104 replies to this topic

[Law of Self Defense]

TyGuy, on 17 June 2013 - 07:40 AM, said:

Sorry, it was the one regarding Zimmerman racially profiling Matrin.

http://lawofselfdefe...in/#prettyPhoto target=_blank

I am NOT trying to be a pain in your rear.  I really appreciate the updates, and I want your blog to be good becuase it is a great resource for those that can't be in the courtroom.

No offense taken here, I'm glad you alerted me to the potential problem.  But when I go to the link you've provided and click the embedded audio (just above the brief transcript), it works for me, playing the words in the transcript.

Not sure what to say.  Maybe try another computer, different browser?  I haven't heard anyone else have problems.  I'll ask my IT guy to take a look, but that's going to be a while.

But I do appreciate you letting me know of the issue, no worries.

Andrew
@LawSelfDefense
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[Law of Self Defense]

Zimmerman Jury Selection -- Day Six Wrap-Up

Hey folks,

I just posted up the end-of-day wrap-up for day six of jury selection in the Zimmerman case, available at Legal Insurrection here: Zimmerman Jury Selection -- Day Six Wrap-Up.

There were two notable jurors of the day:

H13 seemed to feel that the fact that Zimmerman was armed, even though lawfully, at the time of the incident suggested some wrongdoing on his part.  Clearly, his being armed made her uncomfortable.  She also recalled having "lived through" other racially-tinged riots, such as the Rodney King riots (albeit it seems she was not physically present at those riots, but knew of them from media reports).  The most shocking of her comments, however, was when she noted that her present recollection was that Zimmerman had followed Martin against police orders.  Asked if she would be able to reconsider that opinion if she heard evidence in court to the contrary she answers "I don't think I could be open to that."  H13 was dismissed by the Court.

(For a thorough debunking of the false "Zimmerman followed Martin against police orders" narrative, click here:  Zimmerman Trial: Myth Busters: Did Zimmerman “chase” Martin against police orders?)

H27 was well-informed about the case, and could recall hearing the various police recordings and other details.  It has been a striking consistency that the prospective jurors who have appeared to learn in favor of Zimmerman have tended to be well-informed about the facts of the case, whereas prospective jurors who have seemed to lean against Zimmerman have professed an almost coma-like ignorance of the facts of the case.  During questioning by de la Rionda H27 volunteered that he had contributed $20 to George Zimmerman's legal defense fund, but nevertheless said he could be a fair and impartial juror. H27 was ultimately dismissed by the Court.

For all the juicy details, click here:  Zimmerman Jury Selection -- Day Six Wrap-Up.

Following the wrap-up of prospective juror voir dire the court recessed, only to return to complete the Frye hearing that had been left unfinished the week prior to the start of jury selection.  For more on that, click here:  

Zimmerman Trial: Frye Hearing Continues with Prof. James L. Wayman

http://legalinsurrec...james-l-wayman/

Tomorrow we'll do another full day of live stream, all-day coverage of day seven of jury selection.  Be sure to join us.

Best,

Andrew
@LawSelfDefense
Facebook:  Law of Self Defense

[Law of Self Defense]

The Five Principles of the Law of Self Defense

Hey folks,

Well, we're gearing up for Day 7 of jury selection.  It's amazing to think that we've spent all this time with the jurors and we're still only doing the preliminary voir dire, limited to asking questions about pre-trial publicity.  If it takes an hour to get through a jury on that basis, and sometimes it has, how long is it going to take when the lawyers are doing an unlimited voir dire?

In any case, I thought it might be useful to take a moment, lift our heads from the weeds of jury selection and specific factual matters, and take a brief 30,000 foot view of the trial.

I've posted at some length about the State's challenges in proving the charge of murder in the second degree (can't be done, in my opinion), or manslaughter.  

As to manslaughter, petty much anytime you deliberately use any force against someone and they die it's going to be manslaughter--UNLESS you have some lawful justification.

And that's where Zimmerman's legal defense of self-defense will come into play.

A few days ago I put up a "self-defense backgrounder" post over at Legal Insurrection, but I don't believe I've mentioned it here so many of you might not have seen it.  

The post covers the four main Florida self-defense related statutes I expect to be relevant in this case, and the statutory criminal charges in play (murder and manslaughter).

I also present a conceptual framework, "The Five Principles of the Law of Self-Defense," to guide our ongoing assessment of how successfully (or not) the State is making its case to disprove, beyond a reasonable doubt, Zimmerman's claim to have acted in lawful self-defense.

Enjoy!

Andrew
@LawSelfDefense
Facebook:  Law of Self Defense

[TyGuy]

Forgive me, but what is voir dire?

I took Latin growing u, but it's rusty to say the least.

[Law of Self Defense]

TyGuy, on 18 June 2013 - 06:04 AM, said:

Forgive me, but what is voir dire?

I took Latin growing u, but it's rusty to say the least.

Sorry, may bad.  Voir dire, for our purposes, simply means questioning prospective jurors to determine whether they can serve on the jury fairly and impartially.  Or, to put that in the negative, questioning prospective jurors to identify and dismiss those who cannot serve on the jury fairly and impartially.

Naturally both sides will also use this questioning as an opportunity to identify the prospective jurors that may favor or not favor their side of the case, whether that impacts the prospective jurors ability to be fair and impartial or not, but this is not the intended purpose of voir dire, it's just a "bonus".

Andrew
@LawSelfDefense
Facebook:  Law of Self Defense

[Don Gwinn]

Your coverage has been a great help . . . but watching jury selection after taking an Ayoob course is like watching The Jersey Shore after an intensive course on STDs.  Every time you post, there's some confirmation of some dire warning.  Juries are scary!  No wonder Roderick Pritchett accepted a bench trial in Chicago.

[Law of Self Defense]

Don Gwinn, on 18 June 2013 - 07:01 AM, said:

Your coverage has been a great help . . . but watching jury selection after taking an Ayoob course is like watching The Jersey Shore after an intensive course on STDs.  Every time you post, there's some confirmation of some dire warning.  Juries are scary!  No wonder Roderick Pritchett accepted a bench trial in Chicago.

Ah, a fellow LFI-I grad!  I'm a member of the "class" of . . . . well, it's been a couple of decades, I forget the exact year. Great course.  Mas was a true pioneer, marking the trail for those of us who follow.  Still is, I'm sure, with his new MAG initiative, but I've lost touch with him since he left New Hampshire.

Andrew
@LawSelfDefense
Facebook:  Law of Self Defense

[Law of Self Defense]

Zimmerman Jury Selection:  Day 7--Live streaming, all-day coverage

Hey folks,

Just FYI, Day 7 of jury selection has just kicked into gear.  Our live, all-day coverage can be found at Legal Insurrection here, if you're interested in following along.

We'll also be doing our usual end-of-day summary of events.  I'll drop a brief note when that's up, for folks who are interested.

Andrew
@LawSelfDefense
Facebook:  Law of Self Defense

[mrpapageorgio]

Law of Self Defense, on 17 June 2013 - 05:54 PM, said:

H13 seemed to feel that the fact that Zimmerman was armed, even though lawfully, at the time of the incident suggested some wrongdoing on his part.  Clearly, his being armed made her uncomfortable.  She also recalled having "lived through" other racially-tinged riots, such as the Rodney King riots (albeit it seems she was not physically present at those riots, but knew of them from media reports).  The most shocking of her comments, however, was when she noted that her present recollection was that Zimmerman had followed Martin against police orders.  Asked if she would be able to reconsider that opinion if she heard evidence in court to the contrary she answers "I don't think I could be open to that."  H13 was dismissed by the Court.

I honestly wonder, while some genuinely don't pay attention to the case and figure he's guilty, how many prospective jurors are saying anything biased in order to be dismissed because they know of the s*** storm that's coming by serving on this jury. Every reporter will be after you. You're going to be sequestered for a few weeks with no work or family time. etc

[Law of Self Defense]

Myth Busters: Did Zimmerman “Chase Down” a Fleeing Martin?

Hey folks,

One of the enduring myths of the falsified public narrative promulgated by the State prosecutors and other anti-Zimmerman zealots has been that George Zimmerman “chased down” a frightened Trayvon Martin who was simply attempting to secure the safety of his destination (his father’s girlfriend’s home in at the Retreat at Twin Lakes neighborhood.

Is that what really happened?  Or is George Zimmerman’s recounting more credible and consistent with the facts in evidence?



Take a look at my latest fact-based "myth busters" installment, and decide for yourselves:  Myth Busters: Did Zimmerman “Chase Down” a Fleeing Martin?

Andrew
@LawSelfDefense
Facebook:  Law of Self Defense

[ChadN.]

Andrew,  just wanted to say thank you, not just for covering the case, but giving side notes on case that increase our knowledge base regarding the judicial system.  Very interesting, and if you do put out a book regarding this, let us know!

[Law of Self Defense]

ChadN., on 18 June 2013 - 11:51 AM, said:

Andrew,  just wanted to say thank you, not just for covering the case, but giving side notes on case that increase our knowledge base regarding the judicial system.  Very interesting, and if you do put out a book regarding this, let us know!

My pleasure!

Andrew
@LawSelfDefense
Facebook:  Law of Self Defense

[johnsxdm]

Andrew, I look forward to reading about this everyday as anything heard on the television news is mostly half truths. As much as I think Zimmerman will walk away a free man, and rightfully so, I fear that day also. The news media and certain people have twisted this to be something that it is not. We are gonna see LA type riots nation wide. I sure hope that people and businesses  in areas that could be affected are putting together a game plan to protect their families and property.

[Law of Self Defense]

Goal of 40 Prospective Jurors for Full Voir Dire Achieved

Hey folks,

I just posted up the end-of-day wrap-up for day 7 of jury selection in the Zimmerman case, available at Legal Insurrection here:  Zimmerman Jury Selection -- Day Seven Wrap-Up.

The biggest news of the day is that the Court's goal of selecting 40 prospective jurors to go on to the next round of full voir dire has been achieved, and Judge Nelson dismissed the jurors who did not make it through the first round of questioning.  The lucky winners are:

B12, B29, B35, B37, B51, B61, B7, B72, B76, B86, E13, E22, E28, E40, E54, E6, E73, G14, G29, G47, G63, G66, G81, H18, H29, H35, H6, H69, H7, H81, H86, I19, I24, I33, I44, K80, K95, M75, P67,  I5.

We’ll be posting a compilation of our notes for each of these 40 in post coming soon.

The announcement of the successful candidate jurors having been announced, we saw a relatively rare appearance by Prosecutor Angela Corey, when she stepped to the front of the court room and directed the courthouse personnel in arranging the chairs for the jurors tomorrow morning.

For all the juicy details, click here:  Zimmerman Jury Selection -- Day Seven Wrap-Up.

Tomorrow we'll do another full day of live stream, all-day coverage of day eight of jury selection, the "Full Voir Dire Edition".  Be sure to join us.

Best,

Andrew
@LawSelfDefense
Facebook:  Law of Self Defense

Edited by Law of Self Defense, Today, 06:21 PM.

[Don Gwinn]

My MAG-20 was only a week ago, so you can imagine my head is swimming.  What did I learn about juries and voir dire?

• They're going to cull out any gun owners or NRA members.
  
• They're going to cull out anyone who's been a victim of crime, especially violent crime.
  
• They're going to cull out anyone with training or knowledge of self-defense or self-defense law.
  
• The mission of the prosecution is to find jurors who can be persuaded that you were mostly in the right, but there's probably something they missed that you did wrong, or jurors who can be convinced that you wouldn't have been attacked (or arrested) if you hadn't been doing something wrong, even if they can't be sure what it was.
  
• The mission of the defense is to find educable jurors and then give them a mini-course on self-defense law.

I look at the expert witnesses Zimmerman has so far and wonder what they cost . . . we've been smart and lucky in my family and saved up a six-month emergency fund, but I don't think it would last long at the rate Zimmerman is spending money.  At the risk of sounding like a cult convert, it's striking how much grief I think he might have saved himself by spending maybe $1000 on MAG-40.  I think he'd have handled some things differently at the scene, might have interacted with witnesses and the responding officers differently, handled his interviews with the investigating officers differently . . . and if it had still come down to a racially-and-politically-charged headline-making murder trial, I think it'd be a very different trial with Ayoob among the experts testifying to Zimmerman's training, using Zimmerman's own notes from such a class as admissible evidence of what he'd known about self-defense and the law at the time of the shooting.
To be clear, Ayoob probably wouldn't say that, and the closest he came to commenting on the Zimmerman trial in our class (the 8th and 9th of June) was to answer that he didn't expect to be involved in court and leave it at that.  But it's hard not to watch the wringer Zimmerman is being put through and draw the parallels.