There must have been some heated discussions going on behind the scenes at the ACLU for it to do a 180 degree u-turn on whether the Department of Justice should investigate George Zimmerman to determine whether a hate crime prosecution was appropriate. I'm not surprised, just relieved the organization came to its senses.

On July 14, ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero issued a statement on behalf of the organization that was titled, "Honoring the Memory of the Trayvon Martin (Next Steps for Systemic Reforms.) It called on the DOJ to investigate whether George Zimmerman's committed a federal civil rights violation or a hate crime by shooting Trayvon Martin.

Journalist Helen Thomas has died at age 92 after a long illness. She was the longest-serving White House journalist and the first female president of the White House Correspondents' Association and Washington's Gridiron Club.

She was a trailblazer, and fearless in her reporting, but as NPR says:

Had she stepped away after the first six decades of her career, she would have been hailed simply as one of the most famous White House reporters in modern times.

[More...]

A weekend with no work, I'm contemplating the possibilities. Farmers Market, Pilates, and some non-Zimmerman writing.

If you have any suggestions for crime or politics stories, please let me know.

I also may do none of these and watch for the arrival of Princess Kate's baby. (not really.)

Here's an open thread, all topics welcome besides Zimmerman. When his last threads get full, I'll put up a Zimmerman thread and try to keep out of it.

Hope you have a great weekend planned. Whats best at the farmer's market this time of year?

Update: George Zimmerman's lawyers respond to President Obama's remarks on race today.

TalkLeft just crashed from the number of people viewing the last thread at the same time. We've rebooted the server and closed that thread. You may continue the discussion of President Obama's remarks today on the George Zimmerman verdict and race (transcript here).

What I agree with:

The judge conducted the trial in a professional manner. The prosecution and the defense made their arguments. The juries were properly instructed that in a case such as this reasonable doubt was relevant, and they rendered a verdict. And once the jury has spoken, that's how our system works.

Keep in mind that the trial is over and the evidence is of record. The public's opinion of the evidence is not the topic. Comments that misstate the evidence in the case, or speculate as to their personal theory of guilt that was not disproved to their satisfaction have no place here. [More...]

Here's the transcript of President Obama's remarks on the George Zimmerman verdict today.

Here's what I agree with:

The judge conducted the trial in a professional manner. The prosecution and the defense made their arguments. The juries were properly instructed that in a case such as this reasonable doubt was relevant, and they rendered a verdict. And once the jury has spoken, that's how our system works.

The rest of his remarks, on the topic of race, would be welcome following an incident involving racial profiling by police. In case he hasn't noticed, the practice is rampant in New York City. They do not fit in the context of this case. [More...]

Sergeant Sean P. Murphy, the State Police tactical photographer who leaked photos of a bloodied Dzhokhar Tsarnaev with a sniper's laser aimed at his head as he surrendered and departed the boat, has been placed on leave. He will have a hearing next week. He was not authorized to release the photos.

The U.S. Attorneys office, former prosecutors, police officials, a law professor and defense lawyers have all blasted Murphy's release of the photos.

“The release of these photos was completely unacceptable,” (U.S. Attorney) spokeswoman Christina DiIorio-Sterling said in a statement. [More...]

I'm offline at work today. If there are new developments in the George Zimmerman case, or you have more to say about things we have already covered, here's a thread for them.

Keep in mind that this is not a free-for-all to attack the verdict or defense. Our commenting rules are here and fairly strict. Comments that don't comport with the rules will be deleted when I return. Don't quote an objectionable comment in your reply or that has to go too. Refer to it by the name of the person who posted it.

Rolling Stone has made available online the full article about Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Jahar's World. I haven't had time to read it yet, but if you have, here's a place to discuss it.

Stephen Rakes, a potential witness against Whitey Bulger, has been found dead. The Government says it was not going to call Rakes due to contradictions in his versions of events. I haven't been following the Bulger trial, so I don't know the significance of this, but it's making major headlines.

The full Rolling Stone article on Dzokhar Tsarnaev, Jahar's World, is available to read online.

I have a few more hours of work to do before I get to read Jahar's World, but I'll put up a post for it now, as well as one for Zimmerman.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome (Except Zimmerman).

Alternate Juror No. E-54 would have voted to acquit George Zimmerman. He was interviewed by Fox News. Here is the video.

Juror E-54 says the non-emergency call was the best evidence for George Zimmerman. There was no evidence Zimmerman profiled Martin. There was no evidence of ill will.

Zimmerman's injuries were a significant factor in his conclusion GZ should be acquitted. [More...]

Former President Jimmy Carter:

JIMMY CARTER: "I think the jury made the right decision based in the evidence presented because the prosecution inadvertently set the standard so high that the jury had to be convinced that it was a deliberate act by Zimmerman and that he was not defending himself and so forth. It's not a moral question, it's a legal question and the American law requires that the jury listens to the evidence presented." (WXIA-TV)

Rachel Jeantel now says she thinks Trayvon threw the same punch. She also thinks, although there was no evidence presented to support it, that GZ tried to detain Martin.

Rachel now has a reason to extend her 15 minutes. A radio host has given her a full scholarship to college.

How many times is CNN going to replay juror B37's interview? Has anyone not heard it?

To gradually wean myself away from the Zimmerman case, I have moved my laptop from the room I blog in during the evenings, and am switching to the iMac desktop I got several months ago but still haven't learned how to use. The keyboard is very small and the mouse quite different, so you may see more typos until I get accustomed to it. My laptop has all the GZ case documents and research and I'm not transferring it to the Mac. If this experiment lasts more than a few hours, I'll be surprised, but I thought I'd try it.

Here is an open thread for all topics except the George Zimmerman case.