Archives for 2011

The Casey Anthony murder trial wrapped up its evidentiary phase today and will stand in recess until Sunday morning at 9 AM. The main order of business today was the prosecution’s rebuttal, which was delayed by some shenanigans by the defense, as I mentioned in my previous post. However, once it got going, which had to wait for the afternoon hours while the lawyers farted around making Baez happy, the testimony was swift and directly to the point.

The major point was Cindy Anthony’s testimony. It was cut to shreds by the terrible, swift sword of the prosecution. Rebuttal witnesses reviewed time records for the hospice company with which Cindy was employed during the time she claimed to conduct internet searches for “chloroform” and other incriminating terms from her home computer. The company, being a public company and in the health care business is subject to daunting Federal regulation with respect to retention and upkeep of financial records (per Sarbanes-Oxley) and health care records (HIPAA). The records produced by an officer of the company show that Cindy Anthony was at work while the internet searches were being done on the home computer. Clearly, someone else did the searching.

Having been soundly impeached in this fashion, could Cindy be charged with perjury? Many legal pundits believe that she could but she will probably not be charged. Any number of reasons have been cited for why she will not be charged, the sympathy factor being the strongest, and at the same time, the weakest. Others have suggested that a perjury trial for Cindy would cloud the appeal of the Casey Anthony trial, should Casey be convicted. Finally, Ninth District State Attorney Lawson Lamar would like to keep his job, so he’ll think about this matter very carefully before he makes an arrest.

The other issue the prosecution rebutted was the testimony of the defense’s expert forensic pathologist in which he stated that Orange-Osceola County medical examiner Dr. Jan Garavaglia did a “shoddy” job with the initial autopsy of Caylee Anthony, and that the top of the child skull should have been sawn off to enable inspection of brain matter. The prosecution’s expert rebuttal witness knew of no such dictum in the conduct of autopsies. Another defense witness nullified.

After the final rebuttal witness, Judge Perry sent the jury back to their hotel. Cheney Mason then piped up about some mistrial motions. Perry denied all of them but one, on which he reserved judgment, that one being the one filed by death penalty expert Ann Finnell over the phone relating to a case in South Florida in which a Federal appeals judge found the Florida death penalty law unconstitutional. I don’t know for how long or until what particular event Perry is reserving judgment on this. There seems to be a great debate about having a “death qualified” jury versus one that is not “death qualified.” If this motion is upheld, the case will have to be retried with a “non-death qualified” jury. However, what if Ms. Anthony is found guilty but not given the death penalty by the jury? Will Perry be obliged to act on this motion and will he possibly grant the mistrial? Or would this sway him to vacate the jury’s decision to impose the death penalty? This could be a very interesting issue as the trial nears its conclusion.

The trial will resume on Sunday at 9:00 AM with the closing arguments from both sides (unless the attorneys create another kerfuffle). Perry gave them the day off tomorrow in order to prepare their summations. Perry has been mindful throughout of the plight of the sequestered jury. For that reason he is unwilling to drag out the trial to accommodate a Sunday and the Monday holiday. Perry expects that the closing arguments will be completed by mid-day and that he can then give about 45 minutes of instructions to the jury before turning over the case to them.

So, this will be it. A verdict could come as early as Sunday evening, although that is unlikely. It’s anyone’s guess as to how long the jury will deliberate and with what sort of verdict (or non-verdict) they will return. Ms. Anthony could be found guilty of first-degree murder, felony murder, aggravated manslaughter, or aggravated child abuse. She could also be acquitted. Or possibly the jury will not be able to arrive at a unanimous opinion — a hung jury. There are too many variables to even speckalate on the outcome.

All eyes will be on the jury room, even those eyes that have eschewed involvement with the trial heretofore.

Those of us who have been obsessed with this trial, your Turkey included, will suffer withdrawal symptoms when the damn thing ends. No football, no hockey, no Casey. Damn! Hurry September!

Yet another brouhaha has erupted between the defense and the prosecution of the Casey Anthony murder trial. Friday’s proceedings were suspended and an indefinite recess called by Judge Perry due to the insistent whining by lead defense counsel José Baez that he should have the opportunity to depose two witnesses the State intended to give rebuttal testimony.

Perry is now clearly perturbed by the delay tactics and the continual nit picking by the defense. “There are real problems and there are imaginary problems. This better not be an imaginary problem.” He went on to say that the jury has been sequestered for over a month and are far away from home. While the attorneys can go home to their families every day and enjoy life as usual, the jurors cannot. They cannot use the Internet, read newspapers, listen to radio, or sit on the couch and watch whatever TV channels they feel like watching. They are effectively captives, and the attorneys should understand and respect the position they are in, particularly with regard to contrived issues or “imaginary problems.” The judge’s tone of voice suggested more than a hint of pique at the puerile behavior of opposing counsel.

Judge Perry has vowed to work late nights, weekends, and holidays in order to conclude the proceedings and give the trial to the jury. He voiced his firm conviction to do that by Sunday.

Meanwhile, Matthew Bartlett, the bird-flipper, is indeed in jail. I bet he doesn’t think he’s so cool now. Media reports bring out that Bartlett is not happy that Casey Anthony has been accused of and being prosecuted for a crime she did not commit. Oh, yeah? Based on what? Wishful thinking? Certainly, Ms. Anthony deserves from us all the right to a fair trial and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Bartlett and his cohort are entitled to think what they will of Casey’s guilt or innocence, but they are not entitled to make a mockery of the trial through juvenile actions. If Bartlett comes out unscathed after his six days, it is my hope that he nevertheless learned his lesson and sends a signal to the others who would make him their hero, but I doubt it.

You’ve no doubt read posts in newspaper feedback forums and the like by people of Bartlett’s ilk, or perhaps you’ve seen their Twitter tweets. They bitch every time Judge Perry sustains a prosecution objection or overrules a defense objection. “Of course!” they say, suggesting that Perry is in bed with the prosecution, reducing them to a lynch mob out to hang Ms. Anthony the Downtrodden. Perry, of course, long has been known for his firm and fair courtroom management. He has every reason to want to avoid being biased toward one side or another, especially in such an obvious manner as these morons suggest. An appellate judge would surely see through such an attitude if even these self-proclaimed experts do. Judge Perry has demonstrated throughout this trial that he is fair to a fault, and is patient and unbiased. Any suggestion to the contrary is sour grapes. Once again, we’re dealing with a cross-section of society that is self-absorbed and too used to getting its way. They don’t care about others’ rights or property. This is what concerns me. If the jury returns a guilty verdict, will these low-lifes turn to violence to express their displeasure?

I wouldn’t worry too much. I don’t think white people really know how to riot properly, anyhow.

Bartlett must have had an interesting night in jail. Assuming that he’s still a jail virgin, he must have been thinking of where he’s going to work after he gets canned (as he should) at T.G.I. Fridays. Maybe there’s a book deal in the offing for him. Haha. Perhaps Good Morning America will pay him $10,000 to appear, although Letterman is probably a better bet. He deserves to fade into obscurity and poverty but he will probably be able to capitalize somewhat on his 15 minutes of Warholian fame. It’s too bad that our society can reward a schmuck like this in any way at all.

I’ve spent enough time on Bartlett. He’s an asshole unworthy of my time. I’ll be following his appeal, though, just for laughs.

It’s lunch time for me and for the jury. They haven’t had to hear any testimony at all today. What a life this is for them! Can you imagine being ushered into and out of a courtroom all day sitting out long periods waiting to be called back in? Could any of these jurors have had any idea of what they were in for when they joined this jury back in May? Sitting and waiting. Sitting and listening. Sitting and waiting. Just sitting. I wonder what Orange County is feeding these people. The judge is very sensitive to their plight, but how many “regular folks” care about their hardship. Once they become known after the trial, they’ll face further hardship when partisans blame them for the verdict that didn’t go their way. These are ordinary people whose lives will be changed permanently by their unselfish participation in this trial.

I’ll be back atcha when anything happens, real or imaginary.