It was just announced in the Orlando Sentinel that Casey Anthony will not attend the hearing tomorrow.
Judge Stan Strickland ruled yesterday that the jail video of Casey Anthony will be sealed. In his ruling, Strickland said, "While the Court is loathe to shield any public record, an argument can certainly be made that the contents of the video are highly inflammatory."
While this is a victory for the defense, I hope Jose Baez realizes that this decision came as a double-edged sword. When Strickland writes that "... it is not unreasonable to assume that many persons in the potential jury pool might view this video and develop a "hardened" attitude in reference to the defendant's guilt," he is clearly stating that when he viewed the video, it seemed to make Casey appear guilty.
In part 3, the judge also states that, "It is at least a possibility that the video in question will never be shown to the jury that decides this matter. While that can be said of other items disclosed as well, no other item comes to mind that would carry a similar inflammatory impact."
While I would love to see the video, I've read enough depositions and interviews of jail employees to have a pretty good idea as to what is in it. Obviously, Strickland saw some pretty incriminating behavior in the video. The wording he used is extremely strong and is very damning to the defense.
I must also add that I am relieved there was no additional hearing on the issue. I don't know how much more I could have taken of Todd Macaluso thundering on and on about how poor Casey had suffered from "cruel" treatment at the hands of the jail employees.
Perhaps Baez can now drop his efforts at deposing the jail employees and start deposing witnesses in the criminal trial.
It has also been announced that Judge Strickland will hold a hearing tomorrow on Brad Conway's motion to seal the autopsy report. While citing no legal precedent, Conway, on behalf of George and Cindy Anthony tells the judge:
The information contained within the report will cause great anguish to the Anthony family, still struggling with the loss of their only granddaughter. (4)
Releasing the autopsy report to the media at this point in time causes endless comment and speculation in the media and public forums, such as the internet. The publication of these results has already been the topic of countless television programs despite the fact that the actual autopsy report has not been released. (6)
I'll again state that I'm no legal expert, but those seem to be pretty thin arguments for keeping what are normally public records under seal. It will be interesting, however, to hear how Mr. Conway argues this to the Court. Since Jose Baez is not party to the motion, I also wonder if he and Casey will be in attendance at the hearing.
See you all at the hearing tomorrow!
Article
Video (WFTV's Bill Sheaffer's commentary on Judge Strickland's ruling.)
UPDATE: : June 19, 2009
In a hearing this morning Judge Strickland ruled that the autopsy report will be released to the public. It's already up on several media web sites. Sprocket.
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21 comments:
Hey, let's hope the judge honors Florida's sunshine laws and makes sure the autopsy report is released. Since there was NO definitive cause of death(therefore no graphic commentary) only speculation by Dr. G.....I really can't see him agreeing to not release this document. There is NO real legal basis for the Anthonys to win this one...
Yep, sometimes what you ask for turns around to nip you in the rear. Wording left no doubt as to what the judge really thought of the video.
It bothers me that big-money defense attornies run to defend people like Anthony. I'd be more impressed if they donated their services to quiet cases where guilt is seriously questioned. It seems their only focus is victory in limelight; truth and justice be damned. Sadly, some "highly-respected" expert witnesses have gone this route too.
And I think we all know who those "highly respected expert wits." are LOL
I'm not terribly surprised the judge blocked the release of the video. I agree, he seems to have worded that decision quite carefully.
Does Brad Conway even have standing with the court in the matter of Caylee's autopsy report
I honestly don't care if I see another document before this goes to trial....I just want this to go to trial...but then I'm not a citizen of FL. where the Sunshine Law is just that, THE LAW.
"We the People" pay for the court system, jails and medical examiner to serve and protect our society.
How are we to judge the quality of the work product of these institutions and staff "We" pay for?
Would you accept this level of non-product from your house painter or doctor?
Mortie
Today's article in the Orlando Sentinel contains links to all the autopsy reports:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-bk-caylee-casey-anthony-autopsy-061909,0,5124706.story
Excuse me, but does anybody else see this sealing of the video as being flawed justice? This is probably the most incriminating evidence against Casey as it is her natural response to what she KNEW she was seeing...her daughter's body being discovered. How can this NOT be shown? Are they trying to play games, or really determine who was responsible for her death? This is major evidence, therefore it should be allowed. If it means the jury becomes hardened, then so be it! They are human and should be, because a toddler was murdered!
Excuse me, but does anybody else see this sealing of the video as being flawed justice? This is probably the most incriminating evidence against Casey as it is her natural response to what she KNEW she was seeing...her daughter's body being discovered. How can this NOT be shown? Are they trying to play games, or really determine who was responsible for her death? This is major evidence, therefore it should be allowed. If it means the jury becomes hardened, then so be it! They are human and should be, because a toddler was murdered!
I read those reports.
It takes a lot to skeeve me out (ask anyone; I've seen some pretty nasty stuff! ).
These documents skeeved me out, thinking that the victim was a little girl, a child that would have been snapped up by a loving adoptive family in a heartbeat had her selfish mother let her go.
I can't remember reading anything about Casey getting public assistance/welfare for Caylee (we all know who really gets the money from welfare—it isn't the kids!).
I am grateful that Dr. G is the M.E. involved. I have enormous respect for her and her big caring heart. You know she did right by Caylee ...I can't imagine how hard it was for her to "forget" what she was working on, you can see on her TV show how tough it is for her to work on children's remains.
Nora said...
Excuse me, but does anybody else see this sealing of the video as being flawed justice? This is probably the most incriminating evidence against Casey as it is her natural response to what she KNEW she was seeing...her daughter's body being discovered. How can this NOT be shown? Are they trying to play games, or really determine who was responsible for her death? This is major evidence, therefore it should be allowed. If it means the jury becomes hardened, then so be it! They are human and should be, because a toddler was murdered!
I don't have a problem with them sealing it UNTIL TRIAL. I ABSOLUTELY want to see it, but one good thing about keeping it under wraps until the trial is that the potential jurors won't have already been bombarded with it over and over again beforehand. Even horrific stuff loses its impact after repeated viewings. Let them see how she reacted to the news when they NEED to see it.
I agree, that repeated viewing can lose impact. I hope that the video showing Casey's reaction WILL be shown in court - that was my concern. I don't need to see it now. I have heard enough about it, as it is. George Anthony was concerned that Caylee's memory would be tarnished by releasing the autopsy report. That isn't true. We've seen film and photos of Caylee for year on television and in the papers. She did nothing wrong to tarnish her image. We know what a sweet baby she was and what she looked like and that is what stays with us. (She was killed and it's no secret what happens to the body after death, but who focuses on that?) I think the Anthonys keep pressing for special privileges and they don't deserve it. Their denial is one thing, but not to order the public be in the same denial.
CaliGirl9 - yes, Dr. G. is a very cool person and I trust her assessments.
More than one layer of duct tape around Caylee's mouth and nose, her clothing and other items match stuff found in her home, is plenty of evidence of who did it and the cruel nature of it.
I don't really care about seeing the video now. If the prosecution wants to use it and manages to get it into the trial, then fine.
What impressed me most was the judge's language in the denial. He watched it and said it was so inflammitory it should be sealed for now. To me, it indicates he sees it as a sign of guilt.
I predicted to my friends that this decision also would indicate a couple of things:
1. The judge will only seal what he feels is extremely prejudicial. Notice that he easily ruled to release the autopsy reports today. Given that the Anthonys had no real standing, the judge wouldn't even consider holding off his decision for Baez. Clearly, even if the defense had filed a motion that they were too inflammitory, he would have released them.
2. The judge isn't going to grant Baez's motion for change of venue. He stated in his order to seal the tape that only a change of venue could possibly repair the damage caused by its release.
Nora, I agree with you about the concept that releasing the autopsy would tarnish Caylee's memory.
Releasing the reports will more than likely do more to tarnish the defense case.
I've been reading all day, but have yet to approach the reports. I know what they will say, I'm not ready to face the reality yet.
I believe that the prosecution, without a cause and exact date of death, have an extremely strong circumstantial case with a great deal of forensic evidence.
I've read that there were paper towels in the trunk of the car that had decompositon on them... even more proof little Caylee's body was in the trunk.
I would hope that media-types would write about these reports with caution. Thankfully most journalists don't have much of an anthropology or medical/pathology background, or an understanding of really how horrible this whole crime is. Casey didn't just kill that child outright, Caylee knew something bad was happening to her. I guess it's a blessing she may have been too young to understand the concept and reality of death.
Most lay people aren't even going to attempt to read those reports.
I was sickened by them. If Cindy and George really understood the horror of what happened to their adorable grandbaby, while she was dying and after—left in the trunk of her mother's car until her mom packaged her up like toxic waste and dumped like common household trash, they'd do the right thing and stop protecting Casey. She's simply not worth protecting.
Casey didn't even do a decent job of packaging that little girl's body. Animals will do what they do ... and in this case, they did what they do. Not going to be more descriptive than that.
I guarantee if my daughter had done this, I'd say "I love you, but I do not like what you did. You need to be responsible for your actions, and taking responsibility means you are going to prison for life. You had options you chose not to take."
Yep, the judge certainly did show his opinion of the video. Ritanita - also, they can't hide the comment made by Cindy about the smell of a dead body in the trunk. What gets me is that neither Cindy nor George ever met this supposed Zanny (who it is rumored to be a nickname for Xanax), and they hadn't seen Caylee for a month before saying anything. If they loved and cared about her as much as they say, and they know Casey, it doesn't make sense. If they love both of them, then they must do what's right for and by them and stop this charade.
One thing that got to me over the past year was seeing the video of Caylee with her great-grandfather. Both of them look so connected to one another and so sad. It seems like Caylee felt very safe with him. He must be going through hell.
If this was previously posted, I must have missed it and apologize. Is there a date set for the Anthony trial? Thank you.
Nora, there is a trial date set for October, but it will probably not take place until sometime next year.
CaliGirl9, I read the reports yesterday and I agree with you entirely. When the pieces of all the reports are put together, it is a grim story.
I noticed that the media is being considerate in the matter. When the story is put together at trial, it will be devastating.
Thanks, Ritanita.
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