Judge considers lesser charges for Zimmerman

[Perdogg]

link only USA Today

[kiryandil]

this is insane.

It's a direct assault by the State of Florida on the Right To Keep And Bear Arms in that state.

[bmwcyle]

When a Judge carries prejudice like this, justice will never be served.

[Secret Agent Man]

possibly.

[warsaw44]

manslaughter per Florida law: “evinces a depraved mind regardless of human life.”

I think Zimmerman will be convicted of this despite the evidence. His having an all female jury guarantees it. I suspect these women will use their feelings and emotional reaction to the evidence rather than use fact, logic and reason.

” Well he did kill that boy and that’s bad. So Zimmerman is guilty. “

I suspect they will take into account what might happen if Zimmerman was let free regardless the fact it has no standing in a court of law.

[Friendofgeorge]

Howabout just something like this.......

“A conviction of Manslaughter is the same as 2nd Degree Murder as far as George Zimmerman is concerned”

Would be met with a objection, but Mark O could say I was just saying that either way he loses his freedom

He can do better than what I said, but something along those lines, they could NOT prove that he broke the order

[Friendofgeorge]

I am VERY worried, but hope you are wrong as I am sure you do as well!

But we can remember that, if I am not mistaken, 2 jurors of the 6 the prosecution wanted off.

1 of the jurors (not sure if it was 1 of the 2 or not) also referred to Al Sharpton, Jessee Jackson etc as rioters, or I think more specifically simply riots in describing the march on Florida

Also, how many people really have not made up their minds by now?

How many will change entire position based on ridiculous closing by the terrible awful bald man Bernie

If they are really going back and forth depending on what the argument is, then we are perhaps in trouble

[boop]

I was on a tour in Mexico. The tour guide told us how "Mexican" defines many types of people.

He said "You'll see many Mexicans that are tall and thin, with cocoa colored skin. These are descendants of Europeans. Now you'll notice that I am short and squat and dark. I am a descendant of the original inhabitants of this country."

I've never forgotten his explanation.

[boop]

That's what pisses me off royally.

If you want to go for the brass ring of murder 2, you can't at the last minute go for the booby prize of manslaughter.

The prosecution never brought this up, so how should the defense "prepare"?

I'm so curious of how things will go down if the jury comes back with manslaughter.

Will GZ have to rot in jail until someone pays the $$$ to get him an appeal?

I wish I was rich.

I'd pay anything to see that GZ stays out of jail until this abortion of a "trial" is thrown out.

With prejudice.

The "judge" is so incompetent, that I don't see how Z wouldn't win.

Plus if I were a plaintiff's attorney, I'd be SALIVATING at bringing lawsuits against ALL media outlets that prejudiced the jury.

[DoughtyOne]

The problem with this mess, is that many of us going into this with a layman's understanding of criminal law, or less, sometimes much less.  I may be in that category for all I know.  I sound off about what tweaks me, but I could be wrong.  I don't want mislead others though.  That's where my response will focus, on being reasonable about my expectations.

That's what pisses me off royally.
Well, as you have seen, I get upset about some aspects of this case.  Then someone who knows more than I comes along and explains, and I have tostep back and realize things may not be quite as they seem.

If you want to go for the brass ring of murder 2, you can't at the last minute go for the booby prize of manslaughter.
I had a discussion with Concience of a Conservative, and I think he raised some important points.  You saw what my take was.  His take was that there are a number of lesser charges that can be brought under various headings.  If you charge someone with a higher crime, you can add in lesser charges.  If true, it isn't this judge that is the problem.  I could be you and I not understanding how the court works to one degree or another.  If he was right, you and I may be over-reacting.  I'm not totally convinced he's right, but I believe he probably has a reason for his comments, and it may be that he is an attorney, or simply knows more about the court's inner workings.

The prosecution never brought this up, so how should the defense "prepare"?
Another poster brought up, that he felt the defense was actually arguing against the lesser charges all along, knowing that it was likely the Prosecutor would morph charges and the judge would agree.  As much as we might think so, this may be mundane business, exactly how things generally go in these cases.

I'm so curious of how things will go down if the jury comes back with manslaughter.
Well, I'm not going to be happy about it, if they do.  I'd imagine those who thought Zimmerman was wrong will be doing back-flips.  Others will be angry at what seems like an innocent man being railroaded.  I'll be in that group.  I do not see criminality in Zimmerman's actions.

Will GZ have to rot in jail until someone pays the $$$ to get him an appeal?
Well, probably so, if convicted.  He'll be there until aquited in an appeal, as I understand it.  Again, I'm not sure of that, but I believe that to be true.

I wish I was rich.
Well, that makes it unanimous.  I wish you were too.

I'd pay anything to see that GZ stays out of jail until this abortion of a "trial" is thrown out.
Just like the other side, I think we need to consider that we may not be happy.  This may not go our way.

With prejudice.
Works for me.

The "judge" is so incompetent, that I don't see how Z wouldn't win.
I'm not happy with the judge either.  To me it seems she is way off base.  Again, it may just be me.

Plus if I were a plaintiff's attorney, I'd be SALIVATING at bringing lawsuits against ALL media outlets that prejudiced the jury.
Well, with the laws governing free speech, that would be a tough win.

I hope I didn't disappoint you with my response.  I think the judge has shown poor judgement, but I am not absolutly convinced of it.

Othere who have followed along a log closer than I have may have very good reasons for thinking so.

[DoughtyOne]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3041446/posts?page=169#169

[marygam]

Wold love to go to Disney, however they have raised the admission so damned high I would need to take out a loan to spend a few days. Good idea though!

[chessplayer]

Virtually guarantees Zimmerman will be sentenced to 30 years in prison.

[MacMattico]

I think you’re exactly right.

I think the judge should have to specify the charges and the possible sentences for those charges before trial begins. After all, sentences for charges are public information and one or more of the jurors may already know the manslaughter charge could bring on 30 years. On the other hand, the jury could be clueless, decide purely on emotion and not evidence, think manslaughter will only give him a couple of years, and to avoid riots convict him of manslaughter. I know they’re suppose to only follow the evidence, but they don’t.

[Theodore R.]

“Lesser” charges is a meaningless term in liberal FL, what is called “a distinction without a difference”. I bet this jury knows nothing about this. And I think the jury will vote 6-0 to convict for manslaughter because he “should pay” for taking an “innocent life”. I believe this jury will never understand the reality; probably much of the testimony was excluded to the jury.

And when Jebbie runs in 2016, a conservative opponent if he had the gall could cite “Judge Nelson” as the kind of judicial appointments one could expect from a third Bush administration. I wonder if Republican primary voters could understand that.

Injustice will prevail, and I wish very much I am wrong.

[Theodore R.]

Disney has defied that old Jack Kemp line that he did not alaways practice: We get more of what we subsidize and less of what we tax. People don’t associate the voluntary “admission fee” with a tax, I guess.

[Theodore R.]

Did Jebbie know of her incompetence (and clear bias) when he appointed her? Where did he find this person? Don’t the bushes dislike biased persons?

[Theodore R.]

I don’t think justice is a priority at all with people in FL. If so, they have failed miserably.