Archives for June 2011

The long awaited bombshell exploded in the Casey Anthony murder trial today, as Cindy Anthony, Casey’s mother, testified for the defense. She asserted that it was she, not Casey, who used the family computer to search for “chloroform”.

Whoa! This one came out of left field. Mixing football and baseball metaphors, this Turkey was blind-sided.

Additionally, Mrs. Anthony stated that the car in which Casey allegedly stashed Caylee’s body already had a stain on the trunk’s carpet at the time it was purchased.

Cindy’s memory was suddenly clarified, she claims, by a change in medication.

She claims that she searched for chloroform when she was looking for chlorophyll, and that all of these chemical searches were in connection with some sort of hand sanitizer scare that was making the rounds at the time.

Does all this sound a little fishy to you? It gets fishier.

I recall a hand sanitizer scare that might have occurred around the 2008 time frame during which Cindy’s internet search activities presumably occurred, but it concerned alcohol poisoning in young children. Chlorophyll and chloroform have no relevance to hand sanitizers, as far as I know.

Cindy also mentioned a dog that was acting ill at ease, as well as a friend who had recently suffered an automobile accident, stating that the searches were on their behalf.

Is this beginning to sound like a school child making stuff up to avoid punishment? It is so simplistic and contrived!

Will we soon be hearing testimony from George Anthony admitting that he sexually abused his daughter? Will he concoct a story to fit in with lead defense counsel Jose Baez’s theory that Caylee accidentally drowned? I think that there is a distinct possibility that the Anthonys are throwing themselves on their swords, attempting to save their daughter’s life. Perjury is certainly well within the bounds of what desperate measures might be taken in these circumstances. However, if George suddenly changes his tune, won’t it be just a little too obvious?

I’m getting a little ahead of myself here. George hasn’t testified for the defense (yet).

Cindy has, and this Turkey’s B.S. indicator is glowing bright red. In addition to the song and dance about the hand sanitizer, Cindy said that she had no MySpace account at the time; however, the information recovered from the computer showed that accesses to MySpace were interspersed with the incriminating searches. Furthermore, her work records indicate that she was at work during the time the searches were made. She had previously denied making searches for how to make chloroform, household weapons, neck breaking, etc. So, there were inconsistencies between Cindy’s testimony not only with the computer records but also with her prior testimony under oath.

Draw your own conclusions, but if I was the judge, I would be instructing Cindy about the implications of perjury.

I would expect daily fireworks from here on. How much longer this trial will last should be known tomorrow, as Judge Perry has ordered both sides to give firm estimates on the time they’ll need to wrap up their cases. It would seem that we will have at least one last week of entertaining testimony before the jury begins its deliberations. Perry advised the lawyers that they would be working until at least three P.M. on Saturday.

Today, the trial took a surprising new direction. This twist should provide good fodder for the inevitable made-for-TV movie. Stay tuned.

 

Judge Belvin Perry had a prior commitment for Wednesday afternoon, which meant only a half day for the trial of the millennium. It turned out that he had a state budget meeting and he wanted to be certain that his circuit was well represented when the negotiations began. I tell ya, you gotta fight tooth and nail for every dime these days.

More forensic witnesses were heard Wednesday morning. Essentially, the same pattern as for all the prior defense witnesses evidenced itself. The witness would state what the cops or the medical examiner didn’t do or cite which evidence was never obtained, attempting to cast reasonable doubt on the prosecution’s case. Then, the prosecution would cross-examine, turning the testimony right around to favor the prosecution. And so it went.

Here’s the big question: Are we ever going to get to hear witnesses who will corroborate Baez’s outlandish claims made in his opening arguments? Baez has been playing it safe and conservative with his witnesses thus far, sticking mainly to scientific opinions. When he eventually hops over the fence to question witnesses who will claim that Casey Anthony was sexually abused by George and Lee Anthony, father and brother, respectively, and that Cindy Anthony, Casey’s mother, was a domineering bitch, and Caylee, the victim, actually drowned in a pool accident, sparking a cover-up by George and Casey, then — then, the fireworks will really start. The longer he delays calling such witnesses, the more suspect I am that he’s come to realize that he went a bridge too far with those opening bombshells.

Apparently, Casey encountered a fellow inmate in the Orange County jail who discussed her own child’s accidental drowning in the family swimming pool. This conversation presumably occurred before Baez slapped together his opening statements. So, I can imagine the bull session between Baez and Ms. Anthony when Baez was brainstorming his defense strategy:

Ms. Anthony: Can’t we just say she drowned? My cellmate had a kid who drowned. I could just use her story. I’m such a good liar, you know!

Mr. Baez: Oh, yeah! Dat’s da ticket! We’ll do that then. I was going to talk about how your hostile home environment made you a liar.

Ms. Anthony: Hey, talk about that, too. George gave me shit about those gas cans and I don’t like him anymore. And my mom, well, you know she’s a bitch…

Mr. Baez: Now, about that conjugal visit…

Anyhow, I can’t see that cellmate doing much good for the defense, but the prosecution has declared its intention to call some rebuttal witnesses, and this babe could come in handy during that phase — if Baez ever gets around to making his case.

So, in his inept little way, Baez is spending much time attempting to discredit the prosecution, which is backfiring on him because unlike Baez, Jeff Ashton does his homework, preparing nifty cross-examination questions that catch witnesses off guard. He’s been quite successful in turning witnesses around.

At this point it appears as if the trial will be still going on after Independence Day. After the defense rests, there will be some rebuttal witnesses for the prosecution as I mentioned, and then Judge Perry can hand the case over to the jury for deliberation. The lawyers have been ordered to give time estimates by the end of this week. It is expected that defense witnesses will be testifying through the end of next week. Judge Perry has promised that getting behind schedule will mean extended hours for everyone. He originally wanted the jury to begin deliberating on the 25th at the latest, so it’s crunch time.

About the jury, a potential new mishigas has arisen. Apparently, Juror #4 has let the word slip that her religious beliefs would preclude her from judging anyone. Now, why did she not disqualify herself from jury service, especially on such a high visibility trial?  This crazy person could easily cause a hung jury, and I’m not sure about the jeopardy implications. Observers in the courtroom have reported that she sits with her arms crossed during prosecution questioning but takes notes during defense questioning. Is this for real?

Here is the Orlando Sentinel bio for Juror #4:

Description: She is a middle aged black female. She heard about the case when it first happened. She survived a preemptory challenge [at jury selection] when prosecutors asked that she be removed from the panel of prospective jurors.
Fast fact: She said she doesn’t like to “judge people.”
Quote: She told attorneys that after seeing the mitigating and aggravating factors, she “thinks” she can recommend a death sentence. “I just don’t like to point my finger at anyone,” she said. “What I mean by that is, judging someone by what they say.”

So, is this just smoke, or is there fire?

We learned that a woman alleged to be George Anthony’s mistress might testify. However, in a deposition taken under oath she claimed not to have had a sexual relationship with George. Sounds to me like another witness Ashton could turn into a boon for the prosecution.

Full day on Thursday, which is liable to run late as well. Will it be another snoozer?

Judge Belvin Perry has his hands full trying to keep the Casey Anthony murder trial moving along on an even keel. The two lead counsels for the two sides keep flinging spitballs at each other when the teacher has his back turned. Judge Perry is nobody’s fool and, like any good teacher, has eyes in the back of his head and lots and lots of patience. His patience is wearing thin, though.

Too much spitball flinging is bound to get someone detention. It might even get both flinger and flingee detention, just to prove a point, before it escalates to rubber bands and paper clips.

On Friday, Perry warned lead defense counsel Jose Baez that he could not pick and choose court orders he felt like following, and that he would consider contempt proceedings at the conclusion of the Anthony trial. In Perry’s opinion, Baez had violated disclosure rules by not disclosing information that would be presented by Dr. William Rodriguez, an forensic anthropologist who was testifying on Friday when he was interrupted by objections when he gave an opinion that was not covered by his deposition. The prosecution asked for him to be deposed and to receive the deposition timely before Rodriguez would resume testimony on Monday.

Now, on Monday, with the jury waiting in their cramped jury room, Jeff Ashton, lead prosecutor, asked to speak on a procedural matter, that being the late delivery of Rodriguez’s deposition, not him giving sufficient preparation time. He further stated that he came into the knowledge that another expert witness, Richard Eikelenboom, would be testifying for the defense, but Ashton had not yet received any information. Baez argued essentially that he needed to conduct his defense the way he was doing it, which did not go over big with Judge Perry.

“I want you two to turn around and look at that clock on the back wall of the courtroom,” said Perry, preparing to teach the children. “What time is it, Mr. Ashton?”

“Nine twenty-five,” replied Aston.

“And Mr. Baez, what time is it?”

“It looks like it is nine twenty-six to me,” replied Baez.

“You see,” admonished the exasperated judge, “you two can’t even agree on what time it is!”

Perry then launched into a patient but insistent diatribe. He addressed the friction between the two attorneys, which he said was a matter for the Florida Bar to take up. Then, he proceeded to rule on the matters at hand, giving the prosecution the time it needed to read the expert witnesses’ depositions before they would testify. In the process, Perry once again warned Baez that repeated violations of the same court order would make him think strongly of initiating contempt proceedings at the close of the trial. The judge did not want this crap getting in the way of conducting a fair and expeditious trial for Ms. Anthony. Meanwhile, testimony from both Rodriguez and Eikelenboom would be delayed until Tuesday.

The judge was also unhappy about the amount of time spent on procedural matters. Here it was 9:45 and the jury had been sitting in a cramped room waiting for an hour. He told the lawyers that they would be working a full day on Saturday, and that he would consider starting at 8:30 instead of 9:00 every day. He also noted that Wednesday would be a half day, which was his fault.

With that, he brought the jury back in, noted that everyone was present, and ordered the trial to proceed.

He announced that Dr. Rodriguez’s testimony would be delayed.

“Will the defense please call your next witness.”

At the defense table, there was much paper shuffling, head scratching, muttering, and gesturing. Baez spoke.

“Dr. Eikelenboom was to be our next witness.”

With smoke coming out of his ears, Judge Perry recessed the court until 10:25 and told the boys to come to the principal’s office. No one knows what went on in there. ???? ??? People were tweeting about possible plea deals and any other thing they could think of that would gain them the validation they so sorely craved from their anonymous on-line pseudo-buddies. ???? Ten twenty-five came and went. Finally, the judge returned at 10:45.

“This court will be in recess until tomorrow morning, 9:00 AM.”

This whole thing couldn’t have sat well with Perry, who is trying to keep the trial running smoothly and proceeding with dispatch. Counsels’ shenanigans had cost the trial an entire day.

Was anyone other than Perry concerned about the defendant? It seemed that both counsels had gone deep into egocentric territory. This Turkey thinks that Ms. Anthony is getting fed up with Baez and his games. When Cheney Mason entered the courtroom, she nodded and smiled; when Baez came in, she gave him a straight-faced sidelong glance. Ms. Anthony hired Baez after receiving a recommendation from another prisoner. She stuck with him through it all, even though he showed signs of unorthodox behavior very early in the game, enough so that her family tried to convince her to dump Baez.

Only Ms. Anthony knows the truth, and she ain’t talking. In this country, she is innocent until proven guilty. Judge Perry is trying his damnedest to give her a fair trial.

As I was watching Twitter, I noted that many of the tweetheads were feeling sorry for the people attending the trial, as they would have had to get up like, really, really early in the morning and then they might not even get a seat, and now they have to go through it all over again, like, fer sure. Well, I’m here to tell you that those who think that way have their heads firmly inserted into their rectums.

Nobody held a gun to those spectators’ heads when they decided to take a chance on getting to see this, the 18th “trial of the century” so far. They called in sick at work, ditched school, or just plain got up off their lazy asses to be entertained by what they felt would be a unique moment in jurisprudence. Too bad, folks. Trials are unpredictable and mostly dull. I don’t feel sorry for you folks in the slightest. Spare me. You don’t have any “rights.”

However, I do feel sorry for the jury. They’re sequestered, meaning no outside contact at all, they’re far away from friends and family, and this trial is getting behind schedule. They have no liberty, no freedom. They cannot even discuss the trial among themselves, and they surely cannot watch or listen to news broadcasts or read newspapers. Wouldn’t you be tearing your hair out in such circumstances?

And, yes, I feel bad for Casey Anthony. If she is properly convicted, I will cease to feel sorry for her.

The circus is back in town on Tuesday morning at 9:00 AM, with Rodriguez and Eikelenboom scheduled to testify as expert witnesses for the defense.

People talk about a mistrial, but this Turkey does not believe that Judge Perry will pull that trigger. Under some circumstances — and I’ll repeat that I am not a lawyer, so this will be vague — a granted mistrial motion will result in acquittal of the defendant, with jeopardy established. In such a case, Ms. Anthony would walk and could not be re-tried. That would suck even more than the other mistrial scenario, in which the whole trial is re-started. In either case, there is every reason why Perry would want to avert a mistrial. So, unless things become lots worse with Baez, don’t be looking for a mistrial.

Those who were blowing wind about a plea deal while the lawyers with locked away with Judge Perry will be disappointed, too. ??? ??? ???? Baez is too naive and inexperienced to admit that he could lose this case. He acts like he’s God’s gift to jurisprudence, as if he is infallible. Why would he want a plea deal? He’s going to win, anyway. That having been said, I’m thinking that a deal might be the best way out of this mess for all concerned. Say aggravated manslaughter, and an appropriate sentence, maybe, perhaps.

Nevertheless, trials like this have a life of their own with lots of little twists and turns. No surprises would be a big surprise for this Turkey!