Dershowitz: Zimmerman Prosecutor Threatening to Sue Harvard for My Criticism

Newsmax ^ | June 5, 2012 | Alan Dershowitz

[abb]

State Attorney Angela Corey, the prosecutor in the George Zimmerman case, recently called the Dean of Harvard Law School to complain about my criticism of some of her actions.

She was transferred to the Office of Communications and proceeded to engage in a 40-minute rant, during which she threatened to sue Harvard Law School, to try to get me disciplined by the Bar Association and to file charges against me for libel and slander.

She said that because I work for Harvard and am identified as a professor she had the right to sue Harvard.

When the communications official explained to her that I have a right to express my opinion as “a matter of academic freedom,” and that Harvard has no control over what I say, she did not seem to understand.

She persisted in her nonstop whining, claiming that she is prohibited from responding to my attacks by the rules of professional responsibility — without mentioning that she has repeatedly held her own press conferences and made public statements throughout her career.

Her beef was that I criticized her for filing a misleading affidavit that willfully omitted all information about the injuries Zimmerman had sustained during the “struggle” it described. She denied that she had any obligation to include in the affidavit truthful material that was favorable to the defense.

She insisted that she is entitled to submit what, in effect, were half truths in an affidavit of probable cause, so long as she subsequently provides the defense with exculpatory evidence.

snip

[Williams]

I am very surprised she made such a phone call. IF Dershowitz’s version is corrrect, certainly she knows that she is a public official, and it would be near impossible for her to sue someone for libel or slander based on their criticism of her actions as a public official.

Can she get Dershowitz in trouble with the Bar for criticizing her actions? Also highly unlikely.

If she engaged in such a haughty attempt to silence Dershowitz, it really reflects poorly on her understanding of her role as a prosecutor.

[Cboldt]

-- If the charge can be successfully defended by use of the excluded evidence - then it is exculpatory, plainly enough for every ditch-digger to see. --

Not just that. Corey is violating the immunity statute. A person who is covered by 776.032 is immune from arrest, detention, and prosecution. She has a duty to consider the self defense evidence, and if she finds she can't defeat that at trial, then she has an ethical and statutory duty to not charge.

My point is a narrow one, that the affidavit and information are -not- deficient for failure to recite and account for the elements of 776.032 self defense immunity.

[vette6387]

Marcia Clark

[Cboldt]

-- The key here will be Z's allegedly contradictory statements to police. That's her main evidence, and it wasn't detailed in the affidavit, either. --

Her support for the charge also includes DeeDee's testimony that Martin was being chased, and Sybrina's testimony that Martin is the one heard screaming for help on the 911 call or calls.

DeeDee and Sybrina are her key witnesses, and neither of them is a good witness. Both of those witnesses are easily overcome by the other witnesses, the timeline, and forensic evidence.

The state doesn't have a case, except by conjecture.

[Uncle Chip]

Bingo.

[Cboldt]

-- Which is the greater breach (as Dershowitz points out the hypocrisy) Z not telling how much was in the Pay Pal account, though his wife offered to get accurate information and was declined by the judge; or this #$%^*$ not presenting clear evidence that implies a different story than she was telling? --

The breach is the charge in the first place. That she brought it at all is the first problem. Everything else follows her breach.

In other words, if she'd charged and still showed the exculpatory evidence, somehow, the charge would be unethical.

[FreedomPoster]

>>Takeaway lessons are the police and prosecutor are not your friend, don’t talk to them

I expect most FReepers have seen this by now, but it can’t hurt to post it again. Well worth the 45 mintues to watch; if you’re doubtful, watch the first 10, you’ll end up watching the whole thing:

Don’t Talk to Police
http://youtu.be/6wXkI4t7nuc

[Uncle Chip]

The key here will be Z’s allegedly contradictory statements to police. That’s her main evidence, and it wasn’t detailed in the affidavit, either.

And those statements have still not been made public by her office, nor the lie detector test that he took and passed that night for the police.

[Cboldt]

-- Takeaway lessons are the police and prosecutor are not your friend, don't talk to them and get a good lawyer. --

Very good advice. Zimmerman is an exception to the rule, I think his being forthright with police immediately following the incident will work in his favor. His enemy now is Corey, and I believe she is out to sink Zimmerman, facts be damned.

Weird case, because the police testimony all works in Zimmerman's favor, and undercuts the prosecution. Corey isn't swimming just against Zimmerman, she is swimming against the SPD.

[bgill]

Her license needs to be pulled. She’s a disgrace even to the lawyers.

[Right Wing Assault]

Corey as Dr. Frank N. Furter.

[capt. norm]

Thr prosecutor looks like a man in drag.

[Georgia Girl 2]

I think Angela Corey may end up being worse than Nifong.

[McBuff]

[Uncle Chip]

And to think that this woman had hopes of running for higher office as a GOP candidate. She just may have painted herself out of office and out of her profession when this is over and may just take others with her.

[ex91B10]

Another product of Affirmative Action. About as sharp as a sack full of wet mice.

[kevkrom]

Alan Dershowitz: one of the last of the “honest” liberals. I also wouldn’t bet against him on his opinion about anything to do strictly with the letter of the law.

[OB1kNOb]

If Angela Corey doesn’t like the way freedom of expression operates in the United States, there are plenty of countries where truthful criticism of prosecutors and other government officials result in disbarment, defamation suits and even criminal charges.

And I would strongly encourage her to move to one of said countries.

[Verginius Rufus]

Corey is showing the 99% of the public who never went to law school how our judicial system works. Maybe it's a good thing for the public to learn that politics overrides justice.

She may figure that the worst that can happen is a hung jury--get a couple of jurors whose minds are already made up and will vote "guilty" no matter what evidence is produced in court, and a couple of other jurors who are afraid of being attacked or killed by Sharpton's thugs if they vote "innocent," and the jury could be deadlocked. Or those who believe that Zimmerman is innocent may give in expecting the verdict to be reversed on appeal.

[bgill]

It’s not just juries but throw in judges who also have their minds made up and pull some of the most idiotic stunts in the middle of hearings. The latest here was an innocent man committed suicide last year because police were outright lying, the prosecutor was hiding evidence and the judge kept delaying and delaying and delaying the trial knowing full well that it was tearing the guy up. No, I don’t trust the system one bit.