Marisol Medina/Staff Writer
In Florida’s most recent high profile court case, the Stand Your Ground law became key in determining George Zimmerman’s acquittal of second-degree murder. Upon the verdict, Trayvon Martin became one more victim of justifiable murder cases in Florida, which have tripled since the law was passed in 2005, according to the Washington Post.
The law’s unprecedented notoriety has led Florida Atlantic University to start a new elective course focusing on the Stand Your Ground law and its implications, as well as the school being the only university offering such a course according to the Sun Sentinel.
Phyllis Kotey, an FIU Law clinical associate professor that specializes in criminal law, believes the class would be best offered to general students, given that most non-legal people don’t understand the complications involved with Stand Your Ground, and the FIU Law graduate students are already taught Stand Your Ground in their Criminal Law classes.
“I think the course would work best as an introductory course to our new students who are just entering adulthood as they come to college and are not familiar with their rights as citizens,” said Kotey.
Kotey believes an entire course about Stand Your Ground for law students would be too narrow in scope, where the concept alone could be taught in a week. She instead suggests the possibility of a Stand Your Ground seminar at FIU.
“A seminar where students express their different perspectives in terms of the law’s implications throughout the state, whether the law should be changed and what changes, if any, should be made, would be a good course to teach students,” said Kotey.
Joelle Moreno, the associate dean for Research and Faculty Development and a law professor at FIU, said in an e-mail that she is interested in FAU’s Stand Your Ground course.
“It will be interesting to see how the course at FAU, taught by Broward County Assistant Public Defender Frank de la Torre, is constructed and received,” said Moreno.
Moreno, who was part of a panel led by State Sen. Chris Smith, tasked with reviewing the law, said, “I believe that thoughtful and well-informed discussion of this new law is important in the context of a robust understanding of criminal law trends.”
Kendra New, a first-year law student at FIU, also believes that general society, not only lawyers, should be more educated about Stand Your Ground and other self-defense laws.
“I think people need to know what it would take to have the law be applicable to them. I don’t want it to become an overused defense, where it can justify any murder. If people understand what the true elements are, our society would be much better off,” said New.
New studied criminology as an undergraduate at the University of Tampa, has an interest for criminal law and would like to learn more about Stand Your Ground at FIU. She feels that lawyers, especially those that would like to pursue criminal law, should have a thorough knowledge of the law as it is becoming more prevalent.
Grettel Zubiaur, a first-year law student at FIU, would be interested in taking the course as an elective in addition to the criminal law classes already offered at FIU.
“I think everyone has a right to protect themselves and their property, and the law is just a protection to a natural human reaction of defense under a stressful situation, but since the law can be used to justify murder, addressing the public’s lack of knowledge about the law would be great,” said Zubiaur.
For now, students interested in furthering a discussion about Stand Your Ground can attend an upcoming Roundtable Discussion session discussing the Trayvon Martin Verdict. The session is organized by the African & African Diaspora Studies Program and will be held on Sept. 13 in GC 150 at the Modesto Maidique Campus.
– news@fiusm.com