By Tom Chaves on July 14, 2013

My first blog entry on this website concerned Trayvon Martin. At that time, no one knew what was going to happen. From a strictly legal point of view, the case is yet another illustration of how difficult it can be to prove a defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Casey Anthony. OJ. Cases abound where the results seem to defy logic and common sense.

Particularly, in the post CSI world, people expect scientific evidence to explain the inexplicable. The fact is that about 10% of cases or less are solved solely through DNA testing and the like. This is why the police are always trying to get incriminating statements from defendants. I recently had a case in which without the confession of my client, the prosecutor would have had a difficult time proving the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

I counsel all my clients that they should never give a statement to the police. There is really no upside and the police are rarely given authority to cut deals for cooperation as that is the prosecutor’s job.

No serious person could believe that if Trayvon Martin were not African-American that Zimmerman, the cop wannabe, would not have even noticed him. Trayvon Martin did not fit the narrative of who should be walking around at night in a gated community with few African-American residents. If he was not there to rip people off, what was he doing there in the first place according to people with the Zimmerman mentality.

The Justice Department is likely, in my opinion, to bring civil rights violations charges against Zimmerman. In addition, Trayvon Martin’s relatives are going to bring a civil lawsuit that is likely to be successful. The condo association which allowed Zimmerman to patrol with a gun given his prior history was negligent and Zimmerman himself was negligent in disregarding the direction of the police dispatcher to disengage and then confront a teenager at night who was minding his own business.