5 Legal Cases That Caused Protests

The protestors seeking justice for Trevon Martin over the last several weeks are not alone in causing extreme public reaction.  As a legal analyst and lawyer, Kendall Coffey has analyzed many high profile cases that have led to wide spread public outcry.  Here's a sampling of cases that have gone wild with protest.

In 2000, thousands of Cuban Americans held a shut in protest in reaction to the deportation of Elian Gonzalez.  Hundreds of members of the Cuban American community took to the streets several days beforehand when INS agents came in to remove the boy from the home of his relatives.  Many people followed the case and symbolized it as the problem with the immigration system in the United States.

After the death of Michael Jackson, swarms of mourning fans came to support Jackson or defend his doctor, who was on trial for negligent homicide.  The protests got so out of control that other interest groups showed up as well trying to get in front of the camera.  People carried outrageous signs and wore some pretty ridiculous outfits.  Both the Jackson trial and the Elian Gonzalez case are discussed in Kendall Coffey's Spinning the Law: Trying Cases in the Court of Public Opinion.

When the world searched for missing two year old girl Caylee Anthony, news audiences obsessed over the strange behavior and trial of her mother Casey after remains were found.  When Casey Anthony was acquitted, many angry protestors took to the streets with duct tape over their mouths, referencing the tape found in the child's remains.

One of the most recent protests to stem change happened in Ireland, where the death of a woman who could have been saved by an abortion spurned angry women's right to choose protests.  Ireland recently passed a law that would legalize abortion for the first time.

Kendall Coffey Doubts Feds Will Charge Zimmerman

After being found not guilty on Saturday, U.S. Attorney Eric Holder suggested that George Zimmerman many face federal civil rights charges.  The Justice Department said earlier this week that the investigation into Zimmerman, launched last year, is ongoing.

Kendall Coffey weighed in as a legal analyst for NBC news, saying that federal charges are doubtful.  The criminal case stayed away from making race an issue, leaving less evidence for the Justice Department to pursue.

The family of Trayvon Martin, who was shot by Zimmerman during an altercation last February, has not said whether they will seek civil charges.  Most legal analysts say that the self-defense case that Zimmerman used to get acquitted may prevent civil charges.  The family has already sued and settled with the housing development responsible for the neighborhood watch that Zimmerman was a part of.

Kendall Coffey says the Feds won't charge Zimmerman

Zimmerman can call a hearing in Florida to seek immunity from being sued under the "Stand Your Ground" law that enabled Zimmerman's defense.  The law also provides civil protection int he event that force is used when the assailant feels his or her life is in danger.  However, if a wrongful death suit is brought forth, Zimmerman would not be the first high profile case to be held liable in civil cases after being acquitted.  Both OJ Simpson and Robert Blake had to pay damages to families of victims they were accused of murdering.

Billy Martin and Kendall Coffey Analyze the Potential Reaction from the Jury in the Zimmerman Trial

The friend who was on the phone with Florida teenager Trayvon Martin just moments before he was shot and killed finishes two days of testimony in the George Zimmerman murder trial. Key witness Rachel Jeantel spent more than five hours under cross-examination by the defense.

Zimmerman is facing second-degree murder charges and claims he shot Martin in self-defense.

In a recent appearance on MSNBC’s “PoliticsNation,” criminal defense attorney Billy Martin and MSNBC legal analyst Kendall Coffey discuss Rachel Jeantel’s performance on the stand and whether the jury finds her as an unreliable or a sympathetic witness.

In the court of public opinion, people have come to her defense or ridiculed her as she admitted she’s unable to read cursive. Jeantel claims that she wrote the letter with a friend, describing what happened on the night of the shooting and sent it to Martin’s mom several weeks after his death.

Former U.S. Attorney Kendall Coffey told MSNBC's Al Sharpton, the jury may not be able to relate to Jeantel, but her testimony is consistent.

“What I think the jury is seeing, is somebody who is there, doesn’t want to be there was brought in by a horrific twist of destiny and tragedy to have to talk about what happened in the final minutes of the life of a friend of hers. And who is by and large being truthful and being truthful is a lot more important than sympathetic than any other word when it comes to the key witness for the prosecution,” said Coffey.

Jeantel said that Trayvon Martin used slurs when describing Zimmerman in their final conversation. As a former chief prosecutor in Washington, D.C.'s homicide unit, Billy Martin says the jurors typically look past the language.

“This is not unusual in a homicide case to have vulgar language and activity that people feel and fund uncomfortable. I think a juror and jurors look right through that and look at what are we trying to determine. They’re not trying to see if one was a good person or a bad person. There are facts here. Who was the aggressor? Who had the ability to flee? And who had the gun? I think they’ll look right past these slurs and find the facts that will really help them decide this case."