Zimmerman Not guilty

[bhsup]

Don't do the crime if you can't do the time.

 

[Formaldehyde]

Don't make it a crime when you clearly have no idea what you are taking about.

 

[Rashiminos]

I thought you could only charge the same person with the same crime once? What would he be charged with in this case?

There is a particular exception to that:

http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/separate_sovereigns_doctrine

 

[JollyRoger]

The federal case is a clear witch hunt.

I can't wait for the trial by ordeal.

 

[MobBoss]

I can't wait for the trial by combat.

Fixed that for you.

And it seems Zimmerman is ready for that:

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/201...n-in-glove-box-when-pulled-over-in-texas?lite

 

[Bugfatty300]

Man, a mundane traffic stop is a story that a major news network has to report on? What is the point? Shouldn't that be on TMZ?

 

[Berzerker]

if nbc hadn't been painting him white they'd be complaining he was pulled over for being brown

 

[JollyRoger]

Z is in Texas? Better get ready to stand my ground. Hopefully, Texas will soon approve my license to be armed with a sidewalk.

 

[Formaldehyde]

Zimmerman warned not to "play with your firearm" after not being found "not guilty" of speeding in Texas.

 

[Rashiminos]

Man, a mundane traffic stop is a story that a major news network has to report on? What is the point? Shouldn't that be on TMZ?

TMZ wouldn't carry it openly.

 

[Formaldehyde]

Zimmerman's wife claimed through her attorney that she was just "standing by her man":

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - George Zimmerman's wife, who pleaded guilty on Wednesday to perjury, was channeling hit country song "Stand by Your Man" when she lied to a Florida court about the couple's finances after Zimmerman's arrest for fatally shooting Trayvon Martin, her lawyer said.

The lawyer, Kelly Sims, spoke to reporters after Shellie Zimmerman pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of perjury for lying in a bond hearing last year.

Shellie Zimmerman told the 2012 hearing the couple was essentially destitute, even though they had accumulated about $135,000 between them through contributions to an online legal defense fund, prosecutors said.

Circuit Judge Marlene Alva in Sanford accepted a deal in which Shellie Zimmerman agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor perjury rather than the original charge of felony perjury in an official proceeding.

She was ordered to serve one year of probation, perform 100 hours of community service and write a letter of apology to Judge Kenneth Lester, in whose court the perjury occurred.

Sims said Shellie Zimmerman was scared and caught off guard when she was asked in court about the couple's ability to make bond.

"So she stood by her man like Tammy Wynette," Sims said, referring to the singer's hit single "Stand by Your Man."

In her one-page apology to Judge Lester, Zimmerman acknowledged that she had lied in claiming that she and her husband were destitute.

"Over the last 16 months, I have become intimately aware of the justice system, and the absolute importance of all parties being truthful," she wrote in her letter to Lester.

But that appears to be just another fabrication on her part:

(CBS/AP) SANFORD, Fla. - George Zimmerman's wife says she's going to have to "think about" whether she stays married to him.

Shellie Zimmerman made the comments to ABC on Wednesday after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor perjury charge for lying during a bail hearing following her husband's arrest for the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in February 2012.

She also said she wasn't home the night of the shooting because she'd had a fight with her husband.

 

[bhsup]

Well at least that proves that people ARE actually charged with perjury sometimes, contrary to the claims of the Clinton lovers who said it was just a political ploy...

 

[JollyRoger]

And convicted of it when the charges are true.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Well at least that proves that people ARE actually charged with perjury sometimes, contrary to the claims of the Clinton lovers who said it was just a political ploy...

I'm not following your logic.

Not that I subscribe to the political play.

 

[woody60707]

Wow, this is still being bumped? Not only that, but this couldn't get bump with a important Zimmerman news item like how "Zimmerman's lawyer to ask Florida to pay up to $300,000 in legal costs"? But I understand that you get happy when you hear of anything bad that happens to Zimmerman.

About the court cost. I think that's a great thing. Every state should have to reimburse anyone acquitted.

 

[Kyriakos]

^Indeed, and it is standard practice in most EU countries (or all?) too. Here if someone is found not quilty, the other party (person or even the state) pays the bill for his trial.

 

[JollyRoger]

If you want the state to pay for yor lawyer, you can get a public defender, although I could see justification for reimbursement up to what the bill would have been for a public defender.

 

[Berzerker]

he'll need his money for the lawsuit

and while I see your point, the state screwed up (and we know why in this case, it was political scapegoating - the evidence supported a self defense claim) and shouldn't deny its victim his justice. Should you go broke hiring a lawyer when the state is falsely accusing you of a crime?

The lawyers dont get paid if they lose the case, they do if they win. Seems like more people will be acquitted and the people paying the taxes will demand some improvement in the system.

 

[JollyRoger]

Private lawyer in criminal matters typically take their fee up front from the client. Zimmerman's arrangement with his private lawyer is none of the state's business or responsibility.

If Z or his lawyers get paid by the state, are they going to return the money to the donors of his legal defense fund?

 

[Berzerker]

the state is responsible for his need of a lawyer, but most people dont have legal defense funds - in his case maybe you're right since he does.