May 2011
06/02/11Rope-A-Dope or Going for Broke?
The Rumble in the Jungle was a boxing event between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. Foreman was favored to win the fight because he was a more powerful puncher. During the match, Ali did his best to anger Foreman, who then attacked him relentlessly because of it. He forced Ali into the ropes. Ali looked beaten and many in the boxing world believed it. However, the fight was far from over – it was a successful strategy. Instead of being brutalized, he protected himself by allowing his sparring partners to beat him silly while training for the fight, and when Foreman got tired from all the punches he threw, Ali rebounded and won. That boxing style became known as the rope-a-dope. Is this what's happening today in the Casey Anthony...
Posted at 12:54 AM | Permalink | Comments: 68 |
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05/31/11Update: Cindy Relives That Horrible Day
Cindy Anthony was on the stand all morning (Tuesday, May 31), describing the chain of events that led her to make three 911 calls on July 15, 2008. During this morning's riveting testimony, Cindy wiped away tears as she relived what had to be some of the worst days of her life. When we listened to the final 911 tape, the one in which she was in a panic over the whereabouts of Caylee, Cindy buried her head into her lap. The jury sat intently listening, with heads bowed. At the end of that tape, several of them turned to look at Cindy. She was an emotional wreck, and the mood in the courtroom was tense. . I could sense the agony in the room. Judge Perry called for a short recess. The judge was right to call a short time out.
Please limit... Posted at 12:43 PM | Permalink | Comments: 11 |
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05/31/11Update: Lee Free to Attend Trial
Court opened on time this morning (Tuesday, May 31), at 8:30 sharp. Judge Perry is a real stickler when it comes to that. Usually the trial starts at 9 a.m., but today, Mark Lippmann argued the same rule of sequestration for Caylee's uncle, Lee. Obviously, he is looking out for the interests of Caylee's immediate family. The state had no objection, but Cheney Mason argued that he found no case law where an uncle qualifies as next of kin.
Please limit comments to the blog's subject matter. Comments containing... Posted at 08:12 AM | Permalink | Comments: 2 |
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05/30/11Double, Double Toil and Trouble
Casey Anthony's murder trial began last Tuesday, May 24. We've waited almost three long years for the day to come, and during that period, most of the public vilified George and Cindy, her parents, for defending her. The stench of human decomposition in the trunk of Casey's car became the unpleasant smell of rotting pizza, and they continued, day-after-day, to proclaim her innocence while boxing themselves into a corner. Until last week. While George and Cindy made excuse-after-excuse for their daughter's odd behavior, most of us thought otherwise. We didn't bury our heads in the sand or cover our ears, as compelling evidence flowed forth from the State Attorney's Office. Bit-by-bit and piece-after-piece of discovery painted a horrible portrait of Casey, all of which they...
Posted at 06:58 PM | Permalink | Comments: 25 |
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05/26/11It's Not Just Nuts and Dolts
I think it's a safe bet that most of us are fairly familiar with the cast of characters involved in the Casey Anthony case by now. You know, the ones who came into our living rooms and computers almost every day during the past couple of years. Since Tuesday, we've gotten a little more up close and personal with a few of Casey's past friends we only knew by name from transcripts and selective interviews. Thursday was a long day in the courtroom, so instead of reciting a blow-by-blow, play-by-play account of the day's events, I thought I'd throw some names out to think about. I mean, how much did we really know about Anthony Lazzaro before he was sworn in? All we knew, or thought we knew, was based on responses to law enforcement questions and a stack of photos from inside...
Posted at 11:28 PM | Permalink | Comments: 67 |
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05/26/11Defense Confuses While State Defuses
After George Anthony took the stand yesterday in what amounted to the state's defusing a very confusing opening statement by the defense, the general consensus among many media folks afterward was that Cindy would be the first one up this morning. Then Lee. I didn't believe it for a minute because, in my mind, the state had no choice but to give George the opportunity to defend himself as vigorously as possible. He did, and when he was excused, he walked away with a lot more public respect than he had prior to the start of the trial. He came across as someone who had just about enough of it. He took his life back. No more buses dropping out of the sky. Of course, after the defense's razzle, dazzle, opening statement, Jose Baez was bound to fizzle, and so he did during cross...
Posted at 12:37 AM | Permalink | Comments: 25 |
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05/24/11Smoke and Mirrors and Alligator Tears
I've often mentioned one of the oldest tricks in the book. It goes something like this. Suppose I need to borrow $20, but I know it might not be easy. I approach you, and instead of asking for that amount, I ask for $100. Why do I need $100, you ask? I have a lot of bills to pay, and some of them are late. You explain that you can't afford to give me that much money. Why not? I really need it. Come on, you have it. Please? I continue to badger you until I finally say, okay, how about $20 instead? Of course, so you pull out your wallet and hand me a crisp Andrew Jackson. Do you see what I just did? I got $20 out of you and that's all I wanted to begin with. It's called trickery, plain and simple, and just like that, it's the same thing Jose Baez pulled off in the courtroom...
Posted at 09:51 PM | Permalink | Comments: 45 |
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05/23/11Drowning in a Pool of Lies?
This time tomorrow, I will be sitting in a courtroom located on the 23rd floor of the Orange County courthouse. I am one of the lucky few who gained press credentials to attend the Casey Anthony murder trial. Fortunately, it will be televised live on TruTV's In Session program, and online at several Internet feeds from Orlando area television stations and the Orlando Sentinel site. Most of us are waiting to hear the first few minutes of Jose Baez's opening statement that, he claims, will explain why Casey sat quietly in jail for almost three years, never uttering a word. Why would an innocent person do that? Why remain silent all this time? If her daughter's death was an accident, why wait until now to tell her story? Millions of us have been asking...
Posted at 03:10 PM | Permalink | Comments: 45 |
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05/18/11What's "the Matter"?
With the abrupt ending of today's jury selection in Pinellas County, speculation seemingly spiraled out of control over what caused the adjournment. Noticeably absent from the courthouse cafeteria at lunch today was Jose Baez, and he did not return to the courtroom when the session reconvened at 1:00 pm. Late this afternoon, Jose issued a statement to several media outlets: "Today's adjournment was due to a private matter. Please stop the speculation, as jury selection will continue at 8:30 tomorrow morning. No further statements will be made." Of course, we have learned we can't believe everything that comes out of this defense. Prior to that statement, first thoughts swelled around an appeal filed by the defense over Judge...
Posted at 09:10 PM | Permalink | Comments: 49 |
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05/18/11The Long and Winded Road
The fair and impartial jury, as guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Section 11 of the Florida Constitution, is crucial to the administration of justice under our legal system. The fundamental necessity of a fair and impartial jury was heralded by early Court decisions as judges initiated an effort to secure and safeguard the integrity of the jury trial. Jurors should, if possible, be not only impartial, but beyond even the suspicion of partiality. - O’Connor v. State, 9 Fla. 215,222 (Fla. 1860) I remember my late grandfather. He was always on time. He was such a stickler for time, he usually arrived about a half-hour earlier than we expected him, but we grew accustomed to it....
Posted at 12:19 AM | Permalink | Comments: 27 |
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05/12/11A Snail's Pace
The jury selection process in Casey Anthony's trial is exasperatingly slow, to say the least, but it serves as a valuable lesson in how the legal process works in the United States, and Florida, in particular. The fact that we get to watch the challenges unfold right before our eyes, in real time, is a fascinating study in civic duty and our obligation as citizens to serve on trials. One of the reasons why this case will remain with us for many years to come has less to do with the defendant than it does with someone else. Whether she's convicted or not, Casey will be forgotten, but the one person who will, no doubt, leave an indelible impression on all of us is Chief Judge Belvin Perry, Jr. How many of us know more about rules and statutes because of him? His knowledge of...
Posted at 06:29 PM | Permalink | Comments: 79 |
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05/09/11Casey: Is Her Goose Deep-Fryed?
I had a sneaking suspicion that Judge Perry would release his order this morning (May 9) regarding air samples taken from Casey's car trunk. The whole gang, including Casey, Judge Perry, prosecutors and defense attorneys, have taken flight for Pinellas County. Casey will be there until a jury is selected. Hopefully, the food is as marginal as it is in the Orange County jail. The judge denied the defense motion, and that means the final Frye, the one that's never been tested in a court of law, will be allowed at trial. To say the judge carefully studied his options is understatement. In his ruling, he said that it is quite apparent Dr. Vass and Dr. Furton, the respective state and defense experts, are going to present opinions based on the results of the...
Posted at 07:57 AM | Permalink | Comments: 37 |
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05/09/11Pinellas? You be the Judge
On Saturday's online edition of the St. Petersburg Times, it was announced that "Casey Anthony jury selection could be coming to Pinellas on Monday". I found out about it from one of the local journalists because my hunch that it would be from either Hillsborough or Pinellas was right on the mark. That's what I had been saying for months after carefully studying numerous counties. I never had a thought about Miami because of several things. The population of Miami-Dade County is roughly 2,500,000 people. Orange County is around 1,150,000. That's less than half. Also, the demographics aren't the same if we break down ethnicities and incomes into percentages, not to mention crime. Most importantly, all statistics aside, when Jose Baez made...
Posted at 12:52 AM | Permalink | Comments: 9 |
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05/07/11A Daughter's Scorn; A Family Torn
Posted at 12:13 AM | Permalink | Comments: 76 |
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05/04/11Open the Door and Let Them In
Posted at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments: 81 |
