Quote:

 

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-07-15/national/40584527_1_george-zimmerman-trayvon-martin-martin-s

In killing of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman, federal investigation still open
By Max Ehrenfreund,July 15, 2013

A jury on Saturday acquitted George Zimmerman in the death of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla. last year, but legal action against Zimmerman could continue. The Justice Department is investigating whether Zimmerman, who claimed he shot and killed Martin in self-defense, violated any federal laws. Attorney General Eric Holder said Monday that he was disturbed by Martin’s death:

“We are determined to meet division and confusion with understanding and compassion — and also with truth,” he said, according to the remarks released by his office. “We are resolved, as you are, to combat violence involving or directed at young people, to prevent future tragedies and to deal with the underlying attitudes, mistaken beliefs and stereotypes that serve as the basis for these too common incidents. And we will never stop working to ensure that — in every case, in every circumstance, and in every community — justice must be done.”. . .


He said the tragedy provides an opportunity for the nation “to speak honestly about the complicated and emotionally-charged issues that this case has raised.” This opportunity “to better understand one another and to make better this nation we cherish” must not be allowed to pass, Holder said. . .

The Justice Department released a statement saying that its civil rights division still has an open investigation into Martin’s death, a probe it launched in March 2012. Working with the FBI, federal prosecutors are reviewing evidence to see whether the case can be prosecuted, the statement said.

It pledged that the department would investigate the “facts and circumstances” of the shooting and take “appropriate action.” The statement said federal prosecutors would “determine whether the evidence reveals a prosecutable violation of any of the limited federal criminal civil rights statutes within our jurisdiction, and whether federal prosecution is appropriate in accordance with the department’s policy governing successive federal prosecution following a state trial.”



It is also possible that Martin’s family could bring a civil claim against Zimmerman:

The legal standard in a civil lawsuit is lower — a preponderance of the evidence, rather than proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Zimmerman chose not to testify in his criminal trial, but it is likely he would have to testify and be deposed in a civil lawsuit, said Daniel Petrocelli, who led the legal team that won $33.5 million in damages in a civil wrongful-death trial against O.J. Simpson after his murder acquittal.

“In that sense, civil trials are a more pure search for the truth,” Petrocelli, a partner in the O’Melveny & Myers law firm, said in an interview Sunday.

Quote:

 

http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/01/3536816/trayvon-martins-parents-meet-with.html

Trayvon Martin’s parents meet with federal authorities in Miami



The parents of Trayvon Martin and their lawyer met with Justice Department prosecutors and FBI agents at the U.S. attorney’s office in Miami Wednesday to discuss the status of a criminal civil-rights investigation into the fatal shooting of their teen-age son last year.

The federal investigation, which was opened while George Zimmerman faced prosecution for the death of the 17-year-old, gained renewed interest last month after Zimmerman was acquitted in state court of Martin’s killing in a Sanford gated community.

Prosecutors with the Justice Department’s criminal civil-rights section and FBI agents from Central Florida met with the late teen’s parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, and their attorney, Benjamin Crump, to bring the family up to speed, according to sources familiar with the meeting.

The meeting was held in Miami to accommodate the parents. Trayvon had lived with his mother in Miami Gardens before his death, which occurred while he was visiting his father in Sanford.

(snip)

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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2007
Duke Case — Feds May Probe


Anne Blythe / News & Observer:

AG asks for federal investigation of lacrosse case -- The state attorney general has asked federal prosecutors to help conduct a criminal probe into former Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong and other government officials involved with the Duke lacrosse case, according to a lawyer representing one of the three exonerated players.

Charlotte lawyer Jim Cooney outlined the request in a three-page letter sent to three high-ranking U.S. Justice Department administrators.

The letter was copied to Jim Coman, a special prosecutor for the state who led the criminal investigation that led to the exoneration of the three lacrosse players, Dave Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann."

On behalf of Reade Seligmann and his family, I respectfully request that the government of the United States grant the request of the North Carolina Attorney General and participate in a joint investigation into the events of this prosecution," Cooney wrote in his Oct. 9 letter.

The letter was addressed to Craig S. Morford, acting U.S. deputy attorney general in Washington; Christopher J. Christie, U.S. attorney for the district of New Jersey, and Anna Mills Waggoner, U.S. attorney for the middle district of North Carolina.

(snip)

[...]

Quote:

 

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/10/cooper-joint-federal-state.html

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2007

Cooper: Joint Federal-State Investigation Needed

A letter from Jim Cooney to federal authorities revealed that Roy Cooper has requested a joint federal-state criminal investigation into government authorities' conduct in the lacrosse case. Cooney's letter lays out the possible conflict of interest by the local U.S. attorney, Anna Mills Waggoner (whose passivity in this affair has been inexplicable), confirms that federal investigators were in Raleigh in September, and calls on the federal government to accept Cooper's request.

Quasimodo

Aug 2 2013, 08:58 AM

Question:

Why did DUKE not also press for a federal investigation? After all, it was Duke students
who were the subject of a concerted frame-up attempt.

So where was Duke Law and the Duke Admin. and the Duke faculty (with open letters) calling
for a federal investigation?