The failure to convict George Zimmerman in the shooting of Trayvon Martin has produced considerable scrutiny of the prosecutor in the case: Florida State Attorney Angela Corey.

Even before Zimmerman got off, Corey was criticized for her handing of other cases, and for her knack of retaliating against critics.

Last year, Corey prosecuted Marissa Alexander, an African-American woman who fired a warning shot at her abusive husband. Alexander had never been arrested before the incident, but that didn’t stop Corey from going after the domestic abuse victim. Alexander was found guilty and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Following the Alexander conviction, celebrity lawyer and legal commentator Mark Geragos told CNN that Corey was “a menace” who needed to be disbarred and removed from office.

Reverand Jesse Jackson said publicly that Corey could have “sought a different charge and jail term” for Alexander.

The same was said by The New York Times regarding the Zimmerman case, arguing that Corey could have filed different charges that would have improved the chances of a conviction.

Those who have criticized Corey have felt her wrath. Ron Littlepage, a journalist for the Florida Times-Union, wrote a column criticizing her handling of the Cristian Fernandez case, in which Corey chose to prosecute a twelve-year-old boy for first-degree murder, who wound up locked in solitary confinement in an adult jail prior to his court date.

Corey responded with a lengthy letter to Littlepage hinting she might sue him for libel.

After she was appointed to handle the Zimmerman case, Talbot “Sandy” D’Alemberte, a former president of both the American Bar Association and Florida State University, criticized the decision: “I cannot imagine a worse choice for a prosecutor to serve in the Sanford case. There is nothing in Angela Corey’s background that suits her for the task, and she cannot command the respect of people who care about justice.”

The prosecutor responded by making a public-records request of the university for all emails, text messages, and phone messages in which D’Alemberte had mentioned Fernandez. Like Littlepage, D’Alemberte had also criticized Corey’s handling of the Fernandez case, according to Ian Tuttle at National Review Online.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

To Learn More:

Angela Corey’s Checkered Past (by Ian Tuttle, National Review)

Prosecuted for Standing Her Ground (by Kirsten Powers, Daily Beast)

George Zimmerman: Angela Corey’s Racial Peace Offering (by Streiff, Red State)

4 of America’s Most Abusive Prosecutors (by Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet)