Zimmerman Prosecutors Struggle to Outmaneuver Florida Law

US Politics Today ^ | June 23, 2012



Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law is complicating matters for prosecutors rushing to convict George Zimmerman. The law is clear that residents can meet force with force when they feel threatened.



Florida's Stand Your Ground law allows residents to use deadly force to defend themselves or their property, and when doing so, protects them from prosecution. This law may derail the prosecution of defendant George Zimmerman in the much-publicized case of a neighborhood watch volunteer who shot and killed teenager Trayvon Martin.
State prosecutors see the case as open-and-shut, arguing that Martin was simply a kid buying a soda at a convenience store. When Zimmerman called 911 to report a suspicious individual, police told him to stand down until they arrived; he did not.
While authorities note that the one possibly threatening detail about Trayvon Martin was a simple hooded sweatshirt, George Zimmerman claims that Martin physically attacked him.
Florida's Stand Your Ground law is clear: an individual has no duty to retreat from a public confrontation in which he or she reasonably perceives a danger. As the Miami Herald notes, Floridians are allowed to "meet force with force." In fact, Zimmerman was not initially arrested by police at all for this very reason.
And, the law receives strong support. A recent Quinnipiac University poll finds support for the state law at 56 percent, with only 35 percent opposed to it.
While he was eventually charged with second degree murder, state prosecutors have no easy task to explain why Stand Your Ground should not apply to George Zimmerman. In fact, anyone facing charges of murder or homicide in Florida should discuss their situation with an experienced criminal defense attorney who will hold the prosecution accountable for proving their case at every step and ensure the defendant's rights under state law are respected.