How do you defend someone in a criminal case that has been played out in the national press for the last two months? How do you find a jury made up of people who have not been swayed one way or another by the constant attention in this case by the media? When was the last time you saw the press describe a defendant as a ‘White Hispanic’? How can you get a fair trial for your client when this case has been commented on and analyzed by elected officials, media pundits and group leaders? That’s the task the defense attorneys of defendant George Zimmerman have in the Trayvon Martin case in Florida, and it is very tall one. The task is made that much more difficult when so many emotional issues are thrown into the mix.
There have been cases throughout history where public opinion has been so inflamed that that the guilt of the accused party was a foregone conclusion, even before the trial began. For starters, look at the Dreyfus Affair in France and the Atlanta bombing case of Richard Jewel. In the former, Captain Alfred Dreyfus was convicted of treason for selling military information to the Germans. He was convicted of treason and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devils Island. After a number of years in confinement, he was exonerated and reinstated back into the French Army.
In the latter case, Jewel was a security guard at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. Discovering a bomb at the site, he alerted the police and helped clear the area of people before the bomb exploded. Even though there was loss of life due to the bomb, he was credited with saving many lives and initially called a hero for his actions. He later came under suspicion as a possible suspect and although never arrested, had his life ruined by all the media attention. Another suspect was eventually arrested and convicted, and Jewel was completely exonerated.
I don’t know if George Zimmerman is guilty or innocent of the charges against him. I do know that here in America, it is every individual’s right to a fair trial before a jury of his peers based on the facts and evidence presented. I just hope that after all this media attention they can find twelve objective citizens who will decide his fate.
