Jury of six women chosen in George Zimmerman trial

[AmyStrange]

Source: Miami Herald

SANFORD -- A jury has been selected to decide the fate of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watchman who shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin of Miami Gardens during a violent scuffle in February 2012.

Lawyers on Thursday afternoon agreed on the six — all women, five of them white and one a lighter-skinned black woman — plus four alternates.

Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder in the case that drew worldwide attention, spurred racial tension in the Central Florida town and cast a spotlight on Florida’s self-defense law.



Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/06/20/3461323/defense-questioning-potential.html#storylink=cpy

[Demeter]

1. 6 women to judge a gun-toting creep?

What were the defense lawyers thinking? That they got themselves a bunch of redneck women?

This has epic disaster written all over it.

[notadmblnd]

2. Really? Why does it have epic disaster written all over it?

[Ilsa]

4. Really? I think women can be very fair-minded

and openminded. They are probably nonjudgmental types, I bet one or two is in a "helping" profession like nursing, healthcare, or teaching.

[adric mutelovic]

27. Does this mean you will accept and agree with the jury's decision?

?

[Demeter]

28. I don't know who you are, nor why you are posting on DU

because that isn't the kind of thing we do around here.

Begone, foul demon!

[Hassin Bin Sober]

43. LOL. Love it!

[Nimajneb Nilknarf]

37. I think women are quite capable of listening and rendering objective judgements

Do you not agree?

[Bucky]

40. Heh, I see why you won't be on the jury

[JustAnotherGen]

3. A lighter skinned black woman!

Oh my god this paper is ten kinds of effed up.

Black is black. What does her tone have to do with ANYTHING.

The media starts shit - see . .. right here they started some shit.

[Scootaloo]

7. That made my eyes bug out too

I wonder if the editor sent back the first draft of this with a note saying "You can't say 'high yeller,' these days, you know!"

Just... good lord.

[matt819]

10. How white are the white jurors?

Last edited Sun Jun 23, 2013, 05:58 PM - Edit history (1)

Pale? White white? Or Hispanic white? Mediterranean white or northern European white? Redneck?

And why are they not described as such in the reporting?

[darkangel218]

13. lmao@redneck hHahahahaha!

[JustAnotherGen]

24. Must not post

A yo mama joke!

[Starry Messenger]

56. LOL.

Snarf.

[savalez]

12. OMG

That is insane reporting! WTF? No words.

[Incitatus]

23. The report I heard said hispanic. nt

[JI7]

31. there are black hispanics

[Incitatus]

32. It looks like they're not sure.

A just did a Google search and the papers are either saying black and hispanic or they say black or hispanic.

[JustAnotherGen]

36. Because the media

Is playing the race card.

And that's how it gets in the deck.

[Igel]

35. In this case, it was inevitable.

I rather suspect that the pictures and footage we see would lead to a rather spectacular bit of "shit" when the lighting and cameras in the court make it look like a black kid's alleged murderer is being judged by 6 white women.

Then, of course, the fact that one of the six woman was black would be important, and the justification given would have to be "she's light-skinned." With cynics nodding solemnly and saying, "Yeah, right." Now they can't say that without looking more like bobble-heads.

Perhaps that won't be the case and her complexion and racial ancestry will be obvious in the first images we see of her. Perhaps the reporter doubts this. Hard to know.

It's where good will comes in, but that usually is present within the boundaries of a perceived community.

[ohnoyoudidnt]

45. The jury won't be shown during the trial.

And their identities will be kept secret for months after.

[onehandle]

5. He'll get a slap on the wrist. Florida will burn.

And the family will sue the fuck out of him, like the family did with O.J. Murderman.

[former9thward]

14. He will not get a slap on the wrist.

He will either be found not guilty or guilty of the charge against him. If he is found guilty the sentence will not be slap on the wrist. If he is found not guilty he can't be sued under FL law assuming he is found not guilty using the Stand your ground defense. Also unlike O.J. he has no money so no lawyer would sue him anyway.

[onehandle]

16. He's not using the stand your ground defense. I wish he was.

Because that would be an automatic guilty and paint the supporters of that law as what they are.

Dangerous to be in your neighborhood.

Oh, he will be sued. And will likely flee Florida like the miscreant he is.

[former9thward]

19. He skipped having a SYG hearing before a judge.

That is an option before the trial. The defense has not ruled out using SYG for the trial itself with a jury. Lawyers don't sue when there is no money -- at least in the real world, maybe not yours.

[GreenStormCloud]

47. If he is aquitted he can't be sued.

Has nothing to do with SYG. In many states there are laws that protect a person from civil suit if they are found to have shot in self-defense. Florida is one of those states.

[bike man]

22. You mean "Florida will burn..." as in if there is a "slap on the wrist" people

not agreeing with the decision will take out their anger/frustration on the shops, businesses, homes, automobiles, other properties of people who had nothing to do with that decision?

[Brigid]

44. It's happened before.

[heaven05]

6. hmmmmm

let the games begin.

[Warpy]

8. Obviously, they think old women will feel maternal toward the poor lad

and younger women will want to screw him and both groups will be terrified of black male teenagers.

I do hope that strategy blows up in their piggy faces.

[former9thward]

15. You do realize, don't you, that the prosecutors agreed to this jury?

What was their strategy?

[Warpy]

21. Seating a jury that wouldn't be challenged by a defense

that has a proven track record of playing very dirty.

[Demeter]

29. You said it better than I ever could, Warpy

[mahi]

53. jury

depends on situation.

[alp227]

9. Why 6 not 12? Are things different in FL?

And WTF does "lighter skinned black" have to do with anything, Miami Herald? Are they trying to get more traffic as if the traffic from Miami Heat fans isn't enough?

[onehandle]

11. Second-degree murder is a 'non-capital crime' in Florida.

So 6 instead of 12.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_Florida

[RebelOne]

20. I guess the laws have changed.

When I lived in Miami in the '80s, I was called to jury duty and was chosen for a jury of 12. It was not a capital punishment crime. Fortunately, the defendent plea-bargained so I did not have to serve.

[struggle4progress]

17. Six is the current constitutionally-acceptable minimum size for a jury

See Williams v. Florida, 1970

[name not needed]

48. Six is the highest number anyone in Florida can count to.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

50. Har de har har har.

At leest wez en Floredah kan tell a desent joek, unlyke yoo.

[Arkana]

18. E: Never mind, I didn't read.

[rocktivity]

25. The "OJ Way" strikes again!

rocktivity

[karmalk]

26. deck stacked in favor of a killer nt

[Nimajneb Nilknarf]

39. In any criminal trial, the deck is intentionally stacked in favor of the defendant for good reasons.

The only real advantage the prosecution has is that it gets to speak first, and last.

[HockeyMom]

30. Can they bring up his past

Order of Protection, Assault on a Woman in a bar? Get to his character?

[gejohnston]

60. No

because it has nothing to do with the charges. and if they could, it would have to be based on what is proven. In other words, it has to be true and not something the media speculated on or made up. IE, 90 percent of what you see in the media about any trial by media was pure crap and speculation.

That is true going back as far as the Chicago Seven trial. Even if true and they brought it in, it would go both ways.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_by_media
my rule of thumb is if you saw it on CNN, Fox, MSNBC etc. assume the opposite is true. That is my rule on all media hyped trials.

[davidn3600]

33. One of the jurors used to have a concealed weapons permit

Another has a husband who owns a gun.

So looks like possibly a couple pro-gun people on there.

[Bucky]

42. Owning a gun is not the same as being "pro-gun"

Few cops are 2nd Amendment radicals. The real thing prosecutors needed to screen for was Floridians who are pro "shoot first." This is still America, so it'll probably come down to race, as usual.

[davidpdx]

34. Does anyone know

Does the jury have to have a unanimous decision to convict or just a majority? I was thinking it must be unanimous, but I hope I'm wrong. A deadlocked jury is a very likely possibility.

[Nimajneb Nilknarf]

38. Conviction and acquittal both require unanimous decisions by the jury

[davidpdx]

46. Thanks for the answer

Wow, that is going to be difficult.

[Sgent]

54. Is that the case in FL?

I know in Louisiana you only need 9 (out of 12) for either conviction or acquittal.

[Nimajneb Nilknarf]

58. There are a couple of states that allow criminal convictions with less than unanimous jury votes

Florida is not one of them.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-zimmerman-jury-size-20130621,0,3918396.story

[uppityperson]

41. More info on each of them at this link...

http://www.newser.com/article/da71rda80/who-are-the-jurors-deciding-george-zimmermans-fate-heres-a-look-at-the-panel-of-6-women.html

B-51 is retired, not married and doesn't have kids. She has lived in Seminole County for nine years. She has worked in real estate and run a call center where she said she had experience resolving conflicts. When asked if Zimmerman did something wrong by following Martin instead of waiting for police, she said: "Yeah, I guess he did do something wrong."

___

B-29 recently moved to central Florida from Chicago. She enjoys watching the "Real Housewives" on television and works as a nurse on an Alzheimer's section of a nursing home. She said she hadn't paid much attention to the shooting. She said she has been arrested, but her case was disposed of. It's not clear why she was arrested or exactly what happened to her case, though she said she was treated fairly. She is married and has several children. A prosecutor described her as "black or Hispanic" during jury selection.

___

B-76 is a white woman who has lived in central Florida for 18 years. She manages rental properties with her husband of 30 years. She has two adult children, including one who is an attorney. She is involved with rescuing animals in her free time. During jury selection, she said she had been the victim of a nonviolent crime. "Everyone deserves a fair trial," she said....(3 more at link)

[patricia92243]

49. I cannot imagine any mother finding it to be o.k. that a child would be killed.

I would think every mother would think "what if that were MY son - going to the store - and ending up dead."

I can't believe that race would trump the mothering instinct - but I have been wrong once or twice before

[Nimajneb Nilknarf]

51. How would your mother feel about someone who looks like you being charged with murder?

The effects of empathy and identification could easily go both ways.

Hopefully that kind of thing won't have any effect on the jury's decision.

[Socal31]

55. How do you have any idea of what the jury "looks" like?

Putting the "white" tag on Zimmerman was the media trying to drum up 24/7 crapola and attention.

[Nimajneb Nilknarf]

57. I know only that all six members, and two of four alternates, are women.

I have some faith that the system is working; that it chose a group of people who are capable of seeing and hearing evidence objectively, and of following a judge's lawful instructions.

My previous comment was aimed at the (wishful?) idea that the women of the jury would identify with the deceased and that they would therefore be inclined to convict. My point is that they could just as easily identify with the accused, who is facing a long prison sentence. Neither bias would serve the interest of justice.

It is my sincere hope that feelings of that kind, which most of us are capable of having, will not affect the deliberations or their decision.

[Pelican]

59. Goes both ways...

Any mother would want their son to defend themselves against a younger, stronger aggressor going after a poor innocent man just trying to better his neighborhood and that is what the defense will sell.

[mahi]

52. jury women

jury is up all the way. it is said to be.