Casey Anthony Trial - Orlando, FL

07/10/11

The Sad End of a Saga

"Once upon a time..." No, I can't begin this story that way since it could never end with, "... and they lived happily ever after." It was three years ago when we heard the news that an attractive, young woman named Casey Anthony claimed that her 2-year-old daughter had been kidnapped 31 days before she told anyone about it. The public’s reaction to Casey’s story was nearly universal–total disbelief: Why would a mother not notify police immediately after her child was abducted? Because of the shocking nature of the story, the disappearance of Caylee Marie Anthony and the subsequent first-degree murder charge against her mother made headlines everywhere, and Casey soon became one of the most vilified persons in the free world. In the mid-1990s, we watched the...

Posted at 10:43 PM | Permalink | Comments: 39

07/08/11

A Farewell to ‘Marinade’ Dave

Dear Readers: “Marinade” Dave has been blogging on this site for 10 weeks while on special assignment to cover the Casey Anthony trial for Orlando magazine. From jury selection to opening arguments to the reading of the verdicts he offered unique perspectives about the case. On Monday, Dave will post his final blog here, sharing some thoughts and observations about the 3-year-old saga that culminated with Casey being acquitted in the death of her daughter.. When I hired Dave to blog about the trial, I told him he would be paid for up to four blogs per week. Therefore, I did not expect him to attend every day of the proceedings, which ran six days a week for nearly eight weeks.. Dave missed two days, both due to exhaustion.. His days began at 8 and...

Posted at 03:51 PM | Permalink | Comments: 45

07/06/11

Q&A With Dave on Thursday

Dear Readers: After Casey Anthony is sentenced on Thursday, “Marinade” Dave will be available for a one-on-one with you from 2-10 p.m. EDT. Just post your questions or comments below here and Dave will get to them ASAP. In the meantime, please continue posting your comments to Dave’s blogs on this site.Thank you,Mike Boslet,EditorEDITOR'S NOTE: Dave would prefer that questions/comment focus on the Casey Anthony trial. Questions about impending legal matters related to Casey are outside the scope of this blog. Please keep questions/comments as brief as possible. He cannot address several questions in one post.

Posted at 02:47 PM | Permalink | Comments: 197

07/05/11

Dumbfounded, With Prejudice

"But I have faith that the jury of seven women and five men will not forget Caylee during their deliberations. The little girl will get justice, of that I am certain." - From "Justice Didn't Take a Holiday," my blog on July Fourth When Cheney Mason joined Casey Anthony's defense team in March of 2010, he proclaimed that the day would come when "we will walk out of here with Casey in arm." He was that confident she would be acquitted. Yeah, right, was the collective reaction to his comment. The jury Tuesday made a liar out of all of us who doubted him. On the count of murder in the first degree: NOT GUILTY On the count of aggravated manslaughter: NOT GUILTY On the count of aggravated child abuse: NOT GUILTY Casey was found guilty of four counts of...

Posted at 10:15 PM | Permalink | Comments: 71

07/04/11

Justice Didn’t Take a Holiday

Sitting in court today, I found it ironic and so apropos that the fate of Casey Anthony was delivered into the hands of a jury of her peers on Independence Day. For nearly three years she has been afforded the presumption of innocence while the murder case against her slowly inched through our legal system. She has had the luxury of being ensnared by a judicial system that seeks to ensure a defendant's right to a fair trial. It can be such a long process that many of us, me included, feel the victim is often forgotten, or at least minimizedwhile the accused receives every courtesy our Constitution affords him or her. For that, Casey Anthony should thank her lucky stars she had her day in court on American soil. But I have faith that the jury of seven women and five men will...

Posted at 10:22 PM | Permalink | Comments: 57

07/01/11

Pets, Lies and Duct Tape

In his opening statement, Jose Baez guaranteed that the jury would come to believe that George Anthony had sexually molested Casey when she was young, that he found Caylee’s body floating in the backyard pool, and he alone applied duct tape to her face. Somehow, someway, he would explain how meter reader Roy Kronk disposed of the child’s body so he could later “discover” it and collect a reward. But as the defense wrapped up its case Thursday it was clear that Baez had failed to deliver the goods. His strategy created a lot of smoke but yielded little substance. If anything, the sleaziness of the defense team may have done just as much to seal its client’s fate as the State’s methodically laid-out case. There were times I felt Casey would get a lesser sentence...

Posted at 12:18 AM | Permalink | Comments: 148

06/30/11

The End Is Near . . . For Whom?

Finally, the Casey Anthony trial is near an end. Today, the defense is expected to rest its case, a moment that should elicit a collective sigh of relief out of everyone who has been following the proceedings. I feel as if I’ve been watching a train wreck in slow-mo over the last week, knowing full well that I should turn my head to avoid seeing the carnage. But like everyone else I couldn’t take my eyes off witness stand. I don't think it's necessary to do a play-by-play of the case, or explain how Assistant State Attorney Jeff Ashton shredded some of the defense’s key expert witnesses. No, this post is about some particular events that could influence the outcome of the trial, and I'll start with Cindy...

Posted at 08:12 AM | Permalink | Comments: 23

06/27/11

A Fool's Errand

Competency is a broad word that can be used in many ways. In Casey Anthony’s case, her attorneys believed that she was not competent to aid and assist in her own defense. Therefore, and was incompetent to continue with the trial. That, we found out Monday, was the cause of the abrupt end to Saturday’s court proceedings. If you study Casey in the courtroom, it's easy to recognize she's having issues with her defense – Jose Baez in particular. Because of her behavior, her counsel decided to have her evaluated. If you recall, Judge Strickland ordered a psychological profile on her by two doctors in July of 2008, when she was being held on a felony charge of child neglect. That was the same day he remarked that the truth and Ms. Anthony are strangers. The...

Posted at 06:50 PM | Permalink | Comments: 52

06/26/11

All Fired Up

Something very disruptive took place in court on Saturday morning – something that caused Judge Perry to cancel the rest of the day's testimony. That, in and of itself, is quite a feat, considering this judge's reputation. “Do both sides concur that a legal issue has arisen… that would necessitate us to recess court for the day?” he said after nearly 45 minutes of private discussion in chambers with defense attorneys. No, this had nothing to do with a plea arrangement, as many in the media subsequently pondered. Nor was it over defense expert witnesses or Jose Baez's continued failure to comply with court orders mandating that he provide prosecutors with complete and timely discovery information. “One would think this would have grown old by now, but some...

Posted at 12:03 PM | Permalink | Comments: 47

06/24/11

The Truth About Cindy's Testimony

The media on Thursday labeled Cindy Anthony’s testimony as a bombshell, and many have commented that Casey’s mother and the defense conspired to torpedo key evidence in an attempt to plant reasonable doubt. Cindy testified that she was the one who Googled chloroform in March of 2008, but was that a lie, as so many have suggested? Who knows for certain? But Thursday’s testimony should not have come as a surprise to prosecutor Linda Drane Burdick, though she acted as if it did. The following are excerpts from a deposition Cindy gave on July 28, 2009, with Drane Burdick asking the questions: Q: All right. There is a search for how to make chloroform on your desktop computer. Did you make that search?A: I'm not sure.Q: Why not?A: Because I remember...

Posted at 12:27 PM | Permalink | Comments: 48

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