the person reasonably believes that he or she is in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm and that he or she has exhausted every reasonable means to escape such danger other than the use of force which is likely to cause death or great bodily harm to the assailant; or (b) In good faith, the person withdraws from physical contact with the assailant and indicates clearly to the assailant that he or she desires to withdraw and terminate the use of force, but the assailant continues or resumes the use of force.
This is an interesting point. I have wondered about the phone myself. I do not know who has it or who had it.
I know that much earlier, there was some claim by the Martin side that the Sanford PD had not found the phone at the scene.
It will be interesting to see who had the phone and did what with it as the evidence comes out.
As for her statement in the charging affidavit, has that been made public yet? If it has I admit to being behind the curve on that piece of news.
Yeah, she may have said it to the lawyer. And she may not. I don't believe or disbelieve she said anything until she says it to someone who can be trusted.
has anyone verified the picture ALLEGEDLY showing where the death happened and where the vehicle was located? Is that real or just a msm wish propaganda.
Can you source this? The articles I have read say that the standard of proof is "preponderance of the evidence" - that is 50%+1.
The key is going to be what was or was not done and what records / tests were preserved. If potentially exculpatory evidence was destroyed then there is a BIG problem for the state.
I don’t know that it’s necessarily an improvement, but the FL Supreme Court now has only 3 of 7 Justices who were on the court in 2000. That WAS 12 years ago! The Chief Justice is the only Jeb Bush appointee now sitting on the court; the other 3 were appointed by Crist.
If you have proof of your statement of what you "know", please provide it.
Well, we do know that Zimmerman stopped pursuing Martin and lost track of him. (Read the transcript of the call with the dispatcher).
We do know that Zimmerman had a broken nose, abrasions on the back of his head, and wet grass on the back of his jacket (police report).
What I don't know from the details I have been able to find is where the altercation took place in relation to Zimmerman's truck. We know Zimmerman began to follow Martin on foot. After the dispatcher tells him "we don't need you to do that", Zimmerman apparently stops following Martin, because the subsequent conversation with the dispatcher indicates that Zimmerman has lost sight of Martin.
Now, if Martin was found dead near Zimmerman's truck, it seems likely that Martin did double back and confront Zimmerman. If the body was found further away from the truck and well past the mailboxes mentioned in the transcript, then it is possible that Zimmerman continued to pursue Martin after hanging up with the dispatcher, and that could cause him problems, at least at the immunity hearing.
all police calls 911 etc, go to the same operator dispatch.
If a gun was being displayed, how did an attacking person have the ability to jump on top of that person? logic would indicate if a gun was being brandished/displayed a person would move away from the displayer.
I have a feeling you could be selling a lot of bridges these days. I’m sorely disappointed in the majority of FReepers in this case. I’ve lost count of the racially charged comments, attempts to paint a kid carrying Skittles as John Dillenger, etc. Hell, we even have one full blown nutbar who now refers to Zimmerman as Captain Zimmerman the law enforcement hero.
I for one hope that justice prevails and Zimmerman serves a lengthy sentence.
I just looked up the police report. It states that Martin was found in an area between two buildings, so he was not close to the street. So it does not appear that Zimmerman was at his truck when the incident took place. He may have been on his way back to the truck at the time, but it is hard to tell from the call transcript and the map. Based on where he described his truck being parked in the call and where the police report listed the body as being located, it looks like the shooting took place about 75-100 yards from his truck. A possible scenario, from looking at the map and reading the call transcript, is that Martin saw Zimmerman following him and took off running between the buildings. Zimmerman got out of his truck and followed him down between the buildings. After losing sight of Martin, Zimmerman may have been walking back toward his truck when the final confrontation occurred. If he had been following Martin on foot the entire time between the end of the call with the dispatcher and the time the shots were heard, he certainly should have covered more ground!
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