we have our analyst jamie floyd with us. there are reasons even knowing that there is a verdict it takes time for the jury to return to the courtroom and the jury

let's bring in jamie floyd.ow the report that we just saw indicated that petraeus is going to get special treatment. >> well he had a good lawyer. that's what it indicates. he had a good lawyer. he cut a good deal. and it could have been a lot worse for him. >> could he not been charged with the more serious offense? >> oh yes. >> given that you are dealing with top-secret documents? >> yes. we could have done jail time and had a much larger fine. we could have spent a year in jail and paid a hundred thousand dollars fine. and now he will be on probation if it all goes according to plan today, and we're looking at probably a $40,000 fine. we have people in exile for leaking government secrets, who weren't as highly placed as petraeus. i'm referring of course to edward snowden and there's manning, and -- and, you know, generally you are not supposed to leak government secrets, and people are outraged because petraeus was a very highly placed well-regarded representative of our government overseas and here at home

. >>> jamie floyd is al jazeera's legal contributor. what do you make of this case? >> it is quite a story. a deeply troubling story. i mean you have not only the horrible death of these three little girls, i think of them as babies, but you have the potential execution of an innocent man and then the overlay of prosecutorial misconduct. it is pretty evident that there was some agree of prosecutorial misconduct. let's be clear, making a deal with what we typically call a snitch that happens in cases, but you have to disclose it to the defense so that they can present that to the jury and confront the witness at the time during the trial. >> these guys said there was no deal. >> well they still maintain jackson still maintains there was no deal. it would have been okay if there was a deal but the defense would have had to know it at the time. and worse yet john, when the recantation occurred that needed to go right into the file of willing hamso that he could then petition for a new trial. >> state prosecutors, prosecutors at the local level, prosecutors in the federa

we have our analyst jamie floyd with us. there are reasons even knowing that there is a verdict it takes time for the jury to return to the courtroom and the jury foreman to present it to the judge for public reading. >> in my previous life at court tv, we had something called verdict watch. that was this period of time. we knew that the verdict was coming down. sometimes you would have a whole night, they would tell you the night before that the verdict was coming down in an intensely high profile case. thethe simpson case comes to mind. we knew the night before that that verdict was coming in the next morning. crazy the interest in that case. but to have an hour or so notice before this case so intensely watched, so devastating for the city of boston, the state of massachusetts, and very political trial in many ways. and significant for the federal government. it's reasonable to give people time to prepare emotionally and physically around the courthouse. >> can you give us a sense strategy where by the acknowledgment, the

. >> i was talking to jamie floyd about assigning blame. you bring up ferguson and how that was militarized. you are not getting the feeling, even with this presence of more significant vehicles. >> what i saw when i rode around the city is a city that understands itself better thab the rest of the nation understands baltimore. this is a city as we have been pointing out, started seeing problems in 1968 and the crack wars of the '80s and watched as the riots of 2015 and they are waiting to see what happens 20 years from now. >> we'll stay on the air and get back to you. we are watching the events in baltimore tonight. there has been some activity. it's been a peaceful day, and we'll stay on top of this and make sure we bring you the latest news from baltimore. we'll be back. >>> good evening, i'm antonio mora, this is breaking news on al jazeera america. we have been following the tense situation in baltimore, where police are trying to enforce a curfew that has been in effect for over an hour. this is a live picture from baltimore, some ar

we are drawing again by al jazeera legal contributor jamie floyd. the

. >> the sheriff is - jumping the gun >>> al jazeera legal contributor jamie floyd says it's too soon to dismiss civil rights charges against the defense office. >> they have a suspect on the ground who shot at close range. called 911. no one administers first aid. they treat him disrespectfully, and now refuse to accept responsibility to the way the two officers behaved >>> a major bird flu in the midwest. millions of chickens and turkeys to be destroyed. we talk about the threat. >> what the federal bureau of investigation is saying about six americans accused of trying to join i.s.i.l. i.s.i.l. >>> federal prosecutors charged six mn from minnesota for planning to travel to syria to join i.s.i.l. all of them coming from a somali community in the twin cities closely monitored by authorities. >> in a go anti-recruiting efforts that have been underway six somalian men have been accused of trying to join i.s.i.l. >> they were not confused young men, or easily influenced. these are focused men, intent on joining a terrorist organization by any means possible. >> the minnesota men were re

we are drawing again by al jazeera legal contributor jamie floyd. the way this has been approached signals about where they'll decide is one matter. we can talk about that. they meet a decision that they are going to tell us what the constitution says and whether gay marriage will be legal in the future. >> it seems that way. they took the case. they didn't need to take the case. they danced around the issue in the past, they decided cases that involved gay marriage without making the big decision. they are backed into a corner. it seems to me they have to make a decision. they rewrote the questions presented. they never rewrite the questions. you go to the supreme court. you say justices will you decide the issues. they decide the issues you ask them to decide. here they rewrote the issue, the big issue is do gay couples have a constitutional right to be married, a fundamental right to marriage. the court found it is a fundamental right. that is the big question. if they don't have a fundamental right. do the states that don't recognise it need to

jamie floyd is al jazeera's legal contributor. she's in our studio. welcome. how big is this case? the biggest case before the supreme court in the last 30 years? >> it's a very big case. i would have to look at all the injures prudence and i've been studying the court almost that long. this is a legal geek's day. i was rivetted all day. we had all of baltimore happening at the same time. this is a day of whiplash. you're right this is a big deal especially if they make the big ruling and give same-sex couples a constitutional right. >> we heard some of the fascinating discussion inside the chamber. what struck you? >> well, the vigor of the argument the pace of the arguments, the level of engagement i do want to say john people should listen to this. they have don't always release this argument. i've been arguing for a camera in this room for 20 years i don't know if we'll get that. this citizen close as you'll get. it's rivetting even if you just listen. the "washington post" has put up a terrific thing on their website where they have a descriptter that leads to bits of the audi

. >> jamie floyd is aljazeera's legal contributor and she joins us, and explain how this bankruptcy field works. >> it's bankruptcy, so -- >> in our own personal lives. >> let's say i declare bankruptcy, i'm a bankruptcy layer, and i declare personal bankruptcy and let's say along the way i had a car accident, and i kitted or injured someone, god forbid, and that was before my bankruptcy. well that debt would be discharged. i would not have to pay out that litigation. and this is the thing on a massive, potentially billion dollars case. >> so who were the people most impacted by this judge's decision? there was a compensation pool set up and you could have entered that if you wanted to. >> you didn't want to. >> you decided you wanted to go forward, and you wanted to get gm -- >> that's right this puts a bar on the doors of justice right? and some people might prefer to pursue justice in court, rather than to go to the compensation fund. now, the compensation fund has recognized 84 victims who have died. and those people have received payments of about $1 million each. and 11 victims of c

. >>> jamie floyd is al jazeera's legal contributors in our studio.what is what if this is ruled unconstitutional, would they go to firing squad or other means is that it? >> yeah, and i think lisa's last point is perhaps most significant. a lot of states anticipating that possible outcome are already moving past lethal injection. all states that have capital punishment including federal government, states plus the federal government that's 34 states plus the feds have lethal injection as their primary means of execution. but looking ahead to what the supreme court is likely to do states are starting to look for an alternative. and as lisa pointed out utah going to the firing squad tennessee moving back to the electric chair which we once thought of as a primitive means of execution oklahoma the state at issue here has moved on to the gas chamber or back to the gas chamber. so -- >> is this the beginning of a legal battle or the end if it's ruled unconstitutional? >> a great way to look at it. it's really important to understand as lisa suggested this

dante is with us and i want to bring into the discussion jami floyd, our legal contributor. we haven't heard from you on this today. >> i'm smiling because on even such a painful day it's an honor to be sitting here with dante. >> right, right. on this day in a city that i love this is happening. what are your thoughts as you were watching what was going on today? as you heard in a couple of moments one of the cap pains of baltimore city police department very emotional in talking about his officers who were injured. >> yeah. >> and regardless what the officer is saying is regardless of the grievances this level of lawlessness cannot happen in this city. and then maybe speak to what dante and jamal were talking about in that wonderful debate. >> and respectful conversation. >> what are your thoughts? >> well this has been simmering, i feel in baltimore for weeks, for months for years. probably all of my lifetime. i mean i've been visiting baltimore since the 1980s, and i've been studying it as a lawyer and as a lover of justice since the '90s seriously. i cannot say i'm surp

. >> thank you jamie floyd, al jazeera legal analyst. >> today david petreaus will find out his punishment leaking classified document. the retired general and former head of the c.i.a. is accused of giving classified information to his biographer and mystery he is likely to face a light sentence. >> reporter: when he was unanimously confirmed as the director of the c.i.a., david petraeus was applauded for his military pedigree as the top u.s. general in iraq and afghanistan. >> i don't believe that i have ever quite encountered a military leader or civilian leader for that matter, with the combination of charisma and intellect that general petraeus possesses >>> but fast-forward 14 months and the most respected general was forced to resign, accused of sharing top secret documents. they were shared with his mistress pauler broadwell. she had been writing a biography about david petreaus. they became romantically involved. when she felt threatened by another female firend of petreaus, jill kelly, she began sending emails. they discovered evidence of the affair with the germ when it was unea