Continuing our Discussion on Trayvon Martin & Beyond

Thank you to everyone who came out for the Trayvon Martin & Beyond forum, and to our speakers and the staff that made this event possible!

It seemed as though the discussion had only gotten started when we had to end, and we wanted to give everyone a chance to get to the topics that they were hoping to discuss, or to add their own perspective. We invite you to reply to this post with your comments, reflections, and questions.

We have also provided a list of the questions we were not able to get to at the event to the speakers, who may be able to offer their thoughts on some of them. I have pasted that list here - please feel free to comment on any of these questions too!

Additional discussion questions:

• What are the underlying race dynamics that affect criminal law?
• What role should race play in a criminal trial?
• What kinds of laws or protocols have criminal justice systems put in place in different states to counter race bias?
• How do gun laws play a role in these issues?
• So, if racial dynamics influence the “reasonable fear” of a person under self-defense law, does that mean that people of different races have different standards of self-defense?
• Where are conversations of race not occurring in the criminal justice system, where they really need to? Who is not talking about these issues?
• How can lawyers and courts ensure that their work does not promote racial inequality?
• How can lawyers work to counter media influences?
• What do defense attorneys and prosecutors need to be aware of when vetting a jury? Is it possible to get an untainted jury in high profile cases like these?
• Should defendants include media in their thought process when considering plea agreements?
• More broadly, how should a defender counsel a client who has come under media heat?
• Does a prosecutor have any ethical obligation to correct incorrect allegations made in the media that are particularly damning for a defendant?
• How does a defendant who is acquitted but condemned by the media deal with that stigma?
• In this case, media altered the 911 call in order to make Zimmerman appear to have volunteered information about Trayvon’s race on his own, rather than after the 911 operator had asked him, and this alteration has come under a lot of criticism. A few questions follow from this issue:
• While acknowledging issues of race in criminal law is important, what kinds of media practices are more damaging to social justice causes than others?
• What can or should defense attorneys and prosecutors do when the media comes out with misleading presentations of evidence on their cases?
• Should 911 calls be available to the public?
• How can an attorney promote appropriate media coverage of their case, or discourage inappropriate coverage?
• How can we recognize inappropriate or unreliable coverage of a case when we see it?
• What role should media take in criminal cases?