[caww]

Have they determined if or not “Stand Your Ground” applies to the Zimmerman case? I understood there was some questions about this and might not apply...

[cynwoody]

Stand Your Ground means you don't have a duty to retreat before using deadly force. However, if Zimmerman's version of events is true, he wasn't in a position to retreat, anyway.

The point Professor Winkler makes, however, is that Florida law also allows for a pretrial hearing before a judge to quash the case based on a preponderance of evidence showing that the killing was justified.

Here's another link, which attributes the right to a hearing to Florida Supreme Court guidance:

According to Florida Supreme Court guidance, the “Stand Your Ground” law gives defendants a substantive right to avoid being subjected to a trial. Therefore, Zimmerman would receive a special pretrial hearing to determine if “Stand Your Ground” applies to his case.

At this hearing, a judge, not a jury, would review the evidence in the case. And as long as Zimmerman proves by a preponderance of the evidence that law applies, the judge would dismiss the charges and immunize him from prosecution. This makes a conviction of Zimmerman on any offense arising out of the Martin incident even more unlikely.