doublegunshop.com - home Forums THE MARTIN/ZIMMERMAN TRAGEDY

I wasn't contending that Zimmerman's exiting of the car and then following Martin on foot was bad judgement because he wasn't taking the dispatcher's advice. I contend it was bad was bad judgement for the reasons I previously listed.

If my neighbors saw someone screwing around my house at night when I wasn't there or asleep...I hope they would take action and not just let them continue.....hoping the police might get there and actually catch them in time. Odds are they would see the police and be gone before they even got out of their cars.

IT was Zimmermans back yard effectively...it wasn't Martins.

Crime is allowed to flourish in too many areas because of the "its not my problem" mindset....where they don't even bother to call the police...who rarely ever get there in time to prevent a crime...but usually after teh crime is already committed.

Besides...everyone says what if Zimmerman had walked away.....well, where are people saying why didn't Treyvon walk away? If Treyvon had simply told Zmmerman why he was walking there instead of attacking him....he would still be alive.

I believe,after listening to the Fla.lawyer talking heads,that the reason they didn't go for a "stand your ground" hearing was that if a judge found in his favor,he would still be subject to a civil suit. On the other hand, if a jury found him not guilty,under the self defense law,he wouldn't be subject to it.
Mike

This is PRIME evidence to use the next several elections to remind the Latino community why they should NOT vote Democrat.

Zimmerman was found not guilty of second degree murder and not guilty of manslaughter. I agree with that verdict. I also believe that Martin started the fight. I believe Zimmerman shot him in self defense.

Martin was a guest of a resident of that community. He had a right to be in that community. He had a right to walk through that community.

Zimmerman had a right to follow Martin on foot, in the dark, in the rain, alone. That doesn't mean it was a good idea for Zimmerman to do that. If I were Zimmerman I think I would now regret that decision.

Different states have different laws, but getting acquitted of murder charges doesn't prevent a civil suit in most jurisdictions. Ask OJ. Unless something is peculiar to Florida law, he could still be most likely sued for wrongful death. Under Ga. law because of the different standards of proof of civil versus criminal, acquital in criminal does not bar civil suits for the same conduct. In civil, it's a preponderance or greater weight of evidence. In criminal, it's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The verdict in Zimmerman was not guilty. The jury made no specific finding why he was acquited. If the lawyers said that the stand your ground hearing was avoided because of an attempt to avoid civil liability, I think that's a smokescreen for the real reason and makes little sense because if he was justified in using deadly force, then the same defense would apply in a civil suit in most jurisdictions. They didn't want him to open his mouth anymore than he had. He had already made statements that they wish he hadn't made. If they thought he had a clear shot of immunity they would have pursued it. Lawyers don't(or shouldn't) jeopardize a client's freedom for the sake of avoiding a judgment that could never be enforced. "You can't get blood out of a turnip, but you can put the turnip in jail" as an old judge around here used to say as he sent deadbeat fathers to jail for failing to support their children. The quote was directed to lawyers who used the "can't get blood out of a turnip" argument. Gil

Mike I read somewhere that it was vice-versa. If the "stand your ground hearing" had occurred and been favorable to Zimmerman that would have protected him from both civil and criminal action. As it stands now he can be sued by Trayvon Martin's family. The talking heads say Martin's family is planning a civil suit.

I doubt if Zimmerman has any net worth left after lawer fees and court costs, interrupted earnings, etc... If so there is not much to fear from a civil judgement. The bankruptcy code will cancel the judgement once Zimmerman declares bankruptcy.

Any civil suit against Zimmerman by Martin's family would be a waste of money and time and done only for publicity or for spite. There is not a red cent to be made out of such nonsense even if the judgment was for a gazillion dollars. It still has to come from somewhere. I'm sure there must be an idiot lawyer who would do it for the publicity, but most lawyers are governed by the three legged stool approach to taking a damages suit: liability, damages and ability to pay a judgment. This stool would collapse with one or two missing legs of the stool.

Except he wasn't walking on the sidewalk...he was walking on private property next to the houses...in the dark...in the rain.

The sidewalk might have been common area...but the yards near the houses weren't. I think its disgusting how the lefties are so eager to violate Zimmermans civil rights to do what is effectively a lynching...its really no different than putting a rope around his neck and stringing him up on a tree or dragging him behind a truck. But then..these are the same people that created the KKK....and that mindset has never left them. Only who they choose to target.

The left wants him dead because he's not black..and heaven forbid anyone ever lay a hand on a black who is assulting them.

No there isn't a nice middle ground here...if Treyvon had killed him it would have still been a lynching..and thats exactly where it was going.

Just another poorly educated Black thug with a bad attitude, and an entitlement mentality. Nothing that happened justified Treyvon assulting Zimmerman. And the fact he did..is proof that Treyvon was actually up to no good...and not doing what it was claimed.

I have stated three times that Zimmerman had the right to follow Travon Martin by car or on foot. And three times I have said that Zimmerman's on-foot trailing of Martin did not give Martin the right to assault Zimmerman and that such an assault would be a crime by Martin.

I have seen nothing in your arguments that persuade me that it was not bad judgement when Zimmerman made the decision to exit his car and follow Martin on foot, at night, in the dark and alone.