Florida’s Stand Your Ground Law on Trial, Again

On Monday, February 3, 2014, Angela Corey began jury selection as she prepares to prosecute a second, high profile murder case in Florida.  Corey is prosecuting Michael David Dunn for the murder and attempted murder of seventeen year old Jordan Davis and his friends.  Davis was killed in the parking lot of a Jacksonville, FL gas station on November 23, 2013.  Corey is the prosecutor who was hand selected to investigate the Trayvon Martin case in March 2013.

Self Defense or Murder?: Is the Shooting of Renisha McBride the Next Big Story?

As the country begins to move past the media frenzy that followed the killing (or murder, depending on where you stand) of Trayvon Martin, a new incident has occurred that seems prime to dominate headlines.  Around 1:00 am on November 2, 2013, Renisha McBride drove her vehicle into a parked car in suburban Detroit.  Tests would show that McBride had a blood alcohol content of 0.218%, well above the legal limit in Michigan.  A few hours later, a “bloodied and disoriented” McBride approached the porch of Dearborn Heights resident Theodore Wafer.  Sources report that McBride began to knock on Wafer’s door, prompting Wafer to come downstairs with his shotgun.  Wafer, standing in his home, discharged his weapon through a closed screen door, striking and killing the twenty-four year old McBride.  Wafer then called 911 to report the shooting.  Wafer told investigators that he brought down the shotgun because he believed McBride was attempting to break into his house (though there were no signs of forced entry).  He also claims that the weapon accidentally discharged while he was investigating the situation.  McBride died shortly after and Wafer has been charged with second degree murder.

Juries: The Community Conscience in America

There it is.  “Breaking News: Verdict reached!” scrolls along the bottom portion of your television screen or appears as a notification on your newest smart phone.  We have all seen it.  We have all waited in nervous anticipation for it.  We flick to the nearest news channel, turn up the volume, and crowd around the screen as the criminal trial enters the final stretch.  Those final words are then composedly uttered, “We the jury find the defendant…”

Why Not to Hate Jury Duty

Jury duty.  Universally dreaded, with sympathy for a friend or colleague who has been called, communicated with a knowing roll of the eyes, and a story about how to get out of it.  There is even a wikihow page entitled, "How to Get Out of Jury Duty."  Yet, jury duty is regarded by courts and civics teachers as one of the most important civic responsibilities a citizen can perform; it has been a crucial part of our democratic system for over 200 years.  The right to a jury trial is a fundamental right afforded by the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution, and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.  A defendant charged with anything more than a petty crime, typically a crime with a penalty of more than six months of incarceration, has a right to trial by jury, made up of between six and twelve of his or her "peers."[1]  Jurors are reflective of the community at large; there is no education requirement, though jurors must be citizens, over the age of eighteen, and fluent in English, with few other restrictions.      

UDC School of Law Professor Andrew Ferguson Weighs in on the Role of Juries and Their Verdicts

On Saturday, July 13, 2013, the jury in the State of Florida v. George Zimmerman returned a verdict of not guilty for second-degree murder and manslaughter for the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin.  After the jury returned the verdict, an expected flurry of news and social media erupted, some in support of the verdict and many others criticizing it.  Given the contentious issues surrounding the case, a vast amount of media attention has honed into the jury and what occurred during the jury's deliberation.  One can hope that the jury deliberation of the Zimmerman trial was similar to the one that took place in the famous stage play and movie, Twelve Angry Men, where the jurors carefully examined all the evidence in their quest for the truth and banished personal prejudices from their deliberation.  On the other hand, many fear that racial biases may have affected the deliberation of the Zimmerman jury that was made up of five Caucasian women and one Hispanic woman.  Whether the deliberation was similar to that of Twelve Angry Men or corrupted by racial bias, many questions remain.

In his article, "The Zimmerman Trial and the Meaning of Verdicts," Professor Andrew Ferguson of the University of the District of Columbia, discusses the Zimmerman jury, the (at the time undelivered) verdict, as well as juries and their verdicts in general.