The evidence for the trial of George Zimmerman is slowly taking form. Yesterday, a medical report was disclosed by the family physician of George Zimmerman where the doctor found a “closed fracture” of his nose, a pair of black eyes, two lacerations to the back of his head and a minor back injury the day after he fatally shot Trayvon Martin. While this is the family physician, it would still constitute important evidence in claiming self-defense, particularly when combined with accounts from the paramedics that found injuries to Zimmerman. An autopsy report released today also revealed bruises on Martin’s knuckles, consistent with a fight (though they could be bruises sustained in self-defense). In the meantime, the Justice Department has indicated that it may bring hate crime charges against Zimmerman — charges that would be questionable on the current evidence that has been made public in the case.
The prosecution is likely to explore any differences between the paramedics and the doctor. Some issues are likely to be raise such as whether the paramedics saw a broken nose and whether such “closed fractures” can be easily missed by a paramedic on an street at night. Moreover, such injuries could be sustained by Zimmerman as a result of Martin defending himself.
The leak of possible civil rights charges may be designed to try to get Zimmerman to accept a plea with prosecutors. I have reservations about such a charge based on the evidence that is available — as I have expressed over the overcharging in the case as second degree murder. This case has already raised serious questions of the influence of public pressure on the prosecutors. While there may be additional evidence that would support such a hate crime charge, the current evidence, in my view, falls short of the threshold showing needed for such a charge. The crime is defined as a “criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, ethnic origin or sexual orientation.” The “in part” component gives some wiggle room for prosecutors but you need to still show clear intent on the race issue. While state courts have rejected the need under state law for race to be the “primary” factor, there remains unease in cases where race appears a secondary issue. The Justice Department has sometimes moved against defendants who were acquitted of the same offense under state law as in the Pennsylvania case involving the death of a hispanic man. These cases raise serious questions of when trash talk reflects racial motivations.
We have seen the same type of claim under “Stand Your Ground” in mixed-race shootings without such hate crime allegations. I have previously express unease over the standard used for hate crime charges and the decision to pursue some cases while refusing to move on others with similar or stronger facts. This is a case that could be explained as a crime-obsessed as opposed to a race-obsessed neighborhood watch captain. Indeed, Zimmerman’s past violent record may indicate that he is prone to violence generally. There has been no new evidence revealed that shows that Zimmerman’s shooting was race motivated. His own mixed race background and injuries from the fight militate against such a charge. They certainly do not rule out such a charge, but more has to be shown in my view.
The case is already over-charged as second degree murder. If the Justice Department is going to bring a hate crime charge, it better have stronger evidence than we have seen from Angela Corey to support a second-degree murder charge. Corey was in my view clearly affected by the public pressure in the case in charging the case as second degree murder rather than manslaughter. I am equally troubled by Attorney General Eric Holder discussing the case in public speeches when his department is supposed to be conducting an unbiased review of the facts involving a man who has not been convicted of a crime.
The combination of the leak on the civil rights charges and Holder’s public statements leave the impression that the DOJ will not accept acquittal as an answer in the case if Zimmerman does prevail. The impression, in my view, diminishes the appearance of due process and fair trial for the accused.
What do you think?
Source: ABC
The article reads in part:
” Some issues are likely to be raise such as whether the paramedics saw a broken nose and whether such “closed fractures” can be easily missed by a paramedic on an street at night.”
Closed fractures are missed all the time, at every level of care. Thus the huge advantage of x-rays. What the Medic would report to the ER is “possible fracture.”
The best indicator of a fracture is deformity of the bone. Some of the “nose” isn’t bone at all – it’s softer tissue. It may or may not be tweaked, or even bleeding.
I have no particular opinion on how badly – or mildly – George Z may have been, following the incident in question.
But I can state with some knowledge, that observers from a distance who insist he didn’t “look hurt enough” are allowing their judgement to be clouded by their empathy for the victim. Understandable, but not logical.
In the field of EMS, we witness a stunning range of behavior and appearance after at times unbelievable violence. And one of the first things you learn when you walk up to a patient is never judge the severity by the amount of blood you see or don’t see.
But I’ve yet to hear exactly what “obvious death” signs the Medics witnessed of T. Martin. There are nine obvious death signs, and a gunshot wound to the chest isn’t one of them.
Professor: No it doesn’t. It turns out that it shows “likely broken nose” and no x-rays. In fact, the medical report shows that George doesn’t want a “rule-out” diagnosis to be performed. To me, it shows that George wants to hide the condition of his nose. Probably because it was where it didn’t belong on 2/26/2012.
When O’Mara defended against the subpoena for ALL George Z’s medical records, I thought it was probably related to the fact that (a) he either had a pre-existing broken nose long before he ever killed Trayvon Martin or he had no fracture at all; or (b) all his big injury claims were ruled out.
Then I began to think of yet another issue that George would not want to be made public. He has apparently been diagnosed, for some time, with IBS, irritable bowel syndrome. There might be some alternate story, embarrassing to George, about how he spent his next three days. Joe Oliver or frank Taaffe (I have now forgotten) (or maybe even one of the two original bozo lawyers) said that George spent three days crying after his alleged self-defensive incident on 2/26/2012; maybe he spent those three days running back and forth to the “rest room” instead. ???
Even though the first mentions of the broken nose were a lawyer (not a doctor) claiming a “broken nose,”
and
the next big mention of the broken nose was after that lawyer who first “broke the story” quit the case and was replaced by Mark O’Mara, who claimed George had a “broken nose,”
and
the medical reports included in the first evidence dump used the word “possible” or “suspected” before the words “closed fracture”
and
the next time we saw written medical reports they used the phrase “likely closed fracture” —
all of which, taken together, STILL only mean “possible broken nose,”
and
although we have never been given a photograph of “two black eyes,”
we now read this sentence in all the press reports relating to the subpoena for medical documents:
“Zimmerman had two black eyes, a broken nose and two cuts to the back of his head.”
That is as blatantly wrongful for the press to print as it would be for them to say either:
“Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin in self-defense” or
“Zimmerman murdered Trayvon Martin.”
PLEASE, JOURNALISTS, will you re-read the requirements of your job? Is the NBC journalist who first took “he looks black” out of context and got fired for it the only journalist in this country who has to follow the rules?
Interesting development: Now that George has used his medical records to show that poor boy had his nose broken and his head bopped, a subpoena for his medical records from ten miles away in Altamonte Florida is being opposed by his counsel. What, no medical records to show how bad the poor victimized Hispanic neighorhood-protector has been hurt?
I’m laying bets right now — a 24 ounce sweet drink with ice from New York City — that the medical records from Altamonte show something that would make george’s “family doctor” report of “suspected closed fracture” and so forth look a litt-tell-bitt silly. Takers?
I’m now 99.9% sure the report of the FBI learning that George Zimmerman was watching gay porn was a total fake and fraud.
The report seemed strange, coming out when it did, but at first reading I assumed the SanfordDailyNews website was the publication of the local newspaper. Now I have re-read this thing a few times because it seemed so strange that it had no repercussions in the larger media outlets, and I have come to the conclusion that it is a fake and a fraud, and that there is no such data “stumbled upon” by the FBI or anybody else.
It’s somebody capitalizing on the fact that people often google the name “George Zimmerman” so they are able to get people to click on them a lot.
It does seem, however, that this particular form of Internet fraud should be actionable. Who knows? If it is actionable, I hope it ends up getting punished. Not for George’s sake (really, what he did getting him false bad press as well as true bad press doesn’t make me weep big tears for the guy) but for the sake of at least trying to prevent fraud.
Of course, I also think the purveyors of the Trayvon Martin targets should have been punished using the law, or even using “the law” — but they probably got a free card on their hideous and immoral behavior.