“she brought charges with a royally screwed up affidavit that would then force the judge to dismiss the case on a technicality. Thereby getting her neck out of the noose”
How woul;d that get her off the hook? Trading inaction for incompetence is a lateral move at best. She can cross her fingers and hope the judge get the blame, but I’m pretty sure people won’t forget it was her affidavit that wasn’t strong enough to make it to the jury.
Suppose you're a competent, experienced prosecutor who is faced with this situation. If you refuse to charge Zimmerman, you are hounded by the media for the rest of your days for failure to secure "justice" for poor Trayvon. However, if you arrest Zimmerman with what you know is a weak case that any semi-competent attorney can knock out of the park, you have at least got Zimmerman his day in court with a chance to clear his name. If he isn't charged and acquitted, he will likewise have to live in hiding for the rest of his life. However clumsily she did it, I think the prosecutor probably took the only course of action that will lead to a resolution of this case.