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| George Zimmerman: hate crime case would be tough to prove, experts say | George Zimmerman: hate crime case would be tough to prove, experts say |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Eric Holder, the US attorney general, vowed on Monday to press ahead with a civil rights investigation into George Zimmerman, acquitted of murdering the unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, despite experts suggesting that a federal prosecution would be even less likely to result in a conviction than the state trial. | Eric Holder, the US attorney general, vowed on Monday to press ahead with a civil rights investigation into George Zimmerman, acquitted of murdering the unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, despite experts suggesting that a federal prosecution would be even less likely to result in a conviction than the state trial. |
| Former Justice Department officials said that any prosecution brought under civil rights legislation, as demanded by campaigners, would have to meet a tough test if it was to succeed. | Former Justice Department officials said that any prosecution brought under civil rights legislation, as demanded by campaigners, would have to meet a tough test if it was to succeed. |
| At the state trial in Florida, jurors acquitted Zimmerman of second-degree murder, and declined an option presented late in the trial to find him guilty of a lesser charge of manslaughter. Zimmerman claimed he killed Martin, who was 17, in self-defence. | At the state trial in Florida, jurors acquitted Zimmerman of second-degree murder, and declined an option presented late in the trial to find him guilty of a lesser charge of manslaughter. Zimmerman claimed he killed Martin, who was 17, in self-defence. |
| Speaking in Washington on Monday, Holder said the Justice Department would "continue to act in a manner that is consistent with the facts and the law". | Speaking in Washington on Monday, Holder said the Justice Department would "continue to act in a manner that is consistent with the facts and the law". |
| But three former senior officials from the Justice Department told the Guardian that prosecutors would face serious hurdles in bringing a hate crime case against Zimmerman. | |
| The Justice Department opened an investigation into Martin's death last year, but it was put on hold to allow the state prosecution to proceed. On Sunday, the department announced the case had been reactivated. | The Justice Department opened an investigation into Martin's death last year, but it was put on hold to allow the state prosecution to proceed. On Sunday, the department announced the case had been reactivated. |
| Senior officials who previously worked in the civil rights division of the DoJ – which is now actively assessing the case along with the US attorney's office in Florida and the FBI – said the process could take months. None were optimistic about the possibility of a fresh prosecution. | Senior officials who previously worked in the civil rights division of the DoJ – which is now actively assessing the case along with the US attorney's office in Florida and the FBI – said the process could take months. None were optimistic about the possibility of a fresh prosecution. |
| If Zimmerman is to face new charges under federal law, they would almost certainly be under the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which was enacted by the Obama administration in 2009. | If Zimmerman is to face new charges under federal law, they would almost certainly be under the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which was enacted by the Obama administration in 2009. |
| Federal prosecutors would need to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Zimmerman, who is Hispanic, wilfully inflicted bodily injury because Martin was black. If found guilty, he could face life imprisonment. | Federal prosecutors would need to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Zimmerman, who is Hispanic, wilfully inflicted bodily injury because Martin was black. If found guilty, he could face life imprisonment. |
| At the trial, prosecutors sought to portray Zimmerman as an angry vigilante who was "fed up" after a series of burglaries at the Retreat at Twin Lakes gated community, and who wrongly assumed that Martin, who was wearing a hooded top, was a criminal who was "up to no good". But they did not present any evidence of a racial motivation to the crime. In recordings of calls with a 911 dispatcher, Zimmerman did not mention Martin's race until he was prompted. | At the trial, prosecutors sought to portray Zimmerman as an angry vigilante who was "fed up" after a series of burglaries at the Retreat at Twin Lakes gated community, and who wrongly assumed that Martin, who was wearing a hooded top, was a criminal who was "up to no good". But they did not present any evidence of a racial motivation to the crime. In recordings of calls with a 911 dispatcher, Zimmerman did not mention Martin's race until he was prompted. |
| "Racially motivated cases are very difficult because you need to establish the state of mind of the perpetrator at the time he committed the crime," explained William Yeomans, who was acting assistant attorney general in 2001. "It would require showing that George Zimmerman was motivated by race in this instance." | "Racially motivated cases are very difficult because you need to establish the state of mind of the perpetrator at the time he committed the crime," explained William Yeomans, who was acting assistant attorney general in 2001. "It would require showing that George Zimmerman was motivated by race in this instance." |
| He added: "There is a good argument that racial profiling may well have occurred, and his identification of Trayvon Martin as a suspicious person certainly had a racial element to it. But the legal question will be whether that initial racial consciousness carried through to the point where he actually decided to inflict bodily injury by shooting." | He added: "There is a good argument that racial profiling may well have occurred, and his identification of Trayvon Martin as a suspicious person certainly had a racial element to it. But the legal question will be whether that initial racial consciousness carried through to the point where he actually decided to inflict bodily injury by shooting." |
| Yeomans, who was also a chief of staff in the Justice Department, and is now a law professor in Washington, said government prosecutors would have "a very difficult hurdle" to overcome in the case. | Yeomans, who was also a chief of staff in the Justice Department, and is now a law professor in Washington, said government prosecutors would have "a very difficult hurdle" to overcome in the case. |
| The department has also traditionally been cautious when bringing federal charges in cases that have already been tried at state level, he said. | The department has also traditionally been cautious when bringing federal charges in cases that have already been tried at state level, he said. |
| Samuel Bagenstos, who until two years ago was deputy in the department's civil rights division, said that criminal civil rights prosecutions had become more common under the Obama administration, but attorneys assessing the case were likely to be cautious. | Samuel Bagenstos, who until two years ago was deputy in the department's civil rights division, said that criminal civil rights prosecutions had become more common under the Obama administration, but attorneys assessing the case were likely to be cautious. |
| "I am sure what they will do now is look at all the evidence they had before the trial, carefully look at the transcript of the trial, and try to make an assessment of whether this is a hate crime case that they could prove beyond reasonable doubt," he said. | "I am sure what they will do now is look at all the evidence they had before the trial, carefully look at the transcript of the trial, and try to make an assessment of whether this is a hate crime case that they could prove beyond reasonable doubt," he said. |
| "One of the things that makes this a challenge prosecution in general is that this was an altercation between two people, one of whom doesn't have to testify, the other of whom is dead as a result of the altercation. The prosecution bears the burden of proving beyond reasonable doubt that a crime occurred." | "One of the things that makes this a challenge prosecution in general is that this was an altercation between two people, one of whom doesn't have to testify, the other of whom is dead as a result of the altercation. The prosecution bears the burden of proving beyond reasonable doubt that a crime occurred." |
| He added: "That is going to make it especially challenging, particularly when we're talking about the hate crime charges that require proof of what was on George Zimmerman's mind." | He added: "That is going to make it especially challenging, particularly when we're talking about the hate crime charges that require proof of what was on George Zimmerman's mind." |
| Bagenstos, a professor at law at Michigan, said the civil rights division was used to dealing with highly-politicised cases such as this, but would guard against being swayed by public opinion. | Bagenstos, a professor at law at Michigan, said the civil rights division was used to dealing with highly-politicised cases such as this, but would guard against being swayed by public opinion. |
| He pointed out that when he was an official at the department, it declined to file charges in the case of Sean Bell, a 23-year-old black man who was fatally shot by police in Queens, New York. | He pointed out that when he was an official at the department, it declined to file charges in the case of Sean Bell, a 23-year-old black man who was fatally shot by police in Queens, New York. |
| "In the kinds of criminal cases that the civil rights division investigates, that kind of public pressure is very common," he said. "They're used to it. They try to filter that out to the extent that they can." | |
| A third former Justice Department official, Bradley Schlozman, who served under attorney general Alberto Gonzales, was most pessimistic about the likelihood of a federal prosecution based on the claim the shooting of Martin was racially-motivated. | |
| "Based on my reading of the statutes, in conjunction with what I have read in news reports about the trial, I think it is highly unlikely that there would be a basis for a federal, criminal civil rights prosecution," he said. | |
| Schlozman, who ran the civil rights division in 2005, said that Zimmerman's profiling of the teenager "could be a relevant consideration" for the prosecution. | |
| In 2009, departmental investigators found Schlozman to have violated the Civil Service Reform Act by hiring attorneys on the basis of their ideological affiliations. However, as one of the handful of former senior officials from the department dealing with civil rights issues who agreed to speak publicly about the Zimmerman investigation, he offers some insight into how its attorneys may approach the case. | |
| "The defense at the trial, my understanding is, suggested that there was no racial profiling at all," he said. "He was simply looking for individuals that didn't belong in the neighbourhood." | |
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