Prosecutor: No Grand Jury In Zimmerman/Martin Case

This doesn't mean there won't be charges. It means only that the prosecutor has decided that she has enough information to make the call herself, and doesn't need a grand jury.

The special prosecutor already signaled she would probably not empanel grand jury, and now that's official.

Not sure what this presages. It would be a very easy move to dump this on to a grand jury-- putting the decision-power into its hands and, crucially, ducking the exercise of this power yourself.

But special prosecutor Angela Corey said Monday she will not bring the case before a grand jury.

Corey said she continues to investigate the case, and that her decision to skip the grand jury should not be a factor in determining whether charges will be filed against Zimmerman, the Associated Press reports.

The decision now rests with Corey, who would provide no further comment. Corey has two choices left, according to CNN: File charges or drop the case.

My guess? This means she will likely charge Zimmerman.

Here's my thinking: Given the ginned-up firestorm here, it's the popular decision to charge him, and the unpopular decision to re-affirm that there doesn't seem to be enough evidence to charge Zimmerman with a crime.

If she was worried about making an unpopular decision, she could have dumped it off on the grand jury.

But if I know people -- and I've met a few -- she's angling for a career-making case and wants to make her bones here. Hence, she's keeping it in her office.*

On the other hand, she says it is her standard practice to not use a grand jury in a justifiable homicide case, because she feels in such cases the prosecutor can make the decision. So, maybe this means absolutely nothing.

* I guess I could make the opposite case and posit this woman is of unbendable integrity and thinks a grand jury would be unavoidably politicized and racialized, and hence is determined to soldier on with a Buck Stops Here mentality.

I don't know. I generally assume most people are basically good -- but not that good, and certainly not heroic. Heroism, I need to see some evidence of before I posit it as likely.

Ugh: Yes, there are still a fair number of racists running around.

We're Americans. We're supposed to make decisions based on the law and facts and actions, not based upon someone's identity.

A lot of people, on both sides, forget that, or never knew it to begin with. These cases quickly devolve into Racial Teams.

posted by Ace at 01:42 PM

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