In the Zimmerman case, you have a guy defining his own castle so broadly that he gets out of his car and chases someone down so he can defend himself from them. It’s a territorial imperative turned into a nightmare, as self-appointed “kings” defend their castles in the air, wherever they happen to draw them, even around others they have no business accosting.

The difference between traditional self-defense and the castle doctrine is really not subtle. Self-defense says that you are always entitled to defend yourself; there is nothing mysterious about it. But in order for you to defend yourself, you have to be agressed upon. As I understand the procedural difference between the self-defense law and the SYG law in Florida, the difference is that a claim of SYG gets you a pre-trial hearing in front of a judge, with no jury. If you can prove 51% that you were “standing your ground” when you hurt or killed someone, you’re out, free, clear, no jury has to acquit you, and nobody can even sue you for damages. It’s over and you’re free. ONE JUDGE can do that. You can appreciate how easily that entire process could be corrupted in a State like Florida.

Self-defense, on the other hand, unless there is now a procedural device for a pre-trial hearing in Florida based on traditional self-defense, is an affirmative defense to be used AT TRIAL in front of the jury (unless the defendant chooses to go to trial by judge alone, and waives his right to a jury).

If this case had not hit the press as it had, but George DID get charged, he might have been able to get off on a SYG if Wolfinger assigned a prosecutor to the case who very sweetly agreed not to bring in any evidence that would make Georgie frown or become upset. That is, the “right judge” could make sure Wolfinger’s “pet prosecutor” was incompetent enough to have presented little enough evidence to allow for a SYG dismissal and nobody would have been the wiser. THEY didn’t THINK of that, and just decided to do away with the whole problem by lying on and within days after 2/26/2012 and by just not bothering to prosecute at all. Perhaps they wouldn’t be able to find a prosecutor “compliant enough” with Wolfinger’s wishes or perhaps they couldn’t be assured there was a judge available to “listen” to their pleasant arguments in chambers, whatever. The bottom line is that the police and Wolfinger chose to make the whole thing go away without even going through the charade of a fixed SYG hearing, and it came back to bite them.

Even corruption has to be done right.

I felt resentful that truly rotten judges are never recused when they should be, but good decent judges doing their jobs get recused on behalf of manipulative sociopaths, but then, I thought, “What’s the ultimate result of this?”

And that brought the smile back to my face.

Also, I thought this: George Zimmerman was arguing at the second bond hearing that he could not afford a million dollar bond; then he got out in a day or two. Hmmmm. Now what can he argue? That he has to get his bond lowered because he can’t stay out on bond for the higher amount? They should go ahead and refile all the motions, that’s actually hilarious.

And that brought the smile back to my face.

@rnsone is known by many, many names. Sh00fly would be one.

I first encountered it on Huffington Post.

You would do well to avoid it.

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