Friday, July 12, 2013

Before it is irrelevant: Due Proceess and the Trayvon Martin/George Zmmerman Fiasco

To my mind, most people have missed the point about the whole that the Trayvon Martin/George Zmmerman fiasco.

The biggest problem is that reasonable procedures were not followed in the beginning.

Regardless (or because this is about Florida irregardless) of anything else, as a matter of good police practice, Zimmerman should have been arrested and investigated after the event.

This is not because he is or was guilty.  But because, a piori, if there is a death it should be investigated with some reasonable rigour.

This wasn't done, which violated both of Martin and Zimmerman.

The cops may well have come back and recommended to the procescutor that there was no criminal case to be made, or that a prosecution should be pursued, but this wasn't done (apparently over the cops' objections). 

This is called the appearence of due process, or, one hopes, actual impartial due process. 

This wasn't done, which deprived Zimmerman and Martin of their citizenship.