Last Sunday night, civil libertarian Jonathan Turley asked the question: "Why was Zimmerman overcharged?"
First, many of us from the first day of the indictment criticized State Attorney Angela Corey for overcharging the case as second-degree murder. While Corey publicly proclaimed that she was above public pressure, her prosecution decisions suggested otherwise. Her prosecutors chose to interview critical witnesses with Martin's family present, a highly unusual and improper practice. The prosecutor was accused with justification of withholding evidence from the defense until shortly before trial.
However, the widespread protests and anger over the shooting seemed to have its greatest impact on Corey's decision to charge the case as murder in the second degree. This was clearly a challenging case even for manslaughter and the decision to push second-degree murder (while satisfying to many in the public) was legally and tactically unwise. The facts simply did not support a claim beyond a reasonable doubt that Zimmerman acted with intent and a "depraved mind, hatred, malice, evil intent or ill will." Had Corey charged manslaughter, the case might have been closer but would have still been a challenge.
Ultimately, it was the case and not the prosecutors that were weak.At National Review, Ian Tuttle has some additional information about Corey.
Angela Corey, by all accounts, is no Atticus Finch. She is "one hell of a trial lawyer," says a Florida defense attorney who has known her for three decades - but the woman who has risen to national prominence as the "tough as nails" state attorney who prosecuted George Zimmerman is known for scorching the earth. And some of her prosecutorial conduct has been, well, troubling at best.
Corey, a Jacksonville native, took a degree in marketing from Florida State University before pursuing her J.D. at the University of Florida. She became a Florida prosecutor in 1981 and tried everything from homicides to juvenile cases in the ensuing 26 years. In 2008, Corey was elected state attorney for Florida's Fourth Judicial Circuit, taking over from Harry Shorstein - the five-term state attorney who had fired her from his office a year earlier, citing "long-term issues" regarding her supervisory performance.
When Corey came in, she cleaned house. Corey fired half of the office's investigators, two-fifths of its victim advocates, a quarter of its 35 paralegals, and 48 other support staff - more than one-fifth of the office. Then she sent a letter to Florida's senators demanding that they oppose Shorstein's pending nomination as a U.S. attorney. "I told them he should not hold a position of authority in his community again, because of his penchant for using the grand jury for personal vendettas," she wrote.How ironic...
But if Corey is no Atticus Finch, there is one lawyer involved in the Zimmerman trial who does fit the bill: Mark O'Mara.
Mr. O'Mara betrays a steely toughness with a Giuliani-esqe lisp. During the news conference after the verdict, a reporter from the Times of London tritely asked, "You mentioned something about George wanting to get his life back there's one person who's not going to. Have you got any words for the family of Trayvon Martin?" Mr. O'Mara genuflected appropriately to indicate his sympathy, but then continued:
"I'm not going to shy away from the fact that the evidence supported that George Zimmerman did nothing wrong, and that he was battered and beaten by a 17-year-old who for whatever reason, we won't know, thought that he had to lash out and attack violently. And it turns out that all of the forensic evidence supports that. None of it supports that George was ever the aggressor. Certainly not legally, and I don’t think morally.
"Do you have any message?" the reporter asked again, undeterred. And this is the way it goes. When it comes to the media, any voice that contradicts their viewpoint tends to speak right past them. Reporters' follow-up questions often show no indication that they have mentally absorbed the initial response. They don't hear what they don't want to hear.
Atticus and Mr. O'Mara share a quality that Ernest Hemingway called "grace under fire"; they throw themselves unflinchingly into a worthy cause.
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