Really, really bad.
It seems the DA’s primary case is predicated on the irrelevant and unprovable allegation assertion that Zimmerman profiled Trayvon.
First off, the allegation of the racial not button term “profiling” is totally irrelevant. Zimmerman is not a law enforcement officer working in the field he is a private citizen ACTING ON HIS OWN PRIVATE PROPERTY.
There is one huge and significant fact that has been completely ignored by the media in this case.
The incident took place in the common area property of his gated condominium complex and Zimmerman is member of the community's association and part owner of the common area by virtue of his membership and lawful ownership of a condo in the community of sole and joint private property.
That gated community has a legally valid warning sign on the gate informing all that enter that due to high crime in the area and the fact that the gated community is private property any non member of the gated community wandering around in the gated area is subject to being stopped and questioned as to why they are on the private property and who they are a guest of in that private gated community.
All members of the gated community have signed on this policy by virtue of the bylaws of the condo association, including the woman who Trevan and his father were a guest of.
The operative word for Trevon and his daddy here is GUEST because daddy was not married to the woman who lived in the gated community nor did he ever have any intention to do so as is evidenced by actions with Treyvon’s mom over the past few months.
As a guest of a person living in a condo of the gated community (and we don't know if the woman owned a condo there,was a renter or a Section 8 housing recipient of a unit in the gated community) Trevon and Daddy were obligated to follow the rules for guests visiting the private gated community.
Included in the rules for guests was the obligation to submit to being stopped and questioned as to your reason for being in the private property of the gated community and informing the person who is questioning you who you are visiting or staying with.
This is a big deal and is legally valid.
According to the bylaws of some gated retirement communities, you are not allowed to have friend or family members living with you for more than a few days if they are below the age of 60 and these communities routinely use these laws to have young people evicted if they stay on too long.
Courts have come down hard in the favor of the rights of communal associations to police their gated community private property. The fact of the matter her is that Zimmerman was acting well within his rights on his own private property in accordance with regulations for visitors of his private property that were properly posted legal notification signs to guests entering the gates of the private property.
Treyvon and his father, in their capacity as guests on private property were obligated to follow those rules of conduct while guests on the private property.
Clearly written on the entrance sign on the gate was the obligation of guests on the private property to submit to questions regarding who they were a guest of and the reason for their visit to the community. Obviously, Treyvon violated these rules and decided to beat Zimmerman up on Zimmerman's own private property. I can't believe this fact has been ignored
Interesting point. So TM was violating the communities rules/laws.
“That gated community has a legally valid warning sign on the gate informing all that enter that due to high crime in the area and the fact that the gated community is private property any non member of the gated community wandering around in the gated area is subject to being stopped and questioned as to why they are on the private property and who they are a guest of in that private gated community.”
You NAILED it.
Moreover, Zimmerman was HIRED to patrol the area by the association, and was far more than a mere “onlooker” who acted on his own curiosity. Zimm had every right to do what he purportedly did, and that is why the police didn’t charge him.
It's an interesting fact, but it doesn't change the self defense outcome. Martin doesn't get any [more] right to deck strangers who annoy him, when he is out in the wild where you have no obligation to submit to questioning. You still have to listen to annoying jerks from time to time, panhandling, cussing, "hey you" stuff, and so forth.
However, I agree that it changes the "profiled" and "followed" question. Martin should have been given a clue that the association does this, albeit usually via police as proxy.
Where can I see a picture of the sign?
>>The incident took place in the common area property of his gated condominium complex and Zimmerman is member of the community’s association and part owner of the common area by virtue of his membership and lawful ownership of a condo in the community of sole and joint private property.<<
I believe that you are mistaken about Zimmerman being a condo owner. I think he was a renter, but that doesn’t take away from your point.