Trayvon Martin Case: Special Prosecutor Called Off Grand Jury, Will Decide Zimmerman's Fate

The special prosecutor investigating the killing of Trayvon Martin has decided not to convene a grand jury in the case.

Now, the decision to file charges against George Zimmerman, 28, who told police he shot Martin, 17, in self-defense during an altercation in late February, will be totally in the hands of State Attorney Angela B. Corey.

The former state prosecutor on the case, Norman Wolfinger, announced in mid-March that a grand jury would be called to help determine whether Zimmerman would face any charges in Martin’s death. But as public pressure mounted about the case, Wolfinger recused himself from the case, saying that he was stepping away "in the interest of the public safety of the citizens of Seminole County and to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest."

Gov. Rick Scott appointed Corey, a prosecutor in the Jacksonville area, to replace Wolfinger on the investigation.

"The decision should not be considered a factor in the final determination of the case," State Attorney Corey’s office said in a statement, according to CNN. The grand jury had been scheduled to convene on Tuesday. "At this time, the investigation continues and there will be no further comment from this office."

Natalie Jackson, an attorney for Martin's family, called the move a hopeful sign that Zimmerman could soon be charged.

"I think it signals that an arrest could be forthcoming," said Jackson. "I don’t have any indication; that is just my opinion, but there is enough evidence in this case for an arrest, and a jury should be the one to decide his fate."

Ben Jealous, president of the NAACP, said that he hopes Corey's decision is a sign of things to come.

“We hope this decision signals the special prosecutor’s intention to live up to her reputation as a passionate, justice-focused attorney and bring charges against Zimmerman herself,” Jealous said in a statement. “The future of this case now rests solely with her and we have faith that she will do her best to secure justice for Trayvon Martin.”

Richard Rosenbaum, a criminal defense attorney in Florida, said the move could be a good one for the defense.
"We're always told a grand jury would indict a ham sandwich," Rosenbaum said. "The fact that the prosecutor is going to give it a separate look, I think it’s a good sign for the defense."

“I would say that it's definitely better than a grand jury where there’s no judge, no defense lawyer and no defendant through most of the proceedings," Rosenbaum said.

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Comments

[Enso]

01:04 AM on 05/17/2012

Many respectable legal minds from Dershowitz on down consider the second degree charge wildly inappropriate and unconnected to reasonable professional standards of the legal profession.

[Enso]

12:59 AM on 05/17/2012

When Special Prosecutor Angela Corey shockingly stated: " it is the search for justice for Trayvon that has brought us to this night” she abandoned the limits of professional legal conduct and entered the murky area of political show trials common to despotic states.

[tackettroger]

03:49 AM on 05/08/2012

was going to post,but this group is too far left for my liking

[MRHANSON]

06:32 PM on 04/11/2012

wow 2nd degree murder come on she must have work there when he ex judge father did florida is a blind state

[cherokee1934]

12:12 PM on 04/14/2012

You are wrong when you say.......wow 2nd degree murder come on.........(lol) That is funny as he will not be convicted of 2nd degree murder much less anything else. We "DO NOT KNOW" the facts Yet. Zimmerman should have waited on an officer to get there, but mistakes are made every day. No one knows if the boy had any kind of weapon. I am not talking about a gun, but maybe a knife, etc. Maybe Zimmerman had seen the boy in the past and knew that he had a Criminal record. None of these things have been brought to light, YET.

[Shug Thomas]

04:49 PM on 04/11/2012

In the Lords Mighty and Capable Hands, Thank you Jesus.
.....;o)gwen

[salmal]

04:42 PM on 04/11/2012

The whole time you were typing your response hundreds were killed for no reason what makes this case different then those? Why is he more importNt than the others why doesnt a.yone care about the other kids? Take your remarks elsewhere go be safe in your office and watch from the sidelines.

[missmixing]

06:25 PM on 04/11/2012

We want justice for all. What made this different is that the killer was known and not arrested until now.

[Matt Rugar]

01:35 AM on 04/12/2012

Hey now for all we know it was a justifiable homicide. Lets face it .. these are trumped up charges to try to calm down an angry lynch mob. I think it will end up being a mis trial .. but by then people will of moved on. It is just buying time to oplease the Jesse Jackson's, Oboma's and Sharptons untill they slither away .

[Wise MaCon]

01:01 PM on 04/12/2012

Thank you missmixing! It is good to see there are still wise and perceptive people in this world! Take the case of hundreds of our children of all races who are committing suicide because of bullying! The offenders are known and their so-called parents, teachers,administrators even our own friggin so-called government at all levels don't do shit to stop it! Where is the justice in this? The only reason therte aren't more Black Kids committing suicide is because of what they have been through most of their lives, are stronger and/or it is not given media coverage because to our system they matter not! Look at all the damage the gangbangers and assorted criminals are doing and so-called lwa enforcement does NOTHING! Let's be real and honest about this! Law enforcement at all levels should be ashamed of themselves but they can waste millions on petty criminals and rightfully so; but their priorities are wrong!

[Conga]

02:17 AM on 04/12/2012

Your response makes no sense.

We shouldn't care about this kid because there are hundreds others we won't hear about so won't have a chance to care for? All of these kids are dying so we shouldn't care about any one of them? You sat there and typed while you knew others were dying?

[claartjedevries]

04:13 PM on 04/11/2012

I am amazed how angry people are on this post. Hopefully the new prosecutor will sort things out and no more people will get hurt. There is a certain part of the population that want to be vigilantes and kill Zimmerman. While others are trying to hurt police officers. I am ashame of these Americans. Please be more civil to each other.

[Shug Thomas]

04:59 PM on 04/11/2012

Civil is the only way to be in these matters, we don't want to flog the issue.....;gwen

[rrzeus26]

02:47 PM on 04/11/2012

She was apointed to appease the racist and indict him. She knows a Grand Jury would no-bill him just like the DA knew he had nothing to take before one when the whole affair started.

[returnofthejedi]

03:46 PM on 04/11/2012

Right.

[Queena]

02:45 PM on 04/11/2012

Just wanted you all to know that it was just on the news that Zimmerman will be facing charges, It was just announced. Now all they have to do is find him.

[sonomacountylady]

04:31 PM on 04/11/2012

He's HIDING under Sean Hannity's bed!!!! Arrest them Both!

[Matt Rugar]

01:38 AM on 04/12/2012

Duh .. he turned himself in even before the charges where pressed . This sham of charges wil pass as it ends up a non -guilty verdict. No one wants to take away a mans right to protect himself. Once we can not legally defend our selfs there will be riots in the street. The common man will not stand for that.

[dvglass3]

02:44 PM on 04/11/2012

Yessssss!!!!! They just announced that Zimmerman will be charged!

[nonethewyzzer]

02:41 PM on 04/11/2012

THANK YOU, ANGELA COREY!!

Charges WILL be filed against George Zimmerman!

HALLELUJIAH!

[returnofthejedi]

02:31 PM on 04/11/2012

Time to get to the courtroom Ruger............Your boy is being charged. Aren't you part of his legal team?

[Matt Rugar]

01:46 AM on 04/12/2012

First off he is not "my boy" Just some poor shluck who was jumped. Martin had every chance to go home if that was his plan . His plan was to jump Zimmerman . Thats why he did not stop beating on him when the witness asked him to. 2nd degree murder is over charging Zimmerman at best. he already won .. lets see them proof there was malice? Tel you one thing . True middle class Americans are getting pretty feed up with bleeding hearts stopping us from protecting our selfs. and in the long run we are the majority. tHE RIGHT WING OR THE LEFT WING ARE NOT GOING TO WALK ALL OVER THE MIDDLE WING! we will take our country back from the Hannities and Obomas along as the rest of the 1%ers who speak for one extreame or the other.. al we want is a few basic rights.

[Matt Rugar]

12:59 PM on 04/11/2012

Can Zimmerman posthumously press charges on Trayvon Martin? If Zim is free, with no charges pressed. There is only 1 person guilty of a crime and he was a minor .. so can his parents be charged ?

[aquatlcz]

01:31 PM on 04/11/2012

I never thought about that lol. But how dumb it would be if something like that happened when there was a life taken where that person did not have a weapon. If Zimmerman would have followed orders not to pursue this kid none of this would have ever happened. So I highly doubt Trayvon's parents would be charged.

[Matt Rugar]

01:57 PM on 04/11/2012

Honestly Trayvons battery on Zimmerman was aggravated by the concrete being a weapon. So I can see a counter charge of attempted murder. Considering Martin did not stop pounding by request of the witness. His intentions where not to subdue a stalker until help arrived , but instead it was an attempt at murder.

[nmariong]

01:35 PM on 04/11/2012

Oops. You are on the wrong thread. The Zimmerman you are referring to is a Hope Zimmerman, actually a woman. The Trayvon Martin you are talking about was just using an alias. The real name hasn't been released yet. Keep your stories straight. You don't want to confuse other posters.

[Fiona Mackenzie]

10:08 AM on 04/11/2012

Press coverage of this matter reveals a deep ignorance of legal procedure (which would be okay, they aren't lawyers, but before they write it down they might want to ask someone who knows something about it). The purpose of a Grand Jury is simply to determine in certain cases whether there is sufficient evidence to go forward with a trial; there are several other ways Courts reach the same decision.

The notion that this option in any way decides Zimmerman's fate is ludicrous. If it makes you feel better, though, consider that Grand Juries indict some 97% of defendants that come before them; it has nothing whatever to do with a finding of guilt by a jury, on down the road.

[BiznessLady]

11:30 AM on 04/11/2012

You need a grand jury in Florida to indict if you are looking for Murder 1 Charges

[carlgt1]

03:17 PM on 04/11/2012

and the evidence was conveniently ignored or tossed out a month ago, no doubt....

[returnofthejedi]

08:51 AM on 04/11/2012

Ruger this about the 4th different version of the story that you have produced. which is it Ruger? Did Trayvon run to the house and run back armed with a bag of skittles and a can of iced tea? Did he just attack Zimmerman and smash his head on the concrete? I was pretty good at science, and Rugar concrete will do noticeable damage to a human skull or face. I saw none of that on Zimmerman after the clip was released. Oh by the way the Police only released that clip after the Mayor FORCED them to. I saw no damage, and neither did millions of other Americans.

[Matt Rugar]

12:24 PM on 04/11/2012

First off 4 th version? I mentioned there was time for Trayvon to go home if he wanted.. what he did with that time.. I don't know..I see your going back to the skittles defense.."He had skittles" ...so he probably had the munchies from smoking pot. And science lady they show a video with head damage and it is on the police report and the witness also confirms it .. you can't just say "4 th version' out of the clear blue sky .. why do I have to re-explain things over and over to you ? .. one last time..Police report, witness and video = all show head damage. If someone bashes my head against concrete and I have a gun .. guess what...I shoot < 1 version here kid