The Most Important Question in the Trayvon Martin Case is Being Ignored...

[alcibiades_mystery]

40. Charge and arrest are identical in this case

As they are in many cases. In some cases, of course, the suspect is arrested, then the DA decides the charges based on a review of the evidence. So, somebody arrested for hitting another person in the police officers view can be charged with many things, but the arrest decision had already been made. In other cases, whether to charge at all is a condition precedent to any arrest, as it appears to have been in this case. For instance, determining whether a charge of fraud can be sustained will often come before a decision to arrest a suspect: the charge is a condition for the arrest (note: the officer(s) condicting the fraud investigation don't get to decide whether to arrest or charge in such cases). In such cases, the decision to charge and the decision to arrest are in essence the same decision. That was the case here. So responding that the detective was "overruled" in an arrest decision doesn't really make a difference. The arrest decision is the charging decision in this case, and vice versa. The point stands.