dkf
dkf's JournalIf/when they arrest George Zimmerman they must bring him to trial within 175 days.
Police can and do arrest suspects without probable cause, but judges must then order their release from jail. Senior Judge O.H. Eaton Jr. said that happened at least once or twice every weekend he was on jail duty reviewing Seminole County arrests for the previous 24 hours.
When that happens, police can rearrest the suspect, and prosecutors are free to file charges. But they must bring the case to trial within 175 days of arrest, according to Florida rules of criminal procedure.
That ticking clock is often an incentive for prosecutors to hold off on an arrest, they said. It gives them more time to collect evidence — for example, to get ballistics tests done if a gun is involved or to have fingerprints analyzed.
Prosecutors almost always demand more evidence than cops.
Though an officer needs only probable cause to make an arrest, prosecutors typically want enough evidence for a conviction — enough to convince a jury beyond every reasonable doubt that the suspect is guilty.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/the-search-for-probable-cause-against-george-zimmerman-2284653.html
Trayvon Martin case: What is difference between manslaughter and murder charges?
As spelled out in Florida Statute 782.07, manslaughter is a killing caused by an individual's "culpable negligence."
What is culpable negligence?
"You've got to do something really stupid," said William Orth, a Longwood lawyer and former Seminole County prosecutor, "…something that you and I as intelligent humans — adults — know, 'Don't do that. Somebody could get hurt.' "
It requires a suspect to be much more than negligent, lawyers say. It requires him to show a gross disregard for the safety of others.
In Trayvon's case, prosecutors would have to prove Zimmerman was wanton and reckless, according to the set of jury instructions that all Florida judges read aloud before sending jurors to begin deliberations in manslaughter cases.
If Zimmerman was the aggressor and provoked the fight, that might be manslaughter, said Orlando defense attorney Diana Tennis.
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-03-31/news/os-trayvon-martin-manslaughter-20120331_1_manslaughter-longwood-lawyer-criminal-defense-lawyer
More
Behind the photos of the Trayvon Martin case
http://www.chicagotribune.com/videogallery/69125947/News/Behind-the-photos-of-the-Trayvon-Martin-caseApparently the most iconic photos we've been shown of Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman are both several years old.
Fast food, processed food, and our addiction to subsidized corn and sugar are killing us.
The fact that having surgery to restrict people's stomach sizes works tells me that eating less is key but that people simply have no willpower.
Problem with the ACA: they called it a penalty, not a tax.
Interesting analysis from Major Garrett on hardball earlier. He said the house bill called the consequence of not having health insurance a tax but the Senate wanted to call it a penalty and the White House made a political decision to go with the Senate language. That is what made it fall afoul of the constitution. If they had called it a tax they should have been ok because congress has the authority to tax.
Dudley Sees ‘High Bar’ to MORE Fed Purchases of European Debt
By Cheyenne Hopkins
March 27, 2012 11:26 AM EDT
Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley said that the central bank holds a very small amount of European sovereign debt and that he sees a “high bar” to additional purchases.
The standard for buying more European sovereign debt “is extraordinarily high for the U.S., for the Federal Reserve, to actually go out and buy foreign sovereign debt for its own portfolio, apart from the very small foreign exchange holdings that we have,” Dudley said today to a House Financial Services subcommittee hearing.
http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-27/dudley-sees-high-bar-to-more-fed-purchases-of-european-debt.html
HHS rules require birth control pills to be provided with no co pay.
http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/health-reform-implementation/216485-white-house-says-colleges-must-cover-birth-control-for-students"The Health and Human Services Department said student health plans will be treated like employees’ plans, meaning they will have to comply with new requirements under healthcare reform — including the requirement to provide contraception without charging a copay."
So why don't they require no co-pays for more important drugs that keep people alive?
Analysis: As debt maturities loom, U.S. needs to extend
From Sept 2011 but still relevant I imagine.
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE7803QD20110901?irpc=932
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Insatiable demand for safe haven U.S. government bonds is helping mask a potentially huge financial problem -- the need to extend the maturity of debt issued by the United States.
The United States has the least balanced maturity schedule of any major nation. Over 70 percent of its bonds mature within 5 years, compared with an average 49 percent for the 34 member countries in the OECD.
This leaves the country extremely vulnerable to any shift in investor sentiment at a time when its debt load has almost doubled in four years.
Marketable U.S. debt has risen to over $9 trillion, from around $5 trillion in late 2007, before the government increased spending to bail out struggling financial companies.
If sentiment were to shift quickly, it could send the cost of refinancing the country's bonds sharply higher. This would, in turn, eat into its budget and ability to meet long term obligations.
Debt, the American Way
"We haven't really dealt with the underlying causes of the crisis," Mr. Hyman says.
And the most basic cause is this: "Consumer debt has crowded out business debt. …GE Capital can make more money issuing credit cards to consumers than it can loaning money to businesses."
Indeed, the interest rates charged for many consumer loans used to be prosecuted as criminal offenses. Banks bought off the lawmakers and became loan sharks with risk-management models singling out borrowers they know can't repay—ruining them and everyone around them as their subprime debts choke the economy.
Mr. Hyman argues our economy will never be fixed until government policy encourages credit to flow more freely to those who produce and less freely to those who consume.
If capital is invested in businesses that can create decent-paying jobs, then maybe people won't need so much credit to buy the things they consume.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/debt--the-american-way-.html
Why aren't birth control pills OTC anyway?
Then this wouldn't be a health care debate and everyone would have access.
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