Feed The Beast

Angela Corey, special prosecutor in the Trayvon Martin shooting, is not feeding the beast:

SANFORD, Fla. -

As controversy over the $200,000 George Zimmerman raised on PayPal took center stage Friday, Special Prosecutor Angela Corey's decision to ignore legal questions raised over whether she's obeying Florida's public record law went largely unnoticed.

But the issue of whether Corey has the legal right to continue preventing the public from seeing the evidence she says proves Zimmerman committed the second degree murder of Trayvon Martin seems to be coming to a head.

The special prosecutor's office on Friday refused to make that evidence public -- even though an attorney fighting for the public's access insists Friday was when Florida law required Corey to share the evidence with the millions of people following the case.

The reason the deadline for Corey's evidence to become public was Friday, according to Scott Ponce, the attorney representing media organizations seeking access, is because that was 15 days after Zimmerman's attorney served Corey with an April 12 demand for evidence. This process of the state sharing evidence with both the defendant and public at large is known as discovery.

The defense and prosecution are working to redact information that might identify witnesses, but at some point this special prosecutor will have to follow the law, or at least find some way to placate a hungry press.

MORE: The Orlando Sentinel speculates on what evidence we might find:

Crime-scene evidence

..."I definitely want to know what injuries the defendant suffered, what type of injuries and to what extent they were documented," said Pollack.

Sanford police took photos of the defendant that night. They should be in the evidence soon to be released.

...

Other important pieces of evidence in this category include the bullet casing from the fatal shot and any markings from the grass or sidewalk that might hint at how violent the fight was and who had the upper hand.

Witness statements

The most important witness in the case may be Zimmerman. According to prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda, the defendant gave five statements to authorities. Police described one as a re-enactment.

...Also key to the case will be eye-witness statements. Several neighbors saw and heard Trayvon and Zimmerman fighting. If they saw Zimmerman on top, that would damage his self-defense claim.

That may happen - there may well be witnesses who did not talk to the press.

Autopsy results

Trayvon died of a single gunshot wound to the chest, but the results of his autopsy should reveal how close the gun was when it went off and the bullet's trajectory, lawyers said.

Dale Gilbreath, a prosecution investigator, testified there was "stippling" around the entry wound, tiny gunpowder burns that Fussell said can be found only when the muzzle of a gun is close to the victim, usually an arm's length or less.

...

The funeral director who prepared Trayvon's body, Richard Kurtz, told the Orlando Sentinel he saw no such signs of a fight.

The funeral director is a black man serving the black community and he may be smart enough to know which way the wind was blowing on this case.

Crime-lab results

Police gathered Trayvon's and Zimmerman's clothes, and they have likely been analyzed for dirt, grass, blood and DNA by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

The presence of any of those things would lend credence to Zimmerman's account that there had been a fight and the pair wound up on the ground, said Pollack.

Lending credence to Zimmerman's claims will be important at the immunity hearing, but at trial the state will eed to prove his claims are false. The absence of blood may be low-probability (if his story is true) but inconclusive.

 

Comments

[matt]

isn't PayPal great!

[Rob Crawford]

So it's now the left's position that raising funds for legal defense is somehow wrong?

[GMax]

Given how sloppy Corey was in the charging documents, how comfortable does anyone feel about them not missing names and addresses in the redaction process? Been to the driver's license bureau recently? Those same government worker types are redacting to protect the innocent. Chilling, to me at least.

[DebinNC]

WKMG seems to have airbrushed Angela Corey's official photo, or at least tidied up her hair. I didn't see a Lady Justice photo on her official site, so where did WKMG get it and why did they put it beside her?

[Rick Ballard]

GMax,

Twenty minutes with Zillow and 411 will provide the names of nearly everyone living within view of the incident. I'm not sure how clear the view at 50 minutes past sunset on a cloudy evening was or whether there are artificial light sources which would enhance it but Ms Cutcher was far enough away to make her night vision rather remarkable.

[Bob]

Foot-dragging is an unappreciated art form.

[Ben Franklin]

Again, I ask. Does anyone truly believe I'm not a sociopath?

[Rick Ballard]

OTOH - Eyewitness John was right above the incident and his account has Zimmerman pinned and screaming. How many Corey Karnaks will it take to overcome John's testimony?

[Danube of Thought]

One of the first things GZ said to the cops was "I was screaming for help but no one came." At the time he said that he had no way of knowing whether, if he was lying, there were numerous eyewitnesses who would contradict him.

[Sue]

I know that cooperating attorneys can extend deadlines with a Rule 11 agreement. If the defense counsel isn't hounding the prosecution for the documents, seems to me there is no there, there.

[Bob]

One of the first things GZ said to the cops was "I was screaming for help but no one came." DOT

Zimmerman is implying that he would not have shot Martin if someone, anyone had not been such lilly-livered cowards and helped pull him off of him to stop the assault.

[myiq2xu]

DOT:

How could he be lying?

No one came to help until after T was shot.

[Soylent Red]

So it's now the left's position that raising funds for legal defense is somehow wrong?

Only for the little people. Little white hispanic people, who are racists.

For New Clinton Defense Fund, Surprising Bounty

Rangel Starts Legal Defense Fund

[Have Blue]

DoT - Small point of order, the original police report makes clear that Zimmerman's statement that he was screaming for help and that no one came was made to the medic on scene and only overheard by the patrolman. The patrol man makes very clear, by direct statement, that he at no time questioned Zimmerman about the incident.

[Danube of Thought]

How could he be lying?

Theoretically he could be lying about who was doing the screaming, but for the reason I stated it's highly unlikely that he would.

[Danube of Thought]

If both sides agree that witnesses names should not be made public, why does O'Mara need to file a motion? Just draw up a Stipulation and Order, submit it to the judge and he signs it.

[boatbuilder]

Just a guess--there ain't any more evidence that proves Zimmerman committed second degree murder. The beast won't be happy!

[scott]

After hearing the screams, I was nearly certain it was Zimmerman. I've heard screams like that before, coming from a man trapped in a burning car. And when I drove up, there were people standing around doing nothing. Same case here, as shocking as it is.

[GMax]

I am hearing Lizzy Warren is going to start a fast food chain to bring American Indian food to the masses. She is going to call it :

Pronto Tonto

[Redbrow]

WKMG seems to have airbrushed Angela Corey's official photo, or at least tidied up her hair. I didn't see a Lady Justice photo on her official site, so where did WKMG get it and why did they put it beside her?

It is apparently an original (poorly done) fabrication by WKMG.
No matches using reverse image search.
http://www.tineye.com/search/abaa92dbabfa1e2e988539c9d90f77b4c28cca3d/

[Danube of Thought]

Thanks Have Blue. I think the point remains the same: he made the statement at a time when he could not have known whether there were witnesses who would expose him if he was lying.

[xbradtc]

1. If Martin was winning the fight, as GZ claims, I'd expect to see little or no evidence of injuries on him. Aside from the bullet wound, of course.

2. Why does the article state that the bullet casing has any importance? GZ admitted he shot Martin. It's not like the casing will prove some important information, like that the bullet came from Zimmerman's gun.

3. I'm curious just where the round entered Martin. In my minds eye, with GZ on his back and Martin straddling him, my guess would be the round entered from Martin's left, heading right.

4. With a nearly instantly fatal gunshot would to Martin, I wouldn't be a bit surprised that he either didn't bleed at all or very little on GZ in the brief time before GZ was able to stand. Yes, many wounds bleed extensively. But many other bleed (externally) very little, or take a few seconds to begin copiously flowing.

[sdferr]

"1. If Martin was winning the fight, as GZ claims, I'd expect to see little or no evidence of injuries on him. Aside from the bullet wound, of course."

Wouldn't you expect to see signs of fighting on Martin's hands xbradtc, either in the form of cuts or bruises, if not in the less common form of a boxer's fracture to one or more of the metacarpals? And possibly even remnant skin or hair from Zimmerman under Martin's fingernails, should Martin have dug into Zimmerman at any point in the struggle?

[Pops]

I think Greg Gutfeld has a saying now with regard to 'words that are overused'. I would like to add, PHRASES THAT ARE OVER USED when it comes to public offcials.

I am tired of the phrase, 'at some point, the prosecutor will have to comply...or following the law, or,,do the right thing'

Why do we still expect goverment officials to 'do the right thing'??

We need to start saying, at some point, the press will forget all about this, or at some point, the government official will tell us all to EFFF OFFF and will do what they want anyway.

I call it the HHS Secretary Sebelious: "I'm blowing your 8 Billion bucks so screw you" rule.

[DebinNC]

It's not like the casing will prove some important information,

Just a guess, but Bernie's questioning of Gilbreath showed they'll claim that GZ's story of "scooting off the concrete" just prior to the shot was contradicted by evidence. Maybe the casing was found in a place where it shouldn't be if GZ was telling the truth.

[Pops]

""The funeral director who prepared Trayvon's body, Richard Kurtz, told the Orlando Sentinel he saw no such signs of a fight."""

Why would he?? He didn't see Zimmermann body...

Given the evidence, Trayvon hit Zimmerman in the nose, got on top of him and was slamming his head into the concrete.

No one has said Zimmerman had thrown any punches, so the only possible evidence would be Trayvons sore fist.

[xbradtc]

sdferr,
I can easily see several scenarios where Martin had no cuts. And bruising would be terribly difficult to detect, since any injuries to his hands were perimortem. Bruises take a while to form. Also, how much bruising to you get from trying to smother someone? As for transfer of skin/hair, there may be some. Dunno. But it was raining, so any tansfer may have been washed away. We'll see when the evidence comes out. Either way, I'd see that information as neutral. We already KNOW there was a physical altercation. All the evidence will tell us is... that there was a physical altercation.

DebinNC,
casings fly all over the place. You can't really tell where a shooting took place based on where the casing is located. Heck, GZ might have accidentally kicked it when he got up.

[Jane]

"I am tired of the phrase"

The reality is...

I've never heard anyone say it that wasn't lying.

[Pops]

You left out the most important evidence:

- The misleading picture of the 17 year old 200 pound Trayvon as a 100 pound weakling 12 year old.

- The misleading photo of Zimmerman.

- The doctored NBC tapes making Zimmerman appear to be racist.

- The doctor tapes attempting to prove Zimmerman made a racial slur.

- The fact that Zimmerman is white and his community has huge menacing fencing and gates to keep out Africans.

- Tawana Brawleys' eyewitness account as told to MSNBCs Rev Al.

[DebinNC]

CNN commercial when we don't know what Gilbreath or anyone is saying, then this when they resume trial coverage with O'Mara's second time questioning Gilbreath:
............................................

GILBREATH:[...] Managed to scoot away from the concrete sidewalk and that is at that point is when the shooting subsequently followed. That is not consistent with the evidence we found.
............................................
I wonder what evidence that is and why it would be important other than to support the GZ's a liar theme.

[sdferr]

I don't disagree as to the possibilities you've sketched xbradtc, though I do think the probable extent of any damage to Martin's hands would grow with the number of blows thrown (so if it was Zimmerman bellowing for help, his bellowing did go on for quite awhile, presumably under a rain of blows), whether his hands made contact with Zimmerman's teeth and so on. Of course it's not to be expected that bruising would occur from proposed smothering (unless a retaliatory bite took place), and too, any such smothering attempt seems to have been very brief, again reckoning on the length of time Zimmerman claims to have been hollering for help.

Anyhow, clear and firm evidence is to the good I think, whatever it may show -- as for instance, demonstrating blows to the knuckles would tend to rule out any claim that no fisted blows were thrown, should girly-style slap fighting be suggested instead, say.

[GMax]

I willing to bet that the inconsistencies are going to be pretty small beer here. Corey wanted deep down to believe Trayvon's mom, and whatever tale DD has been coached to tell.

The police is Sanford were predisposed, if anything, to find against Zimmerman, as he had campaigned against them on a beating of an indigent black man. Yet, with no spotlight from Al and Jessie, they could not drum up a case. HMMMM

[Jd]

http://theconservativetreehouse.com/2012/04/29/preview-and-updates/#more-38461

This site is linking Crump, the CBC, Holder and Pigford to the Zimmerman case. The connections are eye opening.

[Bob]

The gun casing was supposedly still in the gun as it is the type that has a forward action that ejects the casing. If Martin was bashing Zimmerman's head into the ground he would not have bruising etc because his hands were not taking the impact but Zimmerman's head was. Also one blow to the area of the face with relatively soft tissue, the nose, would leave less injury to the hands. I always thought the funeral home director stating that Martin had no injuries supported Zimmerman's claim that Martin was getting the better of him until the gunshot.

[Danube of Thought]

I just listened to the screams on the 911 call again. I can clearly hear the word "help" several times, as could the caller. Given GZ's injuries it is very hard to imagine it would have been Trayvon screaming.

If TM was holding GZ's collar while bashing his head on the ground, I would not expect to see injuries on TM's hands.

[Sue]

I see a headline over at Hot Air asking if the WH will hand Chen Guangcheng back to China. I admit that was the first thought I had when I first heard the story. I'd hate to base my freedom on Obama's "gutsy calls".

[Rick Ballard]

DoT,

I provided a link above to a Fox News broadcast where you can listen to eyewitness John state unequivocally that it was the fellow in red underneath his assailant who was hollering for help.

[MJW]

Let me repeat from another thread the Florida law that makes most defense discovery information public.

119.011 (c) “Criminal intelligence information” and “criminal investigative information” shall not include:
* * *
5. Documents given or required by law or agency rule to be given to the person arrested, except as provided in s. 119.071(2)(h), and, except that the court in a criminal case may order that certain information required by law or agency rule to be given to the person arrested be maintained in a confidential manner and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) until released at trial if it is found that the release of such information would:
a. Be defamatory to the good name of a victim or witness or would jeopardize the safety of such victim or witness; and
b. Impair the ability of a state attorney to locate or prosecute a codefendant.

Neither the prosecutor's or O'Mara's supposed restrictions on when the information is public make any sense to me. In fact, I'd say that information that must be turned over is arguably public as soon as the defendant enters into the mutual discovery arrangement.

[Neo]

Yes. It's turned into a sort of Spanish Inquistion ...

Nobody expects the ...

[Jack is Back!]

I notice cboldt is absent this discussion. Must be a nice day in western Maine.

Did I not hear the Judge in the case not in his closing remarks that lawyers work with each other on leeway on dates and that he expects them to be cooperative and professional and they don't have to hold to such precision as codified dates??? Something like that.

But doesn't it make sense for O'Mara to be diligently protective of witnesses in order to to make sure they are still on his side no matter what happens (i.e. goes to trial, etc.)? Remember these race hustlers and their avenging angels have no compuntion about finding those witnesses and making their lives miserable. And that includes their friends in the hound-dog media.

[Jack is Back!]

::note in his closing:: grrrr.

[MJW]

A few things I hope to find out when the discovery information is released to the public are:

The timeline, including when Martin left the 7-11, and the exact time of Martin's phone calls.

Whether Martin had any drugs or alcohol in his system.

What, if anything, besides the skittles, iced tea, and cell phone, Martin had on his person.

What the button on Martin's shirt was (not that I think it's significant; I'm just curious.)

When did DeeDee call Martin back, and did she leave any voice or text messages.

[derwill]

I asked this question awhile back, but it was buried at the end of a long thread so I never saw an answer:

Suppose Zimmerman's medical records show that he suffered a concussion that night--would O'Mara have a chance to get Z's statements to the police excluded on the grounds that he wasn't of sufficiently sound mind to waive his Miranda rights?

Ironically I can see this helping the prosecution if their case really is as weak as it looks on the surface. They would get to claim that by golly they could've convicted Z if he hadn't gotten off on that darn technicality. And the race baiters and the media and the lefty conspiracy theorists (but I repeat myself) would get to howl that a racist murderer was allowed to go free because the racist police department screwed up the Miranda warning. Winning!

[cboldt]

-- I notice cboldt is absent this discussion. Must be a nice day in western Maine. --

It is nice. Windy, but nice. I think I put in my two cents on the first subject article, in the other thread; and as far as what evidence will come forward, I'm most interested in reading DeeDee for internal inconsistencies and deviations from past public statements. That plus any "unknown" witnesses on scene at Retreat at Twin Lakes.

-- doesn't it make sense for O'Mara to be diligently protective of witnesses in order to to make sure they are still on his side no matter what happens (i.e. goes to trial, etc.)? --

Yes, but his answer hasn't been "it takes time to redact the evidence." He's saying that he isn't entitled to have it yet - which is false.

[Jack is Back!]

Iggy,

I have a feeling you may want one of these

[narciso]

So far, I don't see a problem with O'Mara's approach, diligent, methodical, no nonsense,

[cboldt]

Will judge make Angela Corey release records? - Sean Lavin - ClickOrlando - April 26, 2012

I've been in a brief e-mail exchange with Mr. Lavin, and he asked me to review the above article.

Corey is being a real prick about withholding evidence from the public. I hadn't realized just how far she's cast her gag order.

[Biz Arro]

"Posted: Sun, Apr. 29, 2012, 7:05 AM
Photo tells much about case against Zimmerman

George Parry is a former state and federal prosecutor practicing law in Philadelphia

To paraphrase President Obama, if I had a son who had been flat on the ground in a vicious fight, the back of his head would look like that of accused murderer George Zimmerman...

For instance, the police radio tape proves that Zimmerman was describing his actions to the police as he allegedly stalked his victim. Doesn’t that undercut the murder charges? What kind of criminal calls 911 to tell the police he is hunting down his intended prey?...

We also know that, after shooting Martin, Zimmerman waited for the police to arrive and cooperated fully with their investigation, even as emergency medical personnel treated his head wounds. Wouldn’t someone who had just committed a heinous hate crime potentially punishable by death or life imprisonment have fled the scene or, at least, requested legal counsel and refused to answer questions?...

If this case goes to trial, the prosecution will need a better answer than that if it hopes to prove Zimmerman was the aggressor. And shouldn’t that key issue have been resolved before bringing murder charges against an obviously injured person claiming that he acted in self-defense?

While much evidence remains to be disclosed, what we have learned so far raises serious questions about the strength, rationale, and integrity of the prosecution’s case. These questions are all the more troubling given the tsunami of manufactured racist hysteria that clearly influenced the decision to arrest “white Hispanic” George Zimmerman."

http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20120429_Photo_tells_much_about_case_against_Zimmerman.html

[Jack is Back!]

Could this delay be a precursor to the State dropping all the charges for 2nd degree murder? Do it know in the opaque light of the national media attention rather than full TV coverage embarrassment during a trial or hearing? How about this coming Friday at 7PM?

[Frau Medienzirkus]

Oh, good. This thread is about the media and the public's right to know (unless it unmasks a Dem). I thought at *first* that Mr. Maguire wanted us to respond to Cleo.
Whew...

[centralcal]

Wow - we have a new method of signing in to comments. Did Typepad change it, or did Tom M?

[DebinNC]

The only mention I've seen that Bernie de la Rionda asked Judge Lester to include law enforcement in the gag order was Frances Nobles original Miami Herald story on Friday's hearing, which begins:

"At Friday’s hearing, the judge also denied a request by prosecutors to ban all the attorneys and law enforcement involved in the case from discussing the case with the media."

That line was later removed, and I haven't seen the fact that Bernie wanted police gagged anywhere else. I watched the hearing and heard Bernie say it, so I know it happened. I don't know why he said it, and I don't know why the fact that he said it is being hidden. Or maybe it isn't, and I missed it.

[test]

test

[DrJ]

So what does the new procedure do?

[Chubby]

Corey doesn't want to release the records because (1) she has something big, or (2) she has nothing new to make her case. Maybe she's procrastinating to postpone more public excoriation by high profile legal experts like Dershowitz.

[Chubby]

cboldt, are you saying O'Mara was dishonest above? if so, I find that discouraging.

[cboldt]

-- Maybe she's procrastinating to postpone more public excoriation by high profile legal experts like Dershowitz. --

Given enough time, it is a certainty that some other story will suck all the oxygen out of the room. Delay benefits Corey, because it reduces the prominence of news coverage.

[Ignatz]

--Iggy,

I have a feeling you may want one of these.--

Jack,
I'd prefer the Michelle model as it also taps a keg.
Just gotta find a place wide enough to mount it. [yeah, that's right, I said it :)]

[MJW]

I understand why TomM would change the method of commenting to deal with a certain pest, but I don't understand how it's supposed to work. Assuming this comment is posted, than comments don't seem to require registation.

I tried to register just in case it's required, and it seems to only offer a method of registation through Facebook. I don't have a Facebook account, and don't want one.

I tried commenting at another site that required registration, and without giving me an option to select a handle, the stupid thing posted the comment under my e-mail name, which I prefer not to make public.

[MJW]

...then comments...

I've gotten those two words mixed up ever sense I was a little kid. I have no idea why.

[cboldt]

-- are you saying O'Mara was dishonest above? --

I'm not sure I'd call it "dishonest" just yet, but it could have been a deliberately misleading statement to the press. The rules definitely don't tie the discovery clock to arraignment, and O'Mara may, for whatever reason (actually, for the reason that in O'Mara's experience, charging and arraignment happen on the same day, or a few days apart), associate arraignment with the formality of charging.

Or, he may agree with pushing the process out, either for his own reasons, or as a cooperative act with the state.

Or, he may be sandbagging the public, via the press, and be coming down like a ton of bricks on the prosecutor, in private.

[MJW]

...ever since...

I don't normally get those words mixed up.

[Sue]

Test

[Sue]

I didn't have to sign in.

[YouTooCongress]

Jib,

How do you do Html in safari?

[Leon D Ponce]

Corey set her makeup gun to "whore".

{swiped from aos comments}

P.S. I hope Ben starts his own blog.

[Carol Herman]

You need another Warren Commission Report.

On the other hand, Arlen Spector's theory has an orbiting bullet.

As to the "5 statements" the police say Zimmerman made ... were any recorded? HELLO. How valid is a policeman's statement that he heard Zimmerman saying ???

As to NOT giving the evidence, wouldn't you think (thunk?( ... that Corey has nothing?

Is the best she's got the observations of the funeral director?

It was raining out! At least in Dallas it was a sunny day!

Don't expect the blacks to riot, though. Because they're in "one part of town" ... and the unlocked gun cabinets are all over ... Should it become necessary to blow out the tires on the cars of the looters.

While gas is so high ... How far can these looting cars get to go?

[Sue]

MJW,

Until you pointed it out, I read it as it was supposed to be typed. I do a lot of transcription with my job. I always type whatever my fingers want to type and try to catch it when I proof. Doesn't always happen. I will have their, when it should be there, sell, when it should be sale, etc. My boss is used to it and more times than not, he catches it when I miss it. Good thing I wasn't hired for my typing skills. ::grin::

[Jack is Back!]

Jane,

The same HTML language and tags you use everywhere.

for italics
for bold
for links

etc. etc. etc.

Let me know if you are having any problems.

[Jack is Back!]

links off

[Jack is Back!]

off
off

Geez!

[Jack is Back!]

Help!

[AliceH]

Jib: I think that was a really really great demonstration on how you do html in safari ;-)

[Chubby]

Cboldt, I couldn't put my finger on why, but I was uncomfortable with how he glossed the defense fund questions.

btw, have you ever visited Fredericton N.B.?

[Carol Herman]

Then, there's the lesson from the Rodney King Riots. YOU NEED THE LOOP!

If only one of the neighbors had brought a video camera to the scene ... the media would have gotten the "looped material" it needed to start the feeding frenzy.

You can't make this up!

You need the visual! What you have, instead, is incompetence. Belonging to the special prosecutor.

"Armies in the Night." Those who will gladly grind an axe on Ms. Corey's head.

And, all the security that has come into place since 9/11. As if merchants near the "scene" ... haven't tightened up controls ... just in case a few loose wanderers where hoping to grab off "free property."

You ain't got a riot!

And, the media? They're having a Dan Rather meltdown.

[MJW]

I always type whatever my fingers want to type and try to catch it when I proof.

For some reason my proofreading skills increase immeasurably as soon and I press "Post."

[MJW]

...as I press...

See what I mean?

[GMax]

Test

[Jack is Back!]

These people had fun last night

[Xbradtc.wordpress.com]

Eh, I think it's a Typepad improvement that comes with the latest software update.

[GMax]

Dana your days are going to be numbered. That anonymizer is going to be blocked by open source. Cant say I will miss ya, but do right when you find honest employment.

[GMax]

Write

Sheesh

[Xbradtc]

How sad that Dana is so desperate for attention that he has to troll blogs.

You could just buy a puppy, you know.

[Extraneus]

Testing...

[Jim Eagle]

Just signed in with Typepad. Lets see what happens.

[Jim Eagle]

Yikes, full frontal exposure. Be careful people, be very careful.

[Carol Herman]

Cleo, or is it Ben Franklin now? You just ain't got a riot!

Riots are spontaneous. The media trucks, meanwhile, have all left. And, they've got not footage to "loop."

The case is now interesting to lawyers. Because it's in the public view. For better or worse ...

How come the blacks get no credit when they don't riot?

The Rodney King Riots were 20 years ago!

There should be some sort of signal when the media readies itself for a new riot. And, then nothing happens.

Maybe, the weather played against rioting? Wasn't hot enough outside.

Sure. The legal questions are entertaining. Even better, Zimmerman didn't have to count on a public defender!

So? So there must be something in this for Mara! (And, of course Pay Pal proves Americans are generous. Do you know how much Ollie North collected when he testified in Congress?) It's not illegal to donate money!

Corey wants to prove guilt through Pay Pal?

When the riot starts, wake me up.

[GMax]

Consider your track record for lying I must say "pants on fire Professor?"

[Extraneus]

Ok. At this point, it appears that you can sign in with a TypePad, Facebook or Twitter ID, and as long as you're still signed in, your T, F or T name and associated avatar gets used. (I tried it with a twitter id and that works.) If you sign out, the old posting method still works.

I wouldn't mind having to sign in to comment here, but it might inhibit new posters, so it's a trade-off as we've discussed before at length. Banning by IP is possible, but most people don't have a static IP address, so once it changes to a new IP, a banned poster could come back. Last time I checked mine, it was static for several weeks before changing, but it would take some vigilance to keep an unwanted pest from coming back regularly. Of course, anyone banned by IP address could still post from the library, their office, or their mom's basement, and if all of those are non-static IP addresses, the task is more difficult than just re-banning them once every couple of weeks.

[Jim Eagle]

Ex,

You have to hit the "Bubu Mention" tip jar for this: "or their mom's basement, "

[GMax]

No Ex a certain buttwipe, is posting using an anonymizer which is the reason why a registration system is required. It deliberate deception after being told repeatedly that he is unwelcome. Everyone should shut up about any minor inconvenience, as its TM's blog and everyone else is a guest.

[Tom Maguire]

FWIW, Ben Franklin has a new IP with just about each comment, so static IP banning is not working.

I didn't start blogging lo these many years ago just to have to spend an hour a day dealing with an obvious sociopath, so we are going to have to experiment with other techniques for encouraging people to abide by normal social conventions.

Well, I say "normal", but obviously norms for the internet are still developing. Still, I think it is safe to say that Ben has no objective other than to, in his now-deleted words, crap on this blog.

I assume that if it inconveniences the rest of us sufficiently he/she/it will consider it a victory and move on. Typepad Blogs really aren't designed to thwart a determined jerk, so here we are.

[Thomas Collins]

OK, I'm testing this new registration procedure.

[cboldt]

-- have you ever visited Fredericton N.B.? --

Nope. Been to Regina, Vancouver, lived a couple summers in Montreal, been to (suburbs of) Toronto a few times, but never been to a maritime province. Maybe, one of these days.

On the subject at hand, I think "public records" has a serious snag. FL law exempts from public records, "active criminal investigative information." 119.071 has a wholesale exemption for everything denominated "active criminal investigative information."

F.S. 119.011(3)(d)2 defines "active criminal investigative information" as:

... criminal intelligence and criminal investigative information shall be considered "active" while such information is directly related to pending prosecutions or appeals.

[Extraneus]

TM may have missed the last long discussion we had on this topic, GMax, so perhaps he'd be interested in people's opinions. However, I'll agree not to comment further on the subject until he asks for input.

[Captain Hate]

Best wishes in dealing with the pest, TM.

[Clarice]

TM, If it gets too tiresome to keep deleting or if you'll be away and need help, whistle. Show me the gears and I'll pull them.

[cboldt]

So, logged in with typekey, the typepad registrar, and lets see if I get an avatar!

[Jim Eagle]

Tom,

You know, you're right. There are no real norms of behavior like in public or even privately (i.e. guest in your home). It reminds me of the old 1970's CB phenomena where everyone was a long-distance trucker but the real truckers were pissed at the way the wannabes were destroying their primary means of communication while on the highway.

Its your blog and I for one am all for free speech since it better identifies the idiots than restraints. I still say shunning and silence are the best ways to handle. He can never say anything more offensive to me than an after class meeting with Father Halloran, S.J.

[Tom Maguire]

No, I would like to hear from people as to how to deal with this. I have been deleting Ben pretty regularly for what seems like a while but (a) he/she/it hasn't gone away and (b) people keep taking whatever bait he/she offers.

I have seen what letting him run at the mouth after he goes off his meds leads to, and that is not cool.

So I am open to ideas. I do think that the new registration technology (combining Twitter, Facebook, etc) is a lot more accessible and less inconvenient than whatever was available a few years back.