Even after the verdict, legal action may continue in Zimmerman case
OPINION - There are five likely scenarios that still could unfold as this trial draws to a conclusion, even if the prosecution fails to meet the burden for second degree murder...
Some legal observers of the trial of George Zimmerman, have been sharply critical of the performance of the prosecution. Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty to second degree murder saying he shot Trayvon Martin in self-defense. There are some who have even declared that it might be impossible to convict the former neighborhood watch volunteer.
The legal standard for second degree murder is that the prosecution has to present proof beyond a reasonable doubt that shooting Trayvon Martin was not necessary to prevent great bodily harm to Zimmerman, and that he acted with malice or in anger. This, after Zimmerman was told by a police dispatcher that authorities “did not need” him to follow Martin.
But what is clear is that the case has drawn strong passions on both sides. After hearing arguments from both prosecutors and the defense, Judge Debra Nelson ruled Thursday that the jury can consider the “lesser included offense” of manslaughter in their deliberations. And the jury has been instructed to do so. That means if the jury decides that prosecutors failed to prove that Zimmerman acted out of malice, or “depraved indifference to human life,” as is required for a second degree murder conviction, they could still find him guilty of the lesser charge.
According to former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Kendall Coffey, manslaughter with a firearm is a first degree felony which carries a minimum 9 1/4 year sentence, up to a maximum of 30 years in prison, or up to 30 years’ probation.
An emotional investment by African-Americans
Many African-Americans have developed a tremendous emotional investment in the outcome of the case — along with a growing fatalism, as described by Jonathan P. Hicks of BET.com
From barber shops and nail salons to group conversations on social media, there seems to be a gradual resignation among some African-American trial watchers that Zimmerman’s lawyers may have commanded the upper hand in the second-degree murder trial in the death of Trayvon Martin. Though race was not a major component of the trial, there is an historic cynicism that the American criminal justice system consistently fails to value African-American life in the way it does the lives of white Americans. Others suggest that their feeling is based on the stiff challenge involved in producing evidence in a murder trial where one of the two major figures is dead and one witness was on the phone with Martin and another did not see how the fight started.
On the other side, some gun rights advocates, conservatives, and conservative media, have made it clear they are rooting for Zimmerman’s acquittal. And they are not alone. As Jelani Cobb writes in The New Yorker:
Last winter, George Zimmerman saw a hoodie-clad black male cutting through a subdivision in the rain, and registered him as a threat. There are many white people who do not think of themselves as racist but can imagine themselves drawing the same conclusion. From this perspective, blandishments about Trayvon Martin’s right to move through that neighborhood unmolested are only so much political correctness. And as a result, Zimmerman becomes a sympathetic figure, a man who did what anyone would do under the circumstances—a man whose cause can generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations.
There are five likely scenarios that still could unfold as this trial draws to a conclusion, even if the prosecution fails to meet the burden for second degree murder.
1. Civil lawsuit
Lawyers for Trayvon Martin’s parents have indicated they may sue George Zimmerman in civil court. If that happens, Zimmerman would have to submit to a deposition by the Martin family attorneys — he could not wave his right to testify as he did in the criminal case. It’s the scenario that happened after the O.J. Simpson murder trial, which ended in acquittal but was followed by a successful wrongful death lawsuit by the parents of Ron Goldman.
A successful lawsuit could prevent Zimmerman from profiting from any future book, TV or movie deals about the case, under the state’s version of the “Son of Sam” law, which allows a judge to place a lien on any proceeds from materials relating to a killing tied to a wrongful death suit, causing any proceeds to be distributed to the victim’s family.
2. Federal charges
The FBI in March 2012 opened an investigation into the shooting of Trayvon Martin, which could potentially result in federal hate crimes charges being filed against George Zimmerman. The investigation was placed on hold pending the outcome of the trial. FBI and Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigators scoured Sanford in the spring of last year, and interviewed witnesses inside the Retreat at Twin Lakes gated community where the shooting took place, as well as other witnesses who could potentially be called during a federal case.
3. Shellie Zimmerman’s perjury trial
Shellie Zimmerman faces a perjury charge stemming from statements she made to the previous judge in the case, Judge Kenneth Lester, regarding the amount of money raised by the George Zimmerman legal defense fund, and the amount of money she transferred into her and George Zimmerman’s bank accounts prior to his April 2012 bond hearing. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges that were brought by prosecuting attorney John Guy.
Zimmerman’s attorney, Mark O’Mara, declared Zimmerman to be indigent, and unable to pay the $1 million bond initially requested by prosecutors, despite the fund having taken in more than $200,000 in donations as of the date of the bond hearing. O’Mara successfully petitioned for Lester to step down, citing bias stemming from the statements made by Shellie Zimmerman to the court. Zimmerman’s bond was temporarily revoked after the discrepancies were discovered. He was released after posting 10 percent of the $1 million bond set by the judge in July 2012.
4. Protests
If Zimmerman is not convicted, it would not be surprising to see protests, both in Sanford and in other cities around the U.S. Already, Florida law enforcement agencies have released Public Service Announcements calling for any protests to be peaceful. And Martin’s parents called for “peace, justice and prayer” during a Miami march held the weekend before jury selection in the trial began.
One thing that is not likely to happen if Zimmerman is acquitted? The riots that conservatives are talking up. To quote Cobb again: “… riots tend to happen when people expect one thing and get another, and, at this point, a Zimmerman acquittal would shock no one.”
5. Retrial
If for some reason there is a hung jury or mistrial , the state could go for another round of prosecution. That would depend of whether the state feels a conviction could be obtained based on the number of jurors who voted to convict. Remember that in a criminal case such as this, the verdict must be unanimous to win a conviction.
Follow Joy Reid on Twitter at @thereidreport.
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