While the court does have the discretion to decide which instructions the jury receives, it cannot mis- state the law. If, as it appears in this case, the law was misstated, it means double jeopardy doesn’t apply. In other words, Zimmerman could be retried on the same charges - at least if there was a will to do so. If this is left unchallenged, the repercussions of the Zimmerman verdict are even more disturbing than originally thought. Within the context of the Zimmerman case, young black man are not only vulnerable to abuse and death by overzealous police, but now any racist gun has the “right” to start an altercation and reserve the right to use deadly force. The possibility that other George Zimmermans will see this as a precedent to go out and hunt down anyone they deem doesn’t “belong” is only the beginning. It means even if these individuals are put on trial, the court can just ignore parts of the law that might result in a conviction. That can apply in self-defense cases, but also in other cases. Extending that logic, it means courts could also overlook parts of the law that work in favor of a defendant. Breitbarted law serves no one, least of all justice.
Posted on: Wed, 17 Jul 2013 14:00:24 +0000
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