Well, if I were the defense attorney, I would have to defend this man to the best of my abilities. Which is a reason I am not eager to be any type of attorney. No matter how guilty, everyone is entitled to a competent defense.
But that's an interesting exercise, how would one defend this man in a court of law? Well, the police have already done part of the job. By not investigating since day one, I could attempt to cast some doubt on the evidence collected in subsequent investigations, suggesting that media coverage tainted and corrupted some of it. All I would have to do is introduce doubt. The doubt has to be about the charges in this case. There is no reasonable doubt that Zimmerman killed this kid. But I could cast doubt on if it was murder.
Now, this was a murder. I believe that one can show that there was an unlawful homicide where the killer acted with malicious forethought. This fits the legal definition of murder. If I were defending this man, I would try to cast doubt on the intent aspect of if, and maybe even attempt to paint the kill as justified. But that would require more knowledge of the castle type laws in Florida. Other avenues for defending this man might involve a plea deal. Putting Zimmerman on the stand is out of the question. I think the best option for any defense attorney in this case would be to attempt to avoid the trial with a plea deal. Get the charges down to manslaughter and a lighter sentence. Going to trial in this case would be too risky. While there might be some room to introduce doubt, the evidence I have seen suggests that it would take a brilliant defense attorney and a moron prosecutor, coupled with an inept police department. Sadly, there is an inept police department on this case, which as I said, allows for some wiggle room.
But in the end, the best Zimmerman could hope for is a plea deal, should this go forward. Perhaps an insanity plea, but those rarely work and it could easily result in a longer net sentence(getting institutionalized could leave one in for years, with no hope of leaving, while a prison sentence can leave one in a position for parole). A good defense attorney would look to reduce the charges in this case, try to get it down to a type of manslaughter.
Which is why I'm not interested in being a lawyer. Defending people who don't deserve it is part of the job and our system.
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