They are, wow. I thought a bail hearing was held for the purposes of setting a bond sufficient to ensure the DEFENDENT, not the convicted, appear for trial as long as they are not considered a risk to society or to flee. Now, what is the point of the Martin clan’s testifying to any of those issues? NONE.
Zimmerman was arrested pursuant to a trumped up or inflated charge of second degree murder. It will be interesting to see how the judge rules here. Usually murder accused are not given bail due to the flight risk so this bail hearing will provide some insight into how the judge views the charge i.e. if he gives a reasonable bail, he is messaging more then he believes Martin is not a flight risk, he is saying this charge is over the top, IMO.
Meanwhile, stay on personal DEFCON 2 just in case all hell breaks out at which point DEFCON 1 will be in effect. DEFCON2 means locked and loaded, DF1 means war.
The standard of review as to the charge is that the state must prove, to MORE than beyond a reasonable doubt, that the charge is true. If defendant presents evidence that can be used to create reasonable doubt about murder, or a reasonable possibility that is was self defense, then the judge must consider providing bail, as a matter of law. Additional justification for denying bail are flight risk and danger to the community.
The hearing is referred to as an Arthur hearing (a term peculiar to Florida law), and the factors are well presented in numerous cases that surround Arthur hearing. Defendant MUST be allowed to present evidence and rebut the prosecutor.
_________________________________
Well, he's right about that.
“...if he gives a reasonable bail, he is messaging more then he believes Martin is not a flight risk...”
I would have to agree with you. Being six feet underground and pushing up daisies pretty much means you aren’t going any where at all! LOL!