John Burris On George Zimmerman Verdict, Trayvon Martin, And Racism

Famed Oakland Lawyer John Burris, once called “Oakland’s Johnnie Cochran,” once again talked to me about the George Zimmerman Trial – this time about the verdict.

On Saturday, a jury of five white women and a Latino woman, found George Zimmerman not guilty of murder. The outcome was shocking to this blogger; not to some others – a few who are legal experts. But for John Burris and the outcome, he said “I was not surprised at the verdict. But I was disappointed. I thought the prosecution had brought forward sufficient evidence to get a manslaughter conviction.”

In our wide-ranging, 15-minute talk, Mr. Burris, who represented Rodney King for the start of the legal battle of the man who was savagely beaten by the LA Police, said that the prosecution didn’t do a “good enough job” of presenting a case for manslaughter or murder. “I was very disappointed in the prosecution’s presentation,” he said.

Burris also pointed to the makeup of the jury as another problem, saying that the group, which lacked a single black person, therefore didn’t understand the problem of racial profiling to the degree that African Americans do.

Blacks Adults Need To Talk With Their Kids

John Burris says that black parents need to sit down and “talk with our kids” about ways to avoid the kind of situation that Trayvon Martin found himself in, leading to being profiled, then chased by, and then shot by George Zimmerman. I offered that one action black teens need to become accustomed to dialing 9-1-1 and calling on the police for help, rather than taking matters into their own hands.

John Burris Info

If you need legal representation in civil rights or police brutality cases, called The Law Office Of John Burris at (510) 839-5200 or online at his website at JohnBurrisLaw.com.

Stay tuned.