*'Stand Your Ground' Hearing Could Clear Zimmerman*

[walt629]

i don't think the stand your ground should apply. he (zimmerman) continued to follow/stalk him even after he was told not to continue in that action. unless i am totally wrong about the law, i don't think you can pursue someone that is not "threatening " you and then use the statute as a defense. please correct me if i am wrong but i have always thought that stand your ground only means you are not required to retreat (by law) if you are threatened and fearful for your life. perhaps i should refresh my understanding of the law.

There is no law on the book that says a person cannot follow another person. If the person you are following feels threatened and retaliates against you (as in the Zimmerman case) you have the right to stand your ground and defend yourself.

Being followed is not grounds to attack someone that is following you.

BTW, the police dispatcher has no authority to tell anyone to do or not do anything. Beside the dispatcher did not say "stop following him.". What the dispatcher did say is "we don't need you to do that." Big difference.

 

[Firefighterchen]

What an ignorant thing to say.

It is...but then again I am pretty sure 99.99% of the members here feel the same way about Otis..that is if he even has any guns.

There is no law on the book that says a person cannot follow another person. If the person you are following feels threatened and retaliates against you (as in the Zimmerman case) you have the right to stand your ground and defend yourself.

Being followed is not grounds to attack someone that is following you.

BTW, the police dispatcher has no authority to tell anyone to do or not do anything. Beside the dispatcher did not say "stop following him.". What the dispatcher did say is "we don't need you to do that." Big difference.

Beyond that, as mentioned previously, after the dispatcher said, "We don't need you to do that," GZ says...(drum roll please)...."OK"...

and then his voice noticeably changes from panting to normal (though that is my opinion)...

so far the evidence I have seen shows that GZ stopped looking which way TM went after the dispatcher suggested the they didn't need him to keep looking which way TM went.

 

[Bob_M]

What an ignorant thing to say.

Yes, It was. Ignorance is humanities most abundant quality and some people have much more than their fair share.

 

[rdp357]

The rule of law aside, he isn't likely to be cleared simply for the fact that they fear the riots that will come. Just my opinion, but I'm thinking they don't want to face that, so they allow the trial to go forward even if it is likely he will be cleared. Once it goes to trial, Zimmerman will be facing civil suits so that he can still be sacrificed to those that are demanding their pound of flesh.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but, Fla Stand Your Ground law states that if he's aquited he is also free of any civil law suites.

 

[BC1]

Regardless of the outcome, GZ has become the poster-boy for everything one shouldn't do. Lawyer-up first. Don't make a statement immediately. Don't do a re-enactment on video for the investigator, don't call the prosecutor, don't make a statement at your bail hearing, don't talk on jailhouse telephones and by God, stay off TV.

It's the innocent who need an attorney. Let the guilty lie for themselves. (Ben Franklin)

 

[cgiven1]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but, Fla Stand Your Ground law states that if he's aquited he is also free of any civil law suites.

Not quite. If the courts rule he is immune based on the parameters of the law,any civil suits brought would see him be awarded all costs of defense. Being acquited at trial isn't the same as being found immune from the charges. Http://www.cfif.org/htdocs/freedomline/current/in_our_opinion/florida-self-defense-law.htm

 

[~OtisM~]

i stand corrected.......thank you.

Don't believe everything u read on a forum. Bottom line is that zim instigated and should have waited for the cops. If anything, he should never be allowed to carry again. He will always find trouble. YouTube his interviews and u will see ignorance at its best.

 

[Capt Ahab]

i don't think the stand your ground should apply. he (zimmerman) continued to follow/stalk him even after he was told not to continue in that action. unless i am totally wrong about the law, i don't think you can pursue someone that is not "threatening " you and then use the statute as a defense. please correct me if i am wrong but i have always thought that stand your ground only means you are not required to retreat (by law) if you are threatened and fearful for your life. perhaps i should refresh my understanding of the law.

According to the latest detail, not the crap the mainstream media put out at first, Zimmerman was returning to his vehicle once the 911 operator asked him not to follow Martin. Martin then confronted Zimmerman. If that is correct Zimmerman should be able to claim "Stand your ground".

 

[cgiven1]

Really, stand your ground doesn't even come into play. Even if you disagree with everything Zimmerman says or you believe he did, none of it rises to the level of being killed for it. If the accounts of Zimmerman and the eyewitness who describe the attack are true, Zimmerman had a real fear that Martin was going to cause grevious bodily injury or death. That justifies the use of deadly force in self-defense. Just as no gun owner would ever be able shot someone for calling the a name, so too noone has the right to seriously attack someone who is asking what you a doing in an area where you are not recognized as described in the girl friends account.

 

[kerb]

Regardless of the outcome, GZ has become the poster-boy for everything one shouldn't do. Lawyer-up first. Don't make a statement immediately. Don't do a re-enactment on video for the investigator, don't call the prosecutor, don't make a statement at your bail hearing, don't talk on jailhouse telephones and by God, stay off TV.

It's the innocent who need an attorney. Let the guilty lie for themselves. (Ben Franklin)

So very true. Invoking the right to remain silent is one of the smartest things anyone can do - whether they have anything to hide, or not.

 

[kerb]

Really, stand your ground doesn't even come into play. Even if you disagree with everything Zimmerman says or you believe he did, none of it rises to the level of being killed for it. If the accounts of Zimmerman and the eyewitness who describe the attack are true, Zimmerman had a real fear that Martin was going to cause grevious bodily injury or death. That justifies the use of deadly force in self-defense. Just as no gun owner would ever be able shot someone for calling the a name, so too noone has the right to seriously attack someone who is asking what you a doing in an area where you are not recognized as described in the girl friends account.

I think a lot of people underestimate the damage a blow to the back of the head can do.
There's a reason it is illegal in MMA and boxing - where combatants are wearing gloves.
Imagine getting your head bashed into the ground!

 

[ChicagoFred]

He was not following him. He stopped when he was told to. He was going the other way when that thug turned around and ran up to him. Then started to beat the crap out of him. All this guy was doing was protecting himself. That's why it took the police so long to file charges on him. They weren't going too, until all the africans started marching, yelling racism, and portraying him as a little tootsie roll sucking child.

"africans"..... that scares me. I saw a mix of blacks and whites in the marches. I lived ten years in Chicago and ten in Boston. Just moved down here to Orlando to get away from the snow. When I walked into the police station to register my gun, I was told I didn't have to. Nor did I need anything if I leave the gun in the car. As long as I had to perform two actions to get to it. I was shocked. That's when he said, "Welcome to the south."

I'm a WOP. You smile when you call me WOP. I can imagine what it's like to be black. So, if they were both black or white, what would have happened? Would it had gone this far?

Yeah, welcome to the south.

 

[Bttbbob]

I spoke to Mark Omara at a gun conference. This is a plain self defense hearing coming up. With GZ on the ground getting his head pounded in he could not escape or evade.

 

[Kramer1113]

I find it tragic that Zimmerman has to go through this.
If you see a current photograph of Martin he is a large muscular male.
Zimmerman did retreat to his vehicle and Martin followed. This entire matter is tragic but Zimmerman in the end becomes a victim.

 

[BC1]

Zimmerman is the poster boy for everything one should not do. Learn from his mistake. Neighborhood watch is exactly that... watch. Don't follow.

 

[The_Outlaw]

Zimmerman is the poster boy for everything one should not do. Learn from his mistake. Neighborhood watch is exactly that... watch. Don't follow.

And Trayvon Martin is also the poster boy for everything one should not do.
Do NOT physically assault an innocent person and then start bashing their brains into the concrete and then maybe you won't get yourself shot.
Now Trayvon is worm food....
Stupid actions have consequences.

 

[HoJo]

Two morons don't make a genius.

 

[tcox4freedom]

Zimmerman is the poster boy for everything one should not do. Learn from his mistake. Neighborhood watch is exactly that... watch. Don't follow.

And Trayvon Martin is also the poster boy for everything one should not do.
Do NOT physically assault an innocent person and then start bashing their brains into the concrete and then maybe you won't get yourself shot.
Now Trayvon is worm food....
Stupid actions have consequences.

I think these two posts sums up what we need to take away from this case.

Both of them had every right to be were they were and BOTH of them misjudged the potential problems that could arise from the actions they took. The result of their poor judgement and assessment abilities left one dead and the other's life in ruins.


-

 

[Kramer1113]

I think these two posts sums up what we need to take away from this case.

Both of them had every right to be were they were and BOTH of them misjudged the potential problems that could arise from the actions they took. The result of their poor judgement and assessment abilities left one dead and the other's life in ruins.


-

All we can really know now is that in the end, God will sort it all out.

 

[BC1]

And Trayvon Martin is also the poster boy for everything one should not do.
Do NOT physically assault an innocent person and then start bashing their brains into the concrete and then maybe you won't get yourself shot. Now Trayvon is worm food....
Stupid actions have consequences.

He did a reenactment for the police without a lawyer. He called the DA. He went on TV and locked himself into a story. He talked on a jailhouse phone. He's an idiot.
.
Ask your lawyer if he recommends you join the watch and follow suspects. Ask him if he thinks you should do this without a license, proper training and insurance. Ask him about the legal repercussions of this. Better yet ask GZ.