Typically my
commentary does not address what is “hot” in the news. I have enough difficulty
attempting to be factually correct without jumping to conclusions before all
the facts are available. My preference is to examine philosophical, principled
and motivational justifications for the long-term strategies and attitudes of
our so-called political leaders or for those of us who oppose them. Given my
natural distrust of the “media” arising from years of observation and as a
practitioner, I find that it is often unproductive to comment about a story
until the narrative has been settled. Today is an exception to my usual
hesitancy.
This past
week it was revealed that more than $200,000 had been donated to the George
Zimmerman defense fund via “PayPal” and other sources. Zimmerman, as you
probably recall, has been charged with second degree murder for the shooting
death of Trayvon Martin on February 26th in Sanford, Florida. Although
the special prosecutor, Angela Corey, has not yet released her evidence
supporting the charge, the pre-trial was held and the judge, Mark E. Herr,
found the evidence sufficient for moving forward with probable cause. At a subsequent
hearing the new judge, Kenneth Lester Jr., set bond at $150,000 for Zimmerman’s
release from jail pending trial. Although I have taken the LSAT, I chose to
follow the graduate school route to doctoral studies. I am not, therefore, an
attorney, but my understanding is that there are three factors involved in the
process for determining bail: 1) the nature of the alleged crime; 2) the
severity of the charges; and 3) the potential risk for flight by the alleged
(charged) perpetrator. Weighing those criteria (and perhaps others) Judge
Lester determined that a $150,000 appearance bond (roughly a $15,000 cash
outlay to bondsman) was warranted in this case. What has changed? Are the facts
or the charges different from when the bond was set? Has Zimmerman attempted to
flee the jurisdiction of the court? What has changed?
If the judge
determined that the crime, charges and flight risk warranted a $150,000 bond,
why should the existence of a $200,000 defense fund alter the circumstances?
When the Martins, the prosecutors and a gaggle of their liberal brain-dead
followers clamor for a larger bond simply because of the defense fund, it
suggests another level of the “soak the rich” mentality that is so prevalent
among the thoughtless class. Class warfare and all its accoutrements are
replacing justice in our nation. Just like they are in many other aspects of
our society. Some may argue that the fund heightens the probability that
Zimmerman may take flight for a location that may be a haven from extradition.
Perhaps, but for whatever reason the judge decided that it was unlikely that
Zimmerman would flee. If His Honor changes the bail or bond amount for any
reason beyond the increased potential for flight, then he will have succumbed
to the class warfare cancer.
True justice
should base the amount of the bond on the nature of the crime, the severity of
the charges and the potential for flight….nothing more, nothing less. The bank account
of the accused should not be a direct factor in the bond determination. If one
believes that access to funds is critical for flight, pull the passport of the
accused until trial. Stop this class warfare nonsense in the halls of
government and the chambers of the court.
