The Morning After Greetings family and friends. It’s been nearly 12 hours since the jury rendered its verdict and many of us are still reeling, dealing and trying to make sense of all of this. In the aftermath of the verdict many are asking, “What’s next?” “What do we do now?” Criminal Implications The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, among other things, prevents a person from being charged twice for the same crime. As such, now that George Zimmerman has had his day in court no further criminal charges can and will be brought against him. The State will not appeal the verdict. This is essentially the end of the line for this matter criminally. Federal Civil Rights Violations There are reports that the President and the U.S. Department of Justice decided to move forward with pressing charges against Zimmerman for a Federal Civil Rights violation claim. This is NOT true. The NAACP has spearheaded a petition to have the DOJ take up this matter. Given the tremendous outcry and the overwhelming support this petition has garnered in the few hours since it was started, I believe it is plausible that the DOJ will look into it. However, don’t hold your breath on actual charges being brought against Zimmerman for violating the civil rights of Trayvon Martin on the night he killed him. The DOJ is not in the habit of bringing cases they can’t win. They have an impressive record of getting people to avoid trial by taking pleas and those who take on the federal government more often than not, lose. This would be an incredibly difficult case to prove (see criminal case). Furthermore, this is a political firestorm the administration would rather avoid if possible. Civil Lawsuits George Zimmerman can still be sued civilly for causing the death of Trayvon Martin. The burden of proof in a civil case is a much lower standard (51%). Recall that OJ Simpson was found not guilty by a jury of his peers but yet was found liable in civil court for the death of Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman. Other likely lawsuits would be against the City of Sanford, the Sanford Police Department and the Homeowners’ Association (which reportedly has already been settled but I’m not sure how accurate this is). What’s next? I’ll address that in a future post. Until then, I’m here to answer any questions, comments or concerns. Stay Up and Be Blessed!
Posted on: Sun, 14 Jul 2013 15:24:05 +0000
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