What the George Zimmerman Trial Taught Me
I purposely stayed away from television and most social media following the George Zimmerman murder trial verdict because I had no desire to have my head explode.
I stayed away not because I was mad at the verdict, in fact, I am pretty agnostic about it. As an attorney, I understand how the legal process works and I also did not sit through the entire trial like the jury. My consumption was probably like most Americans, I saw bits and pieces. However, unlike a lot of people on social media, I made it a point to keep my opinions to myself, because I did not think I could speak intelligently on the issue.
I have seen people on both sides of this issue make some of the most asinine statements regarding Martin and Zimmerman. When an Indiana Congressman posts on his Facebook page “No Justice, No Peace” something is fundamentally wrong. When someone who does not live in an urban environment and the only black people they see is when they are flipping the cable channels says they are anticipating riots to break out, that person needs to have their head examined.
** PROTECT YOURSELF FROM IDENTITY THEFT **
I am sure there are a lot of lessons that can come out of the Martin-Zimmerman case, but the biggest one is that most Americans have absolutely no idea how the criminal justice system works. And if cameras in the courtroom are supposed to address that issue, I doubt if they really do. Trials are complicated enough, but I have to ask does it serve a purpose when most people just consume 5-10 minutes of testimony and then decide to play Perry Mason?
And even the layman who watches wall-to-wall coverage still isn’t an attorney. They are not in the courtroom. They are not observing the jury. They are paying pain staking attention and detail to witness testimony. They don’t know the rules of civil and criminal procedure. They just end up having more knowledge to offer a more uninformed opinion. And that is what I think is the real tragedy out of this case. So many people are offering opinions about something they don’t understand.
