As Justice Department investigates shooting of Florida teen, doubts arise about federal charges

[alp227]

Source: Wash. post

The decision by the Justice Department and the FBI to open an investigation into the slaying of an unarmed black teenager in Florida has spurred internal debate at the agency over whether the federal government could bring criminal charges in the case, which has sparked widespread protest.

Lawyers at the department said Tuesday that while the investigation into the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin would go forward, it would be difficult to prosecute the case under federal law. Civil rights law protects against “hate crimes” or actions by police officers, but Martin’s shooting may not have either of those elements, two officials said. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because the probe is still under federal review.

Martin was shot and killed Feb. 26 by a neighborhood watch volunteer, George Zimmerman, who told police he was acting in self-defense. Zimmerman, 28, had called police from his car after he saw Martin walking in a gated community in Sanford, Fla.

According to the 911 tapes, Zimmerman told the dispatcher, “this guy looks like he’s up to no good or he’s on drugs or something .?.?. they always get away.” The dispatcher told Zimmerman not to follow, saying an officer was on the way. Minutes later, Martin was shot in the chest.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/as-justice-department-investigates-shooting-of-florida-teen-doubts-arise-about-federal-charges/2012/03/20/gIQAzGeRQS_story.html

[ProgressiveProfessor]

1. Not unexpected

Murder is a state crime. Should there be impropriety in the processthe Feds might be able to step in. However the Fed's interest should insure that the State and even local LEOs dot their i's and cross their t's carefully.

[Kennah]

2. +100

If the feds can bring pressure to properly investigate, then the DOJ has done a good thing. The threat of FBI investigating a local law enforcement agency for failing to do it's job is a powerful motivator.

[EFerrari]

9. Um, not unexpected. Florida is a swing state. n/t

[qanda]

3. Maybe after they dissect the call and hear him call the boy an effin' coon

Then they'll have a better case. The greater case may be against the police department which completely and totally dropped the ball.

[MADem]

4. Keep pulling the string, Justice.

There is a nexus between George the Murdering Hater and the PD of Sanford FL--and it is something greater than George being a "neighborhood watch" jerk.

There's something else going on--what it is, I do not know, but there's gotta be something else. No one can possibly be that incompetent in their investigations by accident. The PD deliberately truncated questioning of some witnesses and didn't even bother to take a statement from the girl the victim was talking to when he was killed.

Something is WRONG down there. They need to find out what, and maybe they can hang their hat on that hook.

[Turbineguy]

5. Maybe this

If they convict Zimmerman that would prove that the "stand your ground" law works. Right now people are getting away with murder due to this law.

[Kablooie]

6. Maybe they could charge the police for aiding an abetting a murder.

They said there was no evidence of a crime.

[Enrique]

7. I'm skeptical

these officials are claiming the Feds can't bring federal charges. I suspect it might be that they don't want to bring federal charges.

We'll see if anyone comes out and gives a different opinion, in which case the question will be, why did the Washington Post only publish one side of the story?

[DallasNE]

8. George Zimmerman's Own Words On Tape

"These a**holes, they always get away"

What is the context of this quote and who are "these"? Well, the context is that Zimmerman was just told not to follow Martin and this direct response goes to state of mind. "These" is pretty easy to determine as well because Zimmerman had just identified Martin as being black. Based on this comment it is reasonable to assume that Zimmerman had already determined that this black "a**hole" was not about to "get away". These are the basic points a good prosecutor would tell a jury in an opening statement and then proceed to make that case.

[cstanleytech]

12. Not really surprising really. nt