Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz
Regarding probable Cause Affidavit It won't suffice. Most affidavits of probable cause are very thin. This is so thin that it won't make it past the judge on a second degree murder charge. There is simply nothing in there that would justify second degree murder. The elements of the crime aren't established. Basically, what's in the affidavit is what's in the public domain, with the exception of the few little things that were put forward by your previous commentator. But the fact that the mother identified the voice as that of her son, of course, we all knew that that was going to happen. There is nothing in there, of course, either about the stains on the back of Zimmerman 's shirt, the blood on the back of his head, the bloody nose, all of that. It's not only thin. It's irresponsible. I think that what you have here is an elected public official who made a campaign speech last night for reelection when she gave her presentation, and overcharged, way overcharged. This case will not -- if the evidence is no stronger than what appears in the probable cause affidavit, this case will result in an acquittal.
But it's worse than that. It's irresponsible and unethical, and not including the material that favors the defendant, unless it's not true. But if it's true, as we now have learned from other information, that the grass stains are in back of Zimmerman 's shirt, that there were bruises on his head, you must put that in an affidavit . The affidavit has to tell the truth , the whole truth, and nothing but the truth .
Well, it's very easy to get an indictment. I think a chief judge of New York Court of Appeals once said that a prosecutor could persuade a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich . It's even easier to get something like this because all the prosecutor has to do is sign her name to it. But probable cause is a very minimal standard. It just means if everything you say turns out to be true, have the elements of the crime been satisfied? Proof beyond a reasonable doubt means that a jury has to conclude that there is no reasonable doubt that it happened. No reasonable doubt that it happened. This affidavit doesn't even make it to probable cause . Everything in the affidavit is completely consistent with a defense of self- defense . Everything. Even if he was the provocateur, you still have traditional defense under Florida law . If, in fact, Zimmerman provoked it but then Martin got on top and was banging his head against the ground, he still has a traditional right of self- defense . So, there is nothing in this affidavit -- and I 've read it quite carefully -- that suggests the crime. It suggests the possibility of a crime, but a good judge will throw this out. And I think probably she'd be satisfied with it. She's won her campaign. She's overcharged, second-degree murder. She's the hero.