Blog
Zimmerman Trial
What's next?
After five days of testimony in the trial of George Zimmerman, they finally got around to the eyewitness who saw Trayvon Martin on top of George Zimmerman, and the "guy on top in the black hoodie was pretty much just throwing down blows on the guy [Zimmerman] kind of MMA-style"....."like a Ground-and-Pound on the concrete" with "a Hispanic guy with a red sweatshirt on the ground yelling out help." The bulk of the physical evidence presented throughout the week support Zimmerman's statement to police, and the eyewitness's testimony, beyond any reasonable doubt.
Why doesn't the court call a graceful halt to this charade? Apparently, because it's a charade with a motive, brought to you at the enormous expense of George Zimmerman and Florida taxpayers—for the purposes of identity politics and placation.
Based upon the prosecution's "case" thus far, the only thing that they have left is to propose that George Zimmerman is responsible for starting the fight—even though it's obvious that he didn't do that. What else can the prosecution do at this point?
I guess that we will just have to wait until Monday to see the answer to that question.
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Crime: Home Invasion
New Jersey Home Invasion
Watch the below video. The solution to this kind of thing has been around since 1911; but then, citizens in New Jersey are a little constrained by law.
This makes you appreciate living in a state that has a "Castle Doctrine." In fact, this sort of thing is less likely to occur in states that have a Castle Doctrine.
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Safety
Electric Shock Drowning
This subject comes up occasionally in our classes, and probably should be included in every class. While not one of the bigger problems that we face, ESD and carbon monoxide poisoning are silent killers stalking the unwary.
At least eight deaths were attributed to faulty boat and dockside wiring in 2012. Many more fatalities were listed as drowning, though many were likely caused by electric shock drowning (ESD), some revealed as such by subsequent investigation. While ESD remains a persistent threat, heroic efforts are being made to encourage boaters and the industry to help prevent these needless fatalities. Here, through the lens of a boating family’s first-hand account, we explore the danger, causes and cures for this deadly phenomenon.
Please click here for the full story.
Beware.
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Zimmerman Trial
The Prosecution's Quest For A Depraved Mind
So far, the trial has involved a systematic introduction of routine evidence. All went smoothly until the prosecution tried to imply that a person's being upset about a string of burglaries in their neighborhood constitutes that person having a depraved mind. Frustration maybe, but I don't think that they will find support for a depraved mind implication anywhere—but they have the rest of the day to look for it. Court's adjourned until 9AM tomorrow.
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Zimmerman Trial
Opening Arguments
The opening arguments in the Zimmerman trial started this morning. The prosecution began their "case" with a 30 minute monologue that seemed to solicit sympathy from the jury by focusing on the undisputed fact that Trayvon Martin was shot and killed with a gun. They tried to imply racial prejudice (which seems to be the only other reason for their case), based on some words that were used in the original complaint call that George Zimmerman made to the police; words used during a conversation in which Zimmerman was clearly frustrated as he tried to answer the police dispatcher's questions. As expected, there was an attempt to demonize the gun, with such contentious statements as "there was a round in the chamber" and "the gun was inside Zimmerman's belt."
Following the prosecution's presentation, defense attorney Don West then proceeded to methodically lay the facts out for the jury, with fact after fact, supported with timelines and photographs, showing that Zimmerman had been viciously attacked by Martin, and was in fear for his life when he shot Martin. The playing of the 911 call that captured Zimmerman crying for help prompted a dramatic exit from the courtroom by Martin's mother who had earlier tried to convince people that it was Martin's voice...
The court recessed for lunch prior to the defense concluding their presentation.
My theory that this whole thing is about guns was bolstered by the prosecution's performance this morning.
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Zimmerman Trial
Officially Out!
The long awaited ruling from Judge Nelson on whether the prosecution could use their "voice experts" as evidence finally appeared this morning. Following is an synoptic excerpt from the court's ruling:
The Defendant filed a "Motion for Evidentiary Hearing Regarding Admissibility of Expert Opinion Testimony" seeking to exclude the opinions of the State's experts on the basis that the techniques applied are not generally accepted in the scientific community.....
....The State presented testimony from Dr. Alan Reich and Mr. Thomas Owen.....
....Mr. Owen used software called "Easy Voice," a software program he markets and in which he has a small financial interest.....Easy Voice recommends a sample length of 16 seconds to conduct its analysis. Mr. Owen only isolated seven seconds of screams from the 911 call. The seven second sample was rejected by the Easy Voice software program. To correct this problem, he ran the seven second sample twice...[Owen actually testified to this!]...Based upon conversations with sales representatives for the software manufacturer, he believed looping was an appropriate solution.
....Dr. Reich testified that he was able to hear words on both calls that have not been heard by any other witness....
....There is no competent evidence that the scientific techniques used by Mr. Owen and Dr. Reich are generally accepted in the scientific field. There is no evidence to establish that their scientific techniques have been tested and found reliable....
....The scientific methodologies and techniques used by Mr. Owen and Dr. Reich are not reliable as they are not Sufficiently established and not generally accepted in the scientific community.....
....The State failed to carry its burden....
....The Court notes that Dr. Reich issued at least two reports on his findings in this case, one for a newspaper and one for the State. The testimony presented to the Court indicated there are significant differences between the two reports as to what Dr. Reich heard in the recorded calls.....
....The Court finds that Dr. Reich's testimony regarding the amplified tapes would confuse issues, mislead the jury and, therefore, should be excluded from trial....
....The opinion testimony of Mr. Owen and Dr. Reich are hereby excluded from trial....
One definite outcome of this trial will most assuredly be a manic shuffling of curricula vitae.
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Zimmerman Trial
Al Sharpton and the Lynching of George Zimmerman
After the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman was released by the Sanford Police. Why?
A good review for any might be stragglers.
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Zimmerman Trial
"It was a dark and stormy night"
The above quote is in reference to the way that one of the state's "voice experts" should have begun his report, according to defense attorney Don West, speaking as the court concluded its Frye hearing today. After listening to the state's "expert" witnesses, I have to agree. The method that they used to form their opinion met the Frye requirement for disqualification—as far as I'm concerned. But I'm not the judge.
If the court believes the prosecution's "expert" witnesses, which may turn out to be the case in this trial, the jury will get the burden to decide who's telling the truth.
This kind of stuff is the reason that the bill for "justice" is so high.
It's best to stay out of court. But, that takes us right back to the question: what do you do if you get caught up in a case like this?
The good news is, they have a jury. Opening statements begin this coming Monday at 9 A.M. ET.
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Trivia is Not Always Trivial
IRS Agents ‘Accidentally’ Discharged Guns 11 Times, Possible Injuries
Special agents at the IRS accidentally shot their firearms 11 times between 2009 and 2011, and at least three of the cases “may have resulted in property damage or personal injury.”
Agents actually fired their guns accidently more often than they intentionally fired them in the field, according to an audit by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).
Hmmm!
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Zimmerman Trial
"...the whole truth, and nothing but the truth"
In case you haven't had time to watch the Zimmerman trial proceedings at Sanford, FL, the court is using a binary form of voire dire (jury selection) where they are 'screening' each prospective juror prior to placing them into a final selection pool.
I have long believed that this trial is more about Florida's "concealed carry" and "stand your ground" laws than it is about George Zimmerman. There are several good reasons why I believe that.
Last Thursday's screening of prospective juror "E-81", shed some light on the prosecution's charade—for those who caught it.
The courtroom cameras that are filming the proceedings don't spend much time on the prosecution's side of the room, but one of them just happened to be focused on Special Prosecutor Angela Corey as prospective juror "E-81", being questioned by Lead Prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda at the time, started telling the court about her appreciation of her right to bear arms.
Audio excerpt of prospective juror's testimony:
When Special Prosecutor Angela Corey (pictured below), who had been looking down at her lap, heard "E-81" start talking about the benefit of people being free to bear arms, Corey rolled her eyes up and glared at the prospective juror.
Is this a look of shock, contempt—or conviction?
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Just The Facts
Gun Facts
In case you missed it, version 6.2 of Guy Smith's free 111 page book "Gun Facts" is now available for download. Share the truth.
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Firearms Safety
Project ChildSafe
Now that law-abiding gun owners have been subjected to the latest round of rhetoric from gun prohibitionists who like to euphemistically label their agenda as "gun safety", it's time to call to mind some real gun safety—some that actually works.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) launched "Project HomeSafe" in 1998; in 2003 the program's name was changed to "Project ChildSafe." The program is a nationwide initiative to promote firearms responsibility and provide safety education to all gun owners. It was originally supported by federal grants provided by the U.S. Department of Justice, but in 2008, DOJ funding was cut. Since then, the firearms manufacturing industry has solely funded the safety program through the members of NSSF.
While children are a focus, Project ChildSafe is intended to help young people and adults practice greater firearm safety in the home. The program has provided more than 36 million free firearm safety kits to gun owners in all 50 states and five U.S. territories. That's in addition to the more than 60 million free locking devices manufacturers have included with new firearms sold since 1998 and continue to do today.
This effective safety program is still going strong, and it makes available a free means for all firearms owners who have children in or around the home to safely secure their firearms. The material is distributed free of charge through local public safety, and law enforcement, agencies. Check here for more information about the program, and to see which local agency is a participant.
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Zimmerman Trial
Why is it important?
With all of the facts that have been released to discovery, and to the public, surrounding the Zimmerman - Martin encounter, it has become clear that we are dealing with a case that should never have gone to trial. So what is really going on? I think that this article by the AP's Mike Schneider unmasks the answer to that question.
...the case drew worldwide attention as it fanned a debate about race, equal justice under the law and gun control.
Zimmerman's attorney must convince jurors Zimmerman pulled his 9 mm handgun and fired a bullet into the high school student's chest because he feared for his life.
Under Florida's "stand your ground" law, Zimmerman, 29, could shoot Martin in self-defense if it was necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm.
"Guns" and "Stand Your Ground" law are actually what's on trial here. There has been enough error committed in this "trial" to ensure that George Zimmerman emerges from the process, albeit at the appellate level possibly, battered but free.
But what about the law-abiding gun owners who rely on firearms to provide a level of security—security that nobody else, including the police, can provide?
Florida has a good SYG law. A law that has been tested and found to be well-grounded. A law that protects a victim's assets from misappropriation. A law that was instrumental is saving George Zimmerman's life.
Keep your eyes and ears on the rhetoric surrounding this case. If it can be implied that guns are the problem, or that the SYG law has been abused, then yet another good law will become vulnerable.
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Zimmerman Trial
The Prosecution was Fryed today
Hint: Relying on CSI: Miami's reputation to try and salvage a faulted "case" won't (shouldn't) work.
The term 'Frye standard' comes from Frye v. United States, 293 F. 1013 (D.C. Cir. 1923), a case discussing the admissibility of "scientific" evidence. The Court in Frye held that expert testimony must be based on scientific methods that are sufficiently established and accepted.
The prosecution called two "experts" to testify that the screams heard in the audio recording made the night of the attack on George Zimmerman were the voice of Trayvon Martin.
Two other well qualified scientists in the field had this to say about the prosecution's so-called "expert's" finding:
Cries in 911 call unintelligible
On Saturday, [expert witness] Doddington and a second defense expert, John Peter French, said the methods of the state's two experts were so fundamentally flawed that it was laughable.
The screams are not "even remotely" suitable for analysis, French said.
No respectable scientist would try to compare a recording of someone speaking normally to one of someone screaming and attempt to make an identification, he added.
Doddington said anyone using voice-recognition software to try to identify screams is on "a fool's mission" ...
"I'm sorry. It's all ridiculous," he said.
"It's all ridiculous" pretty well sums up this whole mess.
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Zimmerman Trial
Getting The Facts Straight
The saga continues in the Zimmerman case at Sanford, Florida. The trial is scheduled to start on Monday June 10th, but there is a possibility that it might be continued due to a procedural error that was committed by the judge.
This case has been tainted from the start, as pointed out by George Parry, a former state and federal prosecutor practicing law in Philadelphia.
...the media portrayed Zimmerman as a gun-crazy vigilante who stalked and murdered a harmless black youth. Since then, Mark O’Mara, Zimmerman’s tenacious lawyer, has extracted bits and pieces of evidence from an ethically challenged prosecution that prove Zimmerman shot Martin in self-defence. So, at long last, the media’s false narrative is about to collide with the hard facts in a court of law.
For anyone who has not been following the case, Jack Cashill has put together a good summary of the facts at American Thinker.
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Delayed Rights
Illinois Governor Gets 30 Days to Review Concealed Carry Law
The U.S. Appeals Court in Chicago last year ruled the old law, which limited the carrying of loaded guns in one’s home or regular place of business, was unconstitutional. The panel delayed the effect of its Dec. 11, 2012, ruling for 180 days to allow lawmakers time to craft a new statute.
Today it granted Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s request for additional time to let Quinn, a Democrat, study a measure passed by lawmakers on May 31.
Yeah, right, the governor wants to "study" the measure. What happens between now and July 9th if some law-abiding citizen of Illinois dies because they have been denied the right to bear arms in defense of their life?
Subsequent to a diligent (10 second) study of that hypothesis, I find the answer to the question totally unsatisfactory.... That's why I don't like left-wing politicians; they don't care about those things.
Delayed rights are denied rights!
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Justice
Patterns of Travesty
In today's society, the need to defend one's life from thugs, including feral teenagers, should be a concern for everyone. Many people, myself included, look vicariously at the facts that have emerged surrounding the prosecution of George Zimmerman by the state of Florida.
Is there a corollary to what is going on in the Zimmerman case in Sanford, FL? Yes, there is a good one; a story that has some familiar faces in it—the 1987 Tawana Brawley case.
Crime
Situational Awareness
Now that murder has officially become a "game" sanctioned by "America's Peacemaking Agency", the CRS, one can only wonder about the outcome of the ongoing travesty in Sanford, FL.
I know that "tolerance" ranks pretty high on the scale of 'political correctness', but there are a few things that country boys won't tolerate.
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United States—Pending
United in Concealed Carry?
Illinois, the final holdout, is "poised" to join the 49 other states in America by throwing its antiquated prohibition on self-defense outside the home into the dustbin of history.
The Illinois Senate passed HB183 yesterday by a margin of 45-12-1 (36 votes are required to override a governor’s veto) and the House approved it by a vote of 89-28 (71 votes are required to override a governor’s veto).
As one comment stated, "It’s not perfect but a good starting point."