Did George Zimmerman commit a federal crime?

There is quite a debate about whether Zimmerman can be charged federally for killing Trayvon Martin.  Zimmerman was not a police officer or acting under color of law, so there is no federal jurisdiction there.  And the shooting did not occur on federal land and the victim was not a federal officer, so nothing there.  But, there is one statute that may apply: 18 U.S.C. 249, Hate Crime Acts, which was just enacted in 2009.  That statute provides:

(a) In General.— (1) Offenses involving actual or perceived race, color, religion, or national origin.— Whoever, whether or not acting under color of law, willfully causes bodily injury to any person or, through the use of fire, a firearm, a dangerous weapon, or an explosive or incendiary device, attempts to cause bodily injury to any person, because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, or national origin of any person—

(A) shall be imprisoned not more than 10 years, fined in accordance with this title, or both; and

(B) shall be imprisoned for any term of years or for life, fined in accordance with this title, or both, if—

(i) death results from the offense; or

(ii) the offense includes kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill.

In other words, if Zimmerman killed Martin because of his race, then he can be prosecuted under this section. 

There haven't been too many prosecutions under Section 249.  The internet reveals these two cases:

In May 2011, a man in Arkansas pled guilty under the Act to running a car containing five Hispanic men off the road. As a result, he became the first person ever convicted under the Act. A second man involved in the same incident was later convicted under the Act but has asked for a new trial.


In August 2011, one man in New Mexico pled guilty to branding a swastika into the arm of a developmentally disabled man of Navajo descent. A second man entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to commit a federal hate crime. The two men were accused of branding the victim, shaving a swastika into his head, and writing the words "white power" and the acronym "KKK" on his body. A third man in June 2011, entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to commit a federal hate crime. All three men were charged under the Act in December of 2010.

 These cases seem much clearer cut than Zimmerman's for a federal prosecution.  I'm not a prosecutor, but it seems to me that the Stand Your Ground defense would be much easier to get over for the State than attempting to prove intent under the Hate Crimes Act.  Based on the 911 call and the other publicly known facts, I'm not sure how this is a Stand Your Ground case...

There have been two local Stand Your Ground/Self Defense cases in the news recently.  The Herald covered this one yesterday and the O'Donnells just got a hung jury in Key West on this case where a young man stabbed someone during Fantasy Fest. 

Okay, you guys are probably ready for me to get back to Paris Hilton....

Wednesday news and notes

1.  John Goodman is testifying right now...  

Dressed in a dark suit and dotted tie, Goodman recounted the events of the night of the crash that led to the death of 23-year-old Scott Wilson, gesturing often with his hands and stammering at times through his responses in a syrupy Southern accent.
Goodman said he had two shots of tequila and two shots of vodka over the course of the night. He said he left the Players Club shortly before the crash on a quest for a Wendy's frosty. After the crash, he said, he didn't know where he was and certainly didn't realize that Wilson's car had tumbled into the canal, where he drowned.
"If you knew someone was in the canal, what would you have done?"
"I would have done whatever I could have done to help," Goodman said, over the objection of prosecutor Ellen Roberts.

2.   A federal prosecutor was commenting anonymously about a case.  Not a good idea:

U.S. Attorney Jim Letten confirmed this afternoon that Sal Perricone, one of his top prosecutors, has been using the handle "Henry L. Mencken1951" to bash landfill owner Fred Heebe and a raft of other local and national figures, including federal judges, in the comments section on NOLA.com. Perricone "'readily admitted" using the psuedonym, and the matter has been referred to the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility, Letten said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sal Perricone 'readily admitted' using the psuedonym, and the matter has been referred to the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility, his boss, U.S. Attorney Jim Letten, said.

It will be up to that office to determine Perricone's punishment, Letten said.
Perricone -- whom Letten called a "fine veteran attorney" -- has been recused from all matters that he discussed in comments on NOLA.com, Letten said. He said he could not enumerate which cases that might include.
He added that Perricone, 60, the office's senior litigation counsel, "knows the restrictions and laws under which we operate."

3.  The Supreme Court decided today in a pair of cases that defense lawyers can be ineffective at the plea stage before trial. From Lafler v. Cooper:

Where counsel’s ineffective advice led to an offer’s rejection, and where the prejudice alleged is having to stand trial, a defendant must show that but for the ineffective advice, there is a reasonable probability that the plea offer would have been presented to the court, that the court would have accepted its terms, and that the conviction or sentence, or both, under the offer’s terms would have been less severe than under the actual judgment and sentence imposed.

4.  The NY Times says that the Armed Career Criminal Act is no good:

The Armed Career Criminal Act has long been a source of confusion for federal judges who are required to apply it in criminal cases. The act ratchets up sentences to a mandatory minimum of 15 years for felons who illegally possess guns and have three prior violent felony convictions. Some judges have misinterpreted this statute, with grievous results, as happened in the case of John Joel Foster. He could end up serving 15 years in prison rather than 27 months for possession of a firearm because the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit wrongly categorized 20-year-old crimes as violent felonies. 

5.  The Supreme Court is going to determine whether Apprendi applies to fines:

Supreme Court argument on Monday was how large a role the jury must play in setting fines against corporations found guilty of environmental crimes. But the real issue in the case, as the justices’ questioning made clear, was whether the court remained committed to the logic of a 2000 decision that said the Constitution sometimes bars judges from making factual findings that lead to increased punishments.

The case arose from the conviction of the Southern Union Company for storing mercury, a hazardous waste, without a permit. The law the company violated allowed fines up to $50,000 a day, and the government contended that the company had violated the law for 762 days. That would have added up to about $38 million. The trial judge imposed penalties of about $18 million.

The company objected, contending that the jury had found only that the company violated the law for at least one day. The federal appeals court in Boston accepted that view but said it did not matter. The trial judge, it said, was entitled to determine how to calculate the penalties.

In asking the Supreme Court to hear its appeal, the company said the appeals court’s analysis could not be reconciled with the 2000 decision, Apprendi v. New Jersey, which said that “any fact that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory maximum must be submitted to a jury, and proved beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Are corporations people?

For the First Amendment, yes.

For the Sixth?  I'll let you decide after this question and answer from Justice Alito:

JUSTICE ALITO: Do we assume for purposes of this case that your client, a corporation, has a Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial?

 

MR. PHILLIPS: I think the language of the Sixth Amendment couldn't be clearer, that it says in all criminal prosecutions the -- the accused is entitled to a jury trial, and all -- and you know, Article III, section 2, says in all jury trial -- in criminal prosecutions there's a jury trial. So there is no effort whatsoever to limit the -- the individual, or in any way to -- the person or persons or entities that are entitled to those rights.

 

JUSTICE ALITO: What are the peers of the Southern Union Company that would sit on the jury, other railroads?

Don't eat the Snickers!

I found this open letter to Blago, giving him advice regarding federal prison, pretty interesting.  Although Jeff Smith (a former state Senator from Missouri) only did a year and Blagojevich has 14, there are still some good nuggets:

1. As your grandma probably taught you, God gave you two ears, two eyes and one mouth — use them in proportion.


• When you get to prison, listen, watch and learn. You'll have a hundred questions on your first day and in one month you will know the answer to 90 of them without having to ask and risk looking stupid.

•Don't ever ask anybody about their crime. If they want to tell you what they did, fine. But you won't know if they're telling the truth. And if you ask and strike a nerve with someone, the result may not be pretty.

•Don't talk about how you got railroaded. So did everyone else.

•Don't ask anything about anyone's family; it will be a sore subject with many, especially those who have not seen or heard from their children or ex-wives in years.

•Don't ever talk about how much time you have. Someone else has more.


***
12 Don't eat the Snickers.
• You'll go through orientation. You will be shown a mandatory sexual assault prevention video featuring a guy warning you not to eat the Snickers bar that may be waiting for you on your bed in your cell. (The actor ate the one left under his pillow, unwittingly signaling the predator who left it for him that he was ready and willing.) All the guys watching the video will laugh. But take the video's message to heart: Don't accept sweets from anyone.

The Fairness in Disclosure of Evidence Act

On the day that the 514-page report detailing the prosecutorial misconduct in the Ted Stevens case, Senator Murkowski (R-Alaska) proposed legislation to reform Brady disclosure by federal prosecutors.  It is entirely non-controversial and has support of both Democrats and Republicans.  One problem -- DOJ will oppose the bill.  And for no good reason except that it doesn't want to have to turn over favorable information if its not material. 

Here's Sen. Murkowski explaining why the legislation is needed:

It is the solemn responsibility of federal prosecutors to secure justice -- not simply convictions. It is the responsibility of the government to prove an individual's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and if the government cannot, it is expected to voluntarily abandon the case. To keep Americans' faith in the system we must raise the standards for government prosecutors and cut the chances that we will see the same "hide the ball" tactics Sen. Stevens faced.

The Stevens case was not unique.

Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2012/03/10/2364196/justice-not-convictions-more-important.html#storylink=cpy

*** 
Enough is enough.

When his conviction was overturned, Sen. Stevens said, "What some members of the prosecution team did nearly destroyed my faith." Ted Stevens was a life-long public servant. He and all Americans deserve to have full faith in the judicial system in this country.

We cannot allow the government to have a finger on the scales of justice. My bill will ensure that another legacy of the Alaskan of the 20th Century is fairness and justice for the centuries ahead.

Senator Murkowski is my new favorite Senator.

Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2012/03/10/2364196/justice-not-convictions-more-important.html#storylink=cpy