Zimmerman to sue the fuck out of NBC

[SGOS]

99% of all trials are never heard of.

Yep, if every one of these were reported, we would soon get bored.  It's been cherry picked for emotional appeal and to manipulate our emotional responses.  But it's not like a murder trial only happens once every three years.

[Nonsensei]

While I agree in principle regarding the media, and the sensationalization (Is that a word?) of these kind of things, I think I'd be a little more concerned about arrests and trials carried out in secret. That would be bad.

I dunno. Whats worse? The chance of a corrupted trail process in a private proceeding, or the certainty of a corrupted process in the court of media controlled public opinion? In this case if the media hadn't gotten a hardon over the prospect of stirring shit up for ratings, there might not have even been a trial. Instead, despite being found not guilty in a proper trial Zimmerman will still be seen as a racist murderer to millions of people. So he still has been dealt an enormous penalty despite submitting to the justice system and being exonerated.

To me, thats wrong and it is completely the fault of the media. Even if you win, you lose. Even if you aren't guilty, you're still guilty. Forever.

And some of you might not have a problem with it because you think Zimmerman should be in prison right now. But what happens next time when the media does this to someone you don't believe is guilty?

[WitchSabrina]

At the very least, I think in some other countries the name of a suspect is withheld until "he" is actually indicted. This would help some. Its bad enough being accused and then making bail and still loose your job and house and who knows what else because you are at this time just "accused".

I've had an education from being a member here reading about people getting their lives ruined in bad press.  I'd never given that the weight before but reading opinions here (over several months+)  has given me pause and helped me realize that sometimes it's grossly unfair how people's lives are ruined.
[spoil:9mo1ii3h]although I still want Paula Deen batter dipped and deep fried.  Some deserve the bad press they get.[/spoil:9mo1ii3h]

[Jmpty]

While I agree in principle regarding the media, and the sensationalization (Is that a word?) of these kind of things, I think I'd be a little more concerned about arrests and trials carried out in secret. That would be bad.

I dunno. Whats worse? The chance of a corrupted trail process in a private proceeding, or the certainty of a corrupted process in the court of media controlled public opinion? In this case if the media hadn't gotten a hardon over the prospect of stirring shit up for ratings, there might not have even been a trial. Instead, despite being found not guilty in a proper trial Zimmerman will still be seen as a racist murderer to millions of people. So he still has been dealt an enormous penalty despite submitting to the justice system and being exonerated.

To me, thats wrong and it is completely the fault of the media. Even if you win, you lose. Even if you aren't guilty, you're still guilty. Forever.

And some of you might not have a problem with it because you think Zimmerman should be in prison right now. But what happens next time when the media does this to someone you don't believe is guilty?

I don't think that I would want to live somewhere where someone could be charged, tried, convicted, and imprisoned without anyone knowing about it. I would be concerned if people just started disappearing.

[Nonsensei]

While I agree in principle regarding the media, and the sensationalization (Is that a word?) of these kind of things, I think I'd be a little more concerned about arrests and trials carried out in secret. That would be bad.

I dunno. Whats worse? The chance of a corrupted trail process in a private proceeding, or the certainty of a corrupted process in the court of media controlled public opinion? In this case if the media hadn't gotten a hardon over the prospect of stirring shit up for ratings, there might not have even been a trial. Instead, despite being found not guilty in a proper trial Zimmerman will still be seen as a racist murderer to millions of people. So he still has been dealt an enormous penalty despite submitting to the justice system and being exonerated.

To me, thats wrong and it is completely the fault of the media. Even if you win, you lose. Even if you aren't guilty, you're still guilty. Forever.

And some of you might not have a problem with it because you think Zimmerman should be in prison right now. But what happens next time when the media does this to someone you don't believe is guilty?

I don't think that I would want to live somewhere where someone could be charged, tried, convicted, and imprisoned without anyone knowing about it. I would be concerned if people just started disappearing.

Heh yeah well its currently legal for the government to disappear American citizens but thats another discussion.

Virtually 100% of all cases are tried outside of the media spotlight. What I think would be for the best is if e got rid of the 'virtually' part. I wasn't advocating private trials really, I was advocating keeping the media the fuck out of proceedings, keeping information from them for at least as long as it takes for the record to be set straight in order to prevent them from reporting their fabrications as facts, etc. In essence, trials open to the public but not the media.

How would we accomplish this? Not really sure but I feel its a goal to strive for.

[Broede]

Twitchy is a ground-breaking Twitter curation site powered by a kinetic staff of social media junkies. We mine Twitter to bring you "who said what" in U.S. politics, global news, sports, entertainment, media, and breaking news 24/7. If it's news, we're on it. If it should be news, we're ahead of it. Get Twitchy and stay connected to our twire — the news wire of the 21st century.

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 :rollin:

Okay.  But is the story false?

[Broede]

WHy bother identifying it then? And whats with the rofl emoticon?

No you know what? I dont give a shit. You know what you did and why.

Yes, he does, and that's what gives the rest of us a bad name.  Attacking the source because they're an icon of a diametrically opposed viewpoint does not necessarily make the content they provided invalid.  It's like saying, just because Bill O'Reilly or Jon Stewart said it, since I disagree with either/or/both, therefore everything they say is wrong.  And the fact he backed away when called on it really captures the essence of what he was doing.

Anyway, back to the topic, I don't know personally if this is all true or if Zimmerman actually was guilty, but I'm really torn on this whole issue because a very young person was killed.  I know that it would upset me greatly if it was someone I knew personally, to know that the child was struck down by a lone gunman for no truly obvious reason.  On the other hand, the social media turned on the sensationalistic propaganda machine to destroy Zimmerman, and I know that I can't let my emotional response to the videos and testimonies sway my understanding of the law(s).  And if there's one thing I know about the law, it's that we don't teach "guilty until proven innocent" in school.

[Hakurei Reimu]

You know what? I think I'm okay with this outcome. Yeah, Zimmerman had his name dragged through the mud, even though he was innocent of murder, blah blah blah...

BUT...

Zimmerman has shown himself to be a stupid fuck by disobeying the police dispatcher (who knows something about how law enforcement should work) and turning a black guy going through a neighborhood into a dead body. That was horrendously poor judgement on Zimmerman's part, and he deserves a ruined reputation on account of that stupid decision alone.

And here's the thing: it's ONLY his reputation. It's not his life. If only Martin was so lucky.

[SGOS]

Anything Zimmerman wins from NBC will probably end up with the Martin family.  He was found not guilty of murder, but he still has to be found not guilty of wrongful death, and that's not going to be so easy.  This is where all of his bad choices during the episode will cease to be red herrings, as they have actual relevance to the charge of wrongful death.

[Nonsensei]

Anything Zimmerman wins from NBC will probably end up with the Martin family.  He was found not guilty of murder, but he still has to be found not guilty of wrongful death, and that's not going to be so easy.  This is where all of his bad choices during the episode will cease to be red herrings, as they have actual relevance to the charge of wrongful death.

The fact that Martin initiated physical violence is going to be a major barrier to any wrongful death suit. Under the law, Martin is the one most responsible for his own demise.

[SGOS]

Anything Zimmerman wins from NBC will probably end up with the Martin family.  He was found not guilty of murder, but he still has to be found not guilty of wrongful death, and that's not going to be so easy.  This is where all of his bad choices during the episode will cease to be red herrings, as they have actual relevance to the charge of wrongful death.

The fact that Martin initiated physical violence is going to be a major barrier to any wrongful death suit. Under the law, Martin is the one most responsible for his own demise.

That evidence will still come into play, but it's my understanding that wrongful death requires a lesser burden of proof, which was one of the prosecution's big hurdles with the murder charge.  I'm hardly a legal expert, and I am continually surprised by many trials.  I might make a friendly bet on a wrongful death trial, but I wouldn't wager much.

[Seabear]

This is a case of defamation. I assume nobody here is enough of a fucking dickbag to support defamation just because it is being done to someone they don't like.

LMFAO - are you kidding me!? That is ALL that has happened in this case.

No one can even fucking clearly elucidate exactly what it is they want Zimmerman found guilty of, but by god, they want him declared guilty of something, regardless of what the law says. Why should this be be any different?

[aitm]

I have little knowledge of civil lawsuits, but I think pretty much everything is on the table and nothing is off limits. If Martin was not on a "route" to the house, they will probably suggest he was casing houses due to other "questionable" material found on his phone. And all of zimm's past is fair game. Could be interesting if one is to follow it, which I won't, but probably a grand exercise in futility.

[Seabear]

Anything Zimmerman wins from NBC will probably end up with the Martin family.  He was found not guilty of murder, but he still has to be found not guilty of wrongful death, and that's not going to be so easy.  This is where all of his bad choices during the episode will cease to be red herrings, as they have actual relevance to the charge of wrongful death.

The fact that Martin initiated physical violence is going to be a major barrier to any wrongful death suit. Under the law, Martin is the one most responsible for his own demise.

Also, the rules of evidence aren't the same, either. There is the distinct possibility that a lot of evidence that was disallowed in the criminal trial will be allowed in a civil wrongful death trial.

Specifically, the fact that Martin had been sent by his mom to live with his dad because she had no control over him, he was known to smoke pot, got in trouble at school, and was prone to getting into fights, etc. This goes to character - and combined with the physical evidence of assault, makes for a very difficult argument that Zimmerman was to blame.

It cuts both ways.

[Triple Nine]

Anything Zimmerman wins from NBC will probably end up with the Martin family.  He was found not guilty of murder, but he still has to be found not guilty of wrongful death, and that's not going to be so easy.  This is where all of his bad choices during the episode will cease to be red herrings, as they have actual relevance to the charge of wrongful death.

The fact that Martin initiated physical violence is going to be a major barrier to any wrongful death suit. Under the law, Martin is the one most responsible for his own demise.

Also, the rules of evidence aren't the same, either. There is the distinct possibility that a lot of evidence that was disallowed in the criminal trial will be allowed in a civil wrongful death trial.

Specifically, the fact that Martin had been sent by his mom to live with his dad because she had no control over him, he was known to smoke pot, got in trouble at school, and was prone to getting into fights, etc. This goes to character - and combined with the physical evidence of assault, makes for a very difficult argument that Zimmerman was to blame.

It cuts both ways.

Ugh, I am not going to try and get into this hit because I know all Im going to do is rage. However, I know a ton of kids who smoke weed and get into trouble. If I knew Trayvon I probably wouldn't even like him. But because he smoked weed and made mistakes did he deserve to be followed by Zimmerman (Zimmerman doesn't even know this at the time)? Did he deserve to be confronted by a strange man? Did he deserve to DIE? If he gets arrested for weed fine, but at that moment he was fucking walking home. Trayvon couldn't kill that dude, and I have seen older pics of guy he is skinny. Zimmerman should of stayed in the car, and of story. Would you chase a bear?