Most of you know by now that I believe George Zimmerman should have been nailed to the wall for killing Trayvon Martin. The length of time it took to arrest him was a travesty of justice in every sense of the term. His acquittal was also a travesty--not as big as the time it took to arrest him, but still a travesty nonetheless. However, what I'm about to say may not be very popular here. Based on what I know about the case, the Department of Justice's decision not to pursue federal charges against Zimmerman was the correct one. Simply put, there really wasn't enough evidence to justify federal charges.
When calls began for federal charges soon after his acquittal in 2013, I opined that it was way, way too early for such a call. In order to charge Zimmerman with violating Trayvon's civil rights, you'd have to prove that he was so fed up with black "assholes" and "punks" traipsing through his neighborhood that he set out to confront the next one--and Trayvon happened to be that next one. Without that proof, there's just no way you can credibly make a case that Zimmerman was motivated by racial hatred. That proof never surfaced--so therefore, as outrageous as Zimmerman's behavior was, it didn't rise to the level of a civil rights violation.
That being said, though, I hope that Trayvon's family files a civil suit against Zimmerman. Granted, it's clear that God has already rendered his verdict on the case, based on how far downhill Zimmerman has gone since the shooting. But just like the fact he was arrested was justice by itself, it will also be justice to make him tell under oath what he was thinking that night. And given what we know about the case, the Martins should be able to take Zimmerman for every penny he still has.