Article on the hurdles a federal case would face:
http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticl...3462&thepage=2
You need to sign up to read the whole thing, but here's the gist:
Quote:
Now that the trial is over, Justice Department lawyers will start reviewing the evidence to determine whether federal charges are appropriate. “It’s important for the department to do a vigorous investigation, and who knows what will come out,” said William Yeomans, a former acting assistant attorney general now a professor at American University Washington College of Law. “There may be holes that can be filled in once the FBI joins in.”
Yeomans and other former government prosecutors said Tuesday that federal charges are possible under the new Matthew Shepard hate crimes law, but that the Justice Department would have several difficult hurdles to overcome, especially considering the evidence that has come out so far in the case.
“The big hurdle is establishing the defendant’s state of mind and showing he acted with racial motivation,” Yeomans said. “It’s not impossible,” but “the evidence developed so far would make that difficult.”
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While I think Zimmerman acted partially upon race, I don't think that was his only basis and I don't think there's enough evidence to support a federal case. I'd be surprised to see one brought.