Lisa Bloom: Zimmerman can be sued in civil court and forced to testify.

[Just Saying]

Just saw her on MSNBC. Not the last we'll see of this. I don't know if they'd see a penny, but I'd love it if Zimmerman was forced to send money he got from racists and gun nuts to Trayvon's family. Not sure that's possible but would be poetic.

[Ninga]

1. I'm in...where do I donate?

[ceonupe]

4. OJ was a millionaire and paid not a penny

To the goldmans or the browns and loved in a mac mansion until her got busted stealing his old gear back.

Zimmerman is bankrupt. His wife is unattachable.

[sabrina 1]

6. OJ had his finances protected by lawyers long before the murders. Like all extremely wealthy

people.

However, he lost the civil suit and as a result cannot make any money that will not have to be handed over the victims' families.

Zimmerman cannot protect his money the way OJ did.

Being broke now isn't the issue. If the win the suit against him, any money he gets from anywhere will have to be handed over to the Martin family.

[ceonupe]

9. Actually only a % not all of his income if he has any

That's how it works all of his asserts can be seized I belive except his home in FL but only a % of his income unless its a lot and the court orders a lump sum (assuming he acutely has it or is expected to recive it)

All of this assumes he does not get immunity

[MillennialDem]

34. If that's the case, good. Make sure he doesn't become a

millionaire over a book or movie deal and that he has to punch in 8-5 like every Joe Blow but where a lot of employers won't hire him and he'll be always looking over his shoulder...

He should have been convicted, but I'll be happier with that than him moving to the Cayman Islands and saying hi to Romney's money.

[naaman fletcher]

32. He'll never testify and the Martin's will never get a penny.

He won't appear at the civil suit and will just declare chapter 7 bankruptcy,

[Nevernose]

18. He paid quite a bit, IIRC

Just not all, and not as much as he should have or was ordered to. He certainly wasn't bankrupt, but there was an auction of his stuff.

[ceonupe]

23. The auction money paid his lawyers they get paid before the

Victims and then to pay his other debts first then what's left (this case nothing)

[Nevernose]

24. This is why I fucking HATE lawyers

(But keep it on the DL, please...don't tell the lawyer I married )

[avaistheone1]

2. I hope Lisa is right.

I think Zimmerman should be stripped of his assets and anything and everything, he hopes to ever own.

[ceonupe]

3. Not if he is granted immunity at upcoming hearing

Not if he is granted immunity at upcoming hearing.

[Blackford]

11. You're fulla shit. n/t

[ceonupe]

25. Why you mad at me

I did not make the law. And yes he can have a hearing for immunity and if granted it no civil trial. (He waived it pre trial but may file post trial)

Not saying a judge will grant it as the burdens of proof are different

[devilgrrl]

33. Because you view from the right and it shows

not one post from you with an inkling of any left of teabagger.

[Kingofalldems]

35. +1

I saw a truly incredible bio on the internet.

[sabrina 1]

30. He will spend the rest of his life trying to hide money should the Martin family win.

He will not own what he earns from any books or whatever else he does to profit from this killing.

Otoh, he could let his brother or someone else use their name to make money.

He and his family and friends would be far better off never trying to profit from the death of this teenage. But since he already has done so. and got caught, that is unlikely. They don't seem to have much in the way of morality going for them.

[LittleBlue]

5. She's wrong.

Florida law forbids it.

She's been wrong throughout this trial, thank the goddess I don't have to listen to her anymore.

[Just Saying]

7. I'll take her word on it

The defense attorneys said in their press conference that they would fight for immunity, implying they don't have it.

[Skittles]

8. self-del

not even fucking worth it

[Blackford]

10. That's ONLY for a successful Stand Your Ground defense

Zimmerman chose not to use Stand Your Ground. He can be sued.

[Azathoth]

13. lol, not really

Zimmerman can claim civil immunity.

[Blackford]

15. HE mounted no Stand Your Ground defense

So no, he can't.

[Azathoth]

21. I suggest you read the law

He has the right to claim immunity from both civil and criminal action in cases of self-defense. He waived his criminal immunity for strategic reasons. Now that he's got a not guilty by reason of self-defense verdict, he will most certainly petition for civil immunity.

None of this has anything to do with the duty to retreat provision in the SYG law.

[Jim Lane]

12. What's the provision involved?

He certainly can't be retried on the state criminal charges. Another thread here refers to a petition for federal criminal charges; if that is indeed a possibility, then he couldn't be forced to testify in a civil trial, but his silence could be used against him, which was not the case in the criminal trial.

You seem to be suggesting, though, that Florida law bars any civil action based on the same allegations that supported an unsuccessful criminal prosecution. That wouldn't make any sense. The standard in criminal cases is proof beyond a reasonable doubt, but in civil cases the standard is a preponderance of the evidence. Therefore, there's no inconsistency between a criminal acquittal and a civil verdict against the same defendant.

Of course, it wouldn't surprise me if such an absurd law existed, given what we've seen of the Florida legal system. I'm just curious about the details.

[LittleBlue]

14. There is a law in Florida that allows

the defense to seek immunity from a not guilty verdict. It's a special law, you can imagine the politics behind it. I heard a talking head saying before the trial began that it's up to the judge's discretion, but that it is almost always granted.

[Blackford]

16. It's part of the Stand Your Ground Law

He did not mount a Stand Your Ground defense, ergo, it's a moot point. He can be sued.

[LittleBlue]

19. I thought it was mandatory under SYG

but discretionary under normal self-defense. At least that's what I recall reading pretrial.

If what you say is true, I cannot fathom why Zimmerman's attorneys would publicly state they are seeking immunity. Obviously they have researched the law extensively and feel confident they can be granted immunity.

[X_Digger]

17. Most likely referring to this..

http://law.onecle.com/florida/crimes/776.032.html

[Azathoth]

20. It's up in the air as far as I know

SYG includes an immunity provision, but it doesn't specify exactly how immunity is supposed to be granted. So....the Florida Supreme Court has decided that a person can claim immunity by filing a pretrial motion to dismiss, which of course requires a judge to make a finding of fact as to whether the evidence supports a claim of self-defense. Zimmerman has now been found not-guilty by reason of self-defense, which he can cite in his pretrial motion.

I have no idea whether a judge will rule that sufficient to grant immunity or not, but my understanding of SYG was that is was intended in part to head off this kind of pseudo-double jeopardy.

[X_Digger]

22. Seems pro forma to me. n/t

[Jim Lane]

28. In most normal jurisdictions, even this statute wouldn't bar a civil action.

When an issue is tried and determined in one action (be it civil or criminal), that determination is binding, but only upon parties that had the opportunity to participate. Suppose the Martin family had evidence that they'd like to present that the prosecutor chose not to use. The normal rule would be that the family's rights couldn't be cut off by the prosecutor's tactical decision.

That's alone with the point I made about burden of proof. If the prosecution had the burden of proving, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Zimmerman didn't qualify under the statutes cited, then the acquittal doesn't establish that he did qualify. It establishes only that there was a reasonable doubt in his favor.

As against all that, Florida seems to coddle its vigilantes. It wouldn't surprise me if the normal legal principles I've described have been made inapplicable to people in this situation.

[liberal_at_heart]

26. I agree. He should have to give the donations he's been getting to the Martins.

[Cha]

27. I hope this does go to civil court. I see via the net that lots

of peeps on twitter are calling for it.

OJ lost in civil court to the tune of $33.5 Million $$ but never saw a cent of course.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9283600/david-cook-lawyer-fred-goldman-testifies-oj-simpson-case

[n2doc]

29. So what? He'll lie.

No other eyewitnesses. I am sure he has his story worked out so it 'fits' the evidence. No way to prove perjury.