POSTED: 10:40 am EDT June 29, 2011
UPDATED: 10:52 am EDT June 29, 2011
Read more: http://www.wesh.com/video/2839...l.html#ixzz1Qhs4XOdp
POSTED: 10:58 am EDT June 29, 2011
UPDATED: 11:16 am EDT June 29, 2011
Read more: http://www.wesh.com/video/2839...l.html#ixzz1QhsKqxkm
(Credit: Red Huber)
(CBS/WKMG/AP) ORLANDO, Fla. - Casey Anthony's defense team says it plans to rest its case Thursday, and the judge said that could pave the way for closing arguments Saturday in the first-degree murder trial of the Orlando mother, according to CBS affiliate WKMG.
Pictures: Casey and Caylee Anthony, Personal Photos
The defense proceeded Wednesday with a strategy of painting a portrait of the Anthony's as a dysfunctional family, calling Casey Anthony's parents to the stand for a third time during their daughter's capital murder trial for the death of 2-year-old Caylee Anthony - but it may ultimately backfire on them.
Cindy Anthony, Casey's mother, was the first witness called Wednesday, and she was again questioned about allegations that her son, Lee, had an inappropriate relationship with his sister, a line of questioning which prompted an objection from the prosecution, according to CBS affiliate WKMG.
After a sidebar, Judge Belvin Perry sustained the objection and the defense asked a few more questions before releasing Cindy from the stand once again.
The defense then called George Anthony, Casey's father, to grill him once more about the abuse allegations made by Casey Anthony against him. Defense attorneys, as they aim to portray the Anthony family as dysfunctional, say Caylee drowned in her grandparents' backyard pool and that Casey's father, George, disposed of the body.
But when they raised the subject of a suicide attempt by George Anthony they very well may have shot themselves in the foot.
After lead defense attorney Jose Baez asked George Anthony about his January 2009 suicide attempt, the prosecution asked about a gun Anthony bought five months before that, prompting the defense to object and Judge Perry to send the jury out of the room.
With the jury out of earshot, George Anthony further explained that he planned to use the gun to try to force his daughter's friends to tell him what happened to Caylee, and said that he wrote in his suicide note about "unanswered questions" and that he chose to kill himself because "I needed at that time to go be with Caylee because I knew I failed her."
Prosecutor Jeff Ashton argued that the statements are valid for the jury because they directly rebutted the defense's drowning theory, since the note showed George Anthony did not know what happened to Caylee, and the note did not mention molesting Casey when she was young, as Baez alleged in his opening statement.
In agreeing to allow the testimony for the jury, Judge Belvin said what many were likely thinking: "It looks to me like someone opened the door and someone is trying to walk through it."
Late in the day, Casey Anthony's defense team seemed to be pointing to the meter reader as the murder suspect in Caylee's death, calling him to the stand for the second time.
Roy Kronk, the former Orange County, Fla. meter reader who discovered the child's remains, was asked by the defense why he changed his story about finding a skull in a bag. Kronk said he was "overwhelmed" by all the police activity.
In earlier testimony Kronk said he never touched the skull but Baez reminded him of a statement he apparently made to the contrary, asking, "Was the first time you mentioned anything about sticking the meter reader in the eye socket July 30, 2010?"
Kronk replied that he had been "overwhelmed" by the police presence and attention and that "if I omitted that statement, it wasn't done intentionally it was just, once again, helicopters flying around me and just really in an overwhelmed type of a state at that time, sir."
Thanks Scotty and Ev for keeping us updated with all the links.
Scotty, I thought Valhall's description of the strange, grief lady was brilliant.
POSTED: 6:02 pm EDT June 29, 2011 Wednesday
UPDATED: 7:27 pm EDT June 29, 2011
After it rests, the state will then present rebuttal evidence and testimony. That process could begin Thursday as well.
Judge Belvin Perry itâs possible closing arguments could take place Saturday or Sunday, meaning the jury would be deliberating on or before July 4.
Anthony's father cried on the witness stand Wednesday as he was questioned about his slain 2-year-old granddaughter, Caylee, and his suicide attempt that followed the discovery of her remains.
â(The defense) made an incredibly bad move when they tried to question George Anthony about his suicide (attempt), and now it looks like the judge is going to allow the suicide not into evidence, which is basically a statement of exoneration,â WESH 2 legal analyst Judge O.H. Eaton said. âI think that was an incredibly bad move.â
Later in the day, Casey Anthony also wiped away tears as a grief expert testified that the reactions to grief vary widely, and that sometimes young mothers who lose their children engage in "risky behavior."
On January 22, 2009, the date of his attempt at suicide by drinking and taking pills, "It just felt like the right time to go and be with Caylee," George Anthony told prosecutor Jeff Ashton, his voice breaking. "... I just decided it was time for me to get away from all this, to spend time with Caylee."
He recalled calling his family members from a Daytona Beach, Florida, hotel room, in an effort to say goodbye, and writing a suicide note for his wife, Cindy Anthony, to read after his death.
Earlier, George Anthony squared off again with his daughter's defense attorney, bristling at questions from Jose Baez.
Casey Anthony, 25, is charged with seven counts, including first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and misleading police, in Caylee's 2008 death. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against her. She has pleaded not guilty.
Anthony's defense team is trying to discredit the prosecution theory that the Orlando woman rendered Caylee unconscious with chloroform, duct-taped her mouth and nose, and stored the body in her car trunk for a few days before dumping it in the woods.
The defense says Caylee accidentally drowned in the family pool and that Anthony and her father panicked and covered it up. George Anthony has denied those claims.
Caylee was last seen June 16, 2008, although she was not reported missing until 31 days later, on July 15. The little girl's skeletal remains were found in December of the same year near the Anthony home.
"My emotional state, even through today -- it is very hard to accept that I don't have a granddaughter anymore," George Anthony told Ashton.
Under Baez's questioning, George Anthony agreed that he told police in a July 24, 2008 statement that his daughter's trunk smelled like human decomposition -- a smell he was familiar with from his own law enforcement experience in Ohio. He testified Wednesday he was 100% sure he had recognized that smell.
He also said he told law enforcement that day that his daughter "lives on the edge," and "takes things as far as she can take them." He acknowledged that, just after Caylee went missing, he told police something had happened to the little girl and that his daughter was lying. Baez attempted to suggest that George Anthony was "throwing (Casey Anthony) under the bus" to police through his statements.
Obviously, George Anthony replied, something had happened to Caylee, as she was missing. "Casey was the last person I saw with Caylee," he said. "One and one adds up to two ... For you to say that I was doing something wrong, sir, you're wrong."
During the month her daughter was missing, numerous prosecution witnesses including Casey Anthony's former boyfriend, acquaintances and friends testified that she was attending parties, nightclubs and shopping, but never mentioned her missing daughter and they noticed nothing different in her demeanor.
Baez said in his opening statement that Casey Anthony behaved as she did because years of sexual abuse by her father had conditioned her to conceal the truth and hide her pain.
George Anthony has denied abusing his daughter, and did so again Wednesday. "I would never do anything like that to my daughter," he said. "... I would never do anything to harm my daughter in that way."
Grief expert Sally Karioth testified Wednesday that people's reactions to grief vary widely. Young people, in particular, are "reluctant grievers," she said, and may engage in "very risky behavior." That could include visiting bars or getting a tattoo, as Casey Anthony did. "They might say nothing has happened."
Denial is one type of coping mechanism, she said, and people can develop "magical thinking" and convince themselves of something else.
"We call it survivor guilt," she said as Casey Anthony wiped tears from her eyes. But, said Karioth, "I've never had a single patient do it exactly like another single patient."
She said for someone who has grown up in a family where there is a "conspiracy of silence -- don't talk, don't feel, don't share" -- it would be likely that someone would not discuss their grief.
Karioth, who has never interviewed Casey Anthony, testified over prosecutors' objections. Under questioning by Ashton, she acknowledged, "I have to say anything could happen when someone has a great grief." She also said she knew nothing about the facts of the case other than it was about a young woman who had lost her daughter.
Asked by Ashton if it would be unusual for a mother to tell no one her child has died and tell different stories about the child's whereabouts for a month -- including telling her parents that she is in another city with the child -- Karioth said, "I would agree that's a young woman in crisis who is unable to figure out how to make things better." Casey Anthony nodded.
When Ashton asked Karioth her thoughts if all those things happened and the mother had killed her child, defense attorney Dorothy Clay Sims objected, saying, "There is no evidence of that."
"I disagree with counsel," Ashton responded, "and that's for the jury to decide." Perry called a sidebar conference and then a recess. Ashton did not continue the line of questioning.
Baez also asked George Anthony about his suicide attempt, suggesting that he had left a note that "expressed some guilt." Ashton objected, saying the document itself should be entered into evidence, but instead Baez withdrew the question.
After hearing arguments from both sides, Perry said he wanted "some time to contemplate and read a few more cases" before deciding whether the suicide note could be introduced into evidence -- something Ashton said he would do after the defense rested. But, Perry ruled, questions about the suicide attempt were fair game for prosecutors.
Baez pointed out to George Anthony that he made negative statements about his daughter to police on July 24, yet visited her the following day in jail and is seen "saying nice things" on video. George Anthony replied that he was cooperating with law enforcement in an effort to find his granddaughter, but was still trying to keep his daughter's spirits up while she was jailed.
Baez attempted to show that George Anthony's statements on the human decomposition odor had been inconsistent. "I could smell it 3 feet away on the passenger side," George Anthony replied. "When I opened up that door, it smelled like decomposition. Human decomposition ... not the garbage that was in it."
The defense has suggested a bag of garbage left in Casey Anthony's trunk for weeks during a hot Florida summer may have been the source of the odor, although a cadaver dog alerted to it and several witnesses have identified it as the odor of human decomposition.
Baez also peppered George Anthony with questions regarding his media appearances, including those in which he advocated his daughter's innocence in his granddaughter's death. "I didn't want to believe back then that my daughter could be capable of taking the life of her daughter," he replied.
MORE: Extended Coverage As her father testified, Casey Anthony scribbled notes and occasionally shook her head angrily or whispered to her attorneys. No expression was visible on her face as she watched her father cry on the witness stand.
After lunch, Baez asked George Anthony whether the suicide attempt came because "the pressure was getting to you ... you knew you were being investigated." George Anthony answered that a lot of people were investigated in connection with the case, not just him, and maintained it was a "tumultuous time in my life," along with that of his wife, son and others.
Following George Anthony to the stand was Brandon Sparks, son of former Orange County meter reader Roy Kronk. The elder Kronk found Caylee's remains December 11, 2008. Sparks testified that his father, in a November phone call, told him he had found the remains, but Sparks said he did not realize the significance of that until December 11. His father also told him he was going to be rich and famous, Sparks said.
The defense claims Kronk found the remains months earlier. In his opening statement, Baez called Kronk "a morally bankrupt person who took Caylee's body and hid it ... he thought he had a lottery ticket. ... He can't be ignored in this."
Kronk denies Baez's allegations, according to his attorney, David Evans. Testifying Tuesday, Kronk denied the phone call with his son occurred, saying Sparks was mistaken.
Also called were two officers, including Orange County Detective Yuri Melich, the lead investigator on the case, both of whom testified Kronk did not tell them on December 11 he had called law enforcement several times in August in an attempt to report seeing something in the same wooded area.
Kronk said Tuesday he dropped those efforts after a deputy responded to the scene and "chewed me out," saying he was wasting the county's time. Melich said he found out Kronk had called previously a few days later, on December 17.
Earlier, Casey Anthony spoke in court for the first time, outside the presence of the jury as Perry heard arguments on a defense motion requesting that he declare Florida's death penalty law unconstitutional in light of a recent federal court decision. Perry said he would rule on the motion later.
The judge asked defense attorney Ann Finnell, who argued the motion by telephone, whether she had consulted with Anthony and if she agreed with the motion. Finnell said she had not, but believed Baez and defense attorney J. Cheney Mason had. Neither Baez nor Mason was present for the arguments Wednesday, and Perry asked Anthony if she wanted to answer the question or wait for them to arrive.
"I can answer that now," Casey Anthony said, getting to her feet as she spoke to Perry. "I agree with Ms. Finnell."
Testimony resumes 9 a.m. Thursday. The defense may call River Cruz, a woman who once claimed an affair with George Anthony. She was spotted at the courthouse Wednesday waiting to be called, but was sent home. George has denied the accusations.
Read more: http://www.wesh.com/casey-anth...l.html#ixzz1QmIJB3sy
POSTED: 6:07 am EDT June 30, 2011 Thursday
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Casey Anthony's defense attorneys will likely rest their case in her murder trial on Thursday.
Before prosecutors begin their rebuttal, however, another much-talked-about witness is expected to take the witness stand.
Krystal Holloway, who also goes by the name River Cruz, may be called to testify on Thursday. Holloway claimed she and George Anthony carried on an affair while Caylee Anthony was still considered missing.
On Tuesday, George Anthony took the stand and testified that he never had a romantic relationship with Holloway.
George Anthony said Holloway was a search volunteer who helped look for his granddaughter and became a friend. He said many of the searchers became family friends, but nothing more.
George Anthony was again called to the stand Wednesday. Lead defense attorney Jose Baez asked about George's suicide attempt and then objected when prosecutors asked him about the note he planned to leave in a Daytona Beach motel room. â(The defense) made an incredibly bad move when they tried to question George Anthony about his suicide (attempt), and now it looks like the judge is going to allow the suicide not into evidence, which is basically a statement of exoneration,â WESH 2 legal analyst Judge O.H. Eaton said. âI think that was an incredibly bad move.â
Testimony will continue in the case on Thursday morning.
Read more: http://www.wesh.com/casey-anth...l.html#ixzz1QmIrTwru
POSTED: 12:08 pm EDT June 30, 2011 Thursday
UPDATED: 12:20 pm EDT June 30, 2011
Casey Anthony's attorneys called her parents, George and Cindy, to testify again Thursday. They were asked about how they had buried various family pets that died.
On Wednesday, George Anthony cried when telling jurors about his suicide attempt some six weeks after his granddaughter's body was found. In a suicide note, he said he wanted to kill himself because he had unanswered questions about what happened to Caylee.
The note never alluded to knowing what caused her death.
Casey Anthony's attorneys contend that Caylee accidentally drowned in her grandparents' pool, and that George Anthony helped cover it up. He has denied this theory.
Read more: http://www.wesh.com/casey-anth...l.html#ixzz1QmJEyVMR
Tune in to HLN's "Nancy Grace" at 8 p.m ET for live reports from Florida on the Casey Anthony trial. Also follow the action on theCasey Anthony trial page.
(CNN) -- Casey Anthony's former fiance testified outside the presence of jurors in her capital murder trial Tuesday, saying she once told him her brother Lee Anthony had groped her while she was sleeping.
Jesse Grund said he had a conversation with Casey Anthony about her brother in 2005, as he noticed Lee was "standoffish" and "sullen" and wanted to know why.
He said Casey Anthony told him she did not want her then-newborn daughter Caylee around her brother, adding that "at one point in recent years," she had awakened to find her brother standing over her staring at her, and that on another occasion he was groping her.
He said he did not want to hear more, and believed her. "Anything that Casey said, I took as truth and fact," he testified.
The state objected to Grund's testimony, saying it was hearsay and is not admissible.
Defense attorney Jose Baez told Orange County Chief Judge Belvin Perry Jr. the defense may have additional arguments on Wednesday morning, so Perry did not immediately rule on whether Grund can testify before the jury.
<cite class="expCaption">Anthony meter reader takes stand</cite>
<cite class="expCaption">Trunk odor: Dead body or trash?</cite>
<cite class="expCaption">Anthony trial proceeds after delay</cite>
<cite class="expCaption">Judge rules Casey Anthony competent</cite>Casey Anthony, 25, is charged with seven counts, including first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and misleading police, in 2-year-old Caylee's 2008 death. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against her.
Anthony's defense team is trying to discredit the prosecution theory that the Orlando woman rendered Caylee unconscious with chloroform, duct-taped her mouth and nose, and stored the body in her car trunk for a few days before dumping it in the woods
What are Casey Anthony's Jurors thinking?
Video footage.
Video footage, George Anythony's alleged Mistress River Cruz/Krystal Holloway takes the stand today. This link also follows on with River Cruz on the stand, highlights, and then Roy Kronk's son Brandon Sparks testifies in court his father knew where Caylee Anthony's remains were.
A good link to www.caseyanthonymurdertrial.com > http://www.myfoxorlando.com/su...ex/news/anthony_case
Photos from day 32 of testimony in the Casey Anthony trial, June 30, 2011.
Photos from day 31 of testimony in the Casey Anthony trial, June 29, 2011.
Photos from day 30 of testimony in the Casey Anthony trial, June 28, 2011.
Photos from day 29 of testimony in the Casey Anthony trial, June 27, 2011.
Photos from day 28 of testimony in the Casey Anthony trial, June 25, 2011.
Cindy Anthony testifies May 28-31 and June 14, 23, 24 and 28, 2011. All videos
George Anthony testimony, May 24-27, and June 28, 29, and 30, 2011. All videos
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The parents and brother of Casey Anthony returned to the witness stand Thursday to answer questions about how the family buried pets, as Anthony's attorneys
Casey Anthony's father wrote in a suicide note that he had unanswered questions about what happened to his granddaughter.
The meter reader who found Caylee Anthony's remains is being questioned at the murder trial of the toddler's mother.
A judge ruled Monday that Casey Anthony is competent to remain on trial for murder in the death of her 2-year-old daughter after her own lawyers questioned her
Without any testimony and no explanation, Judge Belvin Perry recessed the Casey Anthony trial for the day on Saturday morning. The trial in in recess until
Lee Anthony started crying on the witness stand when he recalled
how he didn't go to the hospital for his niece's birth.
Casey Anthony's mother, Cindy, testified Thursday that she had used a computer at the family's Orlando home to do searches about chloroform.
The Casey Anthony case is once again being featured in People Magazine. The case is on the cover of the July 4, 2011 issue.
A chemist who collected and tested air samples from the trunk of Casey Anthony's car testified Wednesday that he couldn't say for sure there was ever a body
A forensic botanist testified that 2-year-old Caylee Anthony's remains could have been in the woods for as little as two weeks before they were discovered in
Thanks Scotty and Ev for keeping us updated with all the links.
Scotty, I thought Valhall's description of the strange, grief lady was brilliant.
Thanks Yogi and Scotty 
Then the timetable as follows : rebuttal case by state. Closing arguments by defense then state. Charge jury. Verdict (or no verdict and hung jury)
UPDATED: 1:41 pm EDT June 30, 2011
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Casey Anthony's defense rested its case Thursday.
Anthony's defense called numerous witnesses to the stand over 13 days of court proceedings, including members of Anthony's family, investigators and forensic experts.
Anthony is charged with first-degree murder in connection with 2-year-old Caylee Anthony's death, but the defense claimed in opening statements that the young girl's death was not murder but rather an accident.
Anthony told Perry Thursday she decided not to testify.
Defense attorney Jose Baez told the jury May 24 that Caylee drowned in an above-ground swimming pool in the back yard of the Anthony family home on June 16, 2008. He said George Anthony knew about the incident.
Baez said Anthony shouldn't have been charged with murder or even manslaughter.
During his two-hour presentation, Baez offered shoddy police work and a dysfunctional family as reasons for Anthony's charges and the lack of a report to authorities for a month.
On the 27th day of the trial, the defense showed jurors a series of photos of Caylee in and around the pool.
On the stand, Cindy testified Caylee was able to open a sliding glass door that led to the backyard pool.
She testified that she saw the pool ladder had been left down on June 16, 2008. Prosecutor Linda Drane Burdick pointed out that Cindy had changed her testimony on that subject in prior testimony and depositions.
The defense had significant trouble introducing evidence of molestation by family members and also explaining Casey's reaction since her daughter's disappearance, as it explained to jurors in its opening statement.
George Anthony repeatedly said in testimony during the trial he never molested his daughter, as Baez claimed on May 24.
The defense never asked Lee, Casey's brother, about molestation.
Defense attorneys wanted to call Anthony's ex-fiancee, Jesse Grund, to the stand, but his testimony was not permitted by Judge Belvin Perry.
Grund testified outside the presence of the jury that Anthony told him once that Lee had groped her in her sleep.
The defense did ask George about his suicide attempt in 2009, opening the door for prosecutors to introduce his suicide note.
â(The defense) made an incredibly bad move when they tried to question George Anthony about his suicide (attempt), and now it looks like the judge is going to allow the suicide not into evidence, which is basically a statement of exoneration,â WESH 2 legal analyst Judge O.H. Eaton said. âI think that was an incredibly bad move.â
Several other defense witnesses were not allowed to testify at all after Perry deemed their testimony irrelevant. Those included two FBI agents as well as two employees at the Orange County jail.
The defense did call Roy Kronk, the man who found the remains off of Surburban Drive.
In its opening statement, the defense said Kronk was a "morally bankrupt" individual. Defense attorneys claimed Kronk moved the remains to cash in on a reward.
Kronk maintains he had no involvement with Caylee's death and disappearance and only happened upon the body as he was going about his meter-reading route.
âThereâs nothing that Roy Kronk did that cast him in the light of the opening statement,â said veteran prosecutor and defense attorney Jeff Deen, who provides legal analysis for WESH 2 News.
The defense did present expert testimony in attempt to poke holes in the state's circumstantial evidence.
Dr. Werner Spitz testified that an autopsy done on Caylee's remains was shoddy.
Forensic chemist Dr. Kenneth Furton told the jury that a smell coming from Anthony's car could have been caused by scenarios other than human decomposition. Numerous state witnesses testified that the trunk smelled distinctly like death.
The defense also presented evidence of DNA contamination by an FBI lab analyst on duct tape.
Prosecutors allege Anthony knocked out her daughter with chloroform and then used duct tape to cover Caylee's nose and mouth, suffocating her.
They claim Anthony drove around for several days with her daughter's body in the trunk of her car, and then dumped the remains off Suburban Drive.
Prosecutors claim a Google search of "how to make chloroform" three months before Caylee's disappearance goes to pre-meditation, a necessity for first-degree murder.
The state claimed Casey was the only one who could have had access to the computer at the time of the search, but when the defense called Cindy to the stand, she told jurors she was actually home that day. She said her time card did not accurately reflect her hours.
Prosecutors are now expected to present up to a day of rebuttal evidence and testimony in the case.
In recent days, the prosecution added two witnesses from Gentiva, Cindy's former employer. The witnesses may be used to prove Cindy's whereabouts.
Prior to deliberations, Perry will give the 17 sequestered jurors instructions. Five of the 17 are alternates and will not participate in deliberations.
Anthony faces seven charges in all. On the first-degree murder charge, jurors will have four choices: first-degree murder, second-degree murder, aggravated manslaughter and manslaughter.
"If the jury cannot agree on any of these, a mistrial will be declared as to that count," said WESH 2 legal analyst Judge O.H. Eaton Jr.
If the jury finds Anthony guilty of first-degree murder, the only possible sentences are life in prison without parole or the death penalty.
Read more: http://www.wesh.com/casey-anth...l.html#ixzz1QmjssaV4
What happens after Casey Anthony's defense team wraps up?
Rebuttal After the defense finishes itsâ case the prosecutors may have the opportunity to present a brief rebuttal case. The state does not have to put a rebuttal case on, and in most cases it does not. Nor does the judge have to allow a rebuttal phase. A rebuttal case, is where the state has the opportunity to present evidence which it did not present before which rebuts the defenseâs evidence.
If the prosecutor is allowed to offer evidence to rebut the defense case, the defense may be allowed to present surrebuttal. During Surrebuttal the defense would be allowed to present limited evidence which goes only to refuting the evidence the state just presented in the rebuttal portion of the case. Whether a defendant is allowed to present evidence in surrebuttal is discretionary with the court. It is rare surrebuttal is attempted.
Once all evidence has been presented the defense will renew its motion for judgment of acquittal:
The standard in a judgment of acquittal is whether when the judge views the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, he believes a rational trier of fact could find the existence of the each of the elements of each crime charged beyond a reasonable doubt. If so he should deny the motion to acquit. If any of the elements of each charge is not proven he should dismiss that charge. sufficient evidence exists to sustain a convict. However, in a case like the Anthony case, if the State's evidence is wholly circumstantial, not only must there be sufficient evidence establishing each element of the offense, but the evidence must also exclude each reasonable hypothesis of innocence. âThe evidence must âlead âto a reasonable and moral certainty that the accused and no one else committed the offense charged. It is not sufficient that the facts create a strong probability of, and be consistent with, guilt. They must be inconsistent with innocence.â"
If the state has not met its burden as to each element the judge should dismiss the charge.
If the court grants a judgment of acquittal as to any single count. That count is dismissed. All remaining charges will go to the jury for decision.
The Jury is responsible for applying the evidence to the law and deciding whether the Ms. Anthony should be found guilty of each charge. The law is explained to the jury by the judge reading and then providing a set of jury instructions to the jury. In Florida there is a set of Standard Jury instructions which is prepared by a committee of The Florida Bar, and approved by the Florida Supreme Court. During the Charging Conference the judge will decide which jury instructions are going to be read to the jury. In deciding the applicable jury instructions the judge will hear arguments from attorneys outside the presence of the jury.
After the jury instructions are read to the jury, one attorney for each side will be allowed to stand up and make a closing argument. In the closing argument each side attempts to explain the evidence in the manner most advantageous to their client. The state gets to give its closing argument first, followed by the defense. After the defense gives its closing argument the state gets one more chance to stand up, and rebut the argument the defense just provided. The rebuttal closing is supposed to cover only the argument the defense provided and not rehash the stateâs entire argument. Lawyerâs refer to the order of the argument as the state having the âsandwichâ because the state gets to wrap its arguments around the defenseâs argument.
After both parties finish their closing argument the judge will read the jury instructions agreed upon at the charging conference to the jury. Each juror will also be given a copy of the instructions.
Once the jury is instructed on the law, the judge allows the permanent jurors to go back to the jury room. All alternate jurors will either be dismissed or the judge will keep them separate from the 12 permanent jurors while the permanent jurors deliberate. The judge will most likely dismiss the alternate jurors. The jurors do not know which jurors are alternates until the judge separates them as the permanent jurors retire to deliberate.
All of the evidence introduced in the case is allowed to go back into the jury room with the jury so they can review it if they wish. Once they enter the jury room the first job of the jury is to select a foreman. The Foreman is similar to a chairman of a committee, her or his vote does not count anymore than any other juror but the foreman is in charge of organizing and chairing the deliberations. The jury will remain in the jury room deciding the case, until one of two things happen as to all charges. All 12 jurors reach a verdict on each count, or they determine they cannot reach a verdict on each count, after deliberating and trying their best. A verdict can be either guilty or not guilty. The jury is not responsible for determining whether Ms. Anthony is guilty. The jury may reach a verdict on some counts or charges and not reach a verdict on others. On any count the jury cannot reach a unanimous verdict, the jury is said to be âhungâ on that count and a mistrial will be granted as to that county.
A. If Ms. Anthony Is Found Guilty of First Degree Murder: There will be an additional phase of presentation of evidence. This phase is called the penalty phase. In the penalty phase each side will attempt to persuade the jury to vote for or against the death penalty. Unlike the guilt phase of the trial the vote on the death penalty does not have to be unanimous. Each juror casts a single vote.
During the penalty phase the state will present evidence and argument on what is referred to as âaggravators.â Aggravators are reasons which Florida law allows a jury to determine that the facts of the case are so bad that Ms. Anthony should receive the death penalty. The death penalty in Florida is not to be imposed in all First Degree Murders. Instead it is only to be imposed in the worst of the worst First Degree Murders. The aggravators only include the reasons included in the Florida Death Penalty Statute.
During the penalty phase the defense will present evidence and argument on what is referred to as âmitigators.â Mitigators are not limited by statute and are basically anything which might convince a jury that death is not an appropriate sentence. Just a few of the mitigators in this case may be that, Casey Anthony was normally a good and loving mother, Casey Anthony has never been violent before, Casey Anthony has been a model prisoner, etc.
After the evidence is presented in the penalty phase each side will have the chance to argue whether the death penalty should be imposed. After the argument the jury retires to the jury room again, and decides whether they will recommend to the judge that Ms. Anthony be sentenced to death. Again the jury does not have to agree and the penalty phase verdict is reported out by how many voted for death and how many voted against. If more than six vote for death there will be a sentencing hearing at a later date at which both sides can again to the judge alone whether he should impose the death penalty. While the judge has to consider the juryâs recommendation on the sentence, the judge is the one who decides to impose death.
B. Ms. Anthony is found not guilty of First Degree Murder: If Ms. Anthony is found not guilty of first degree murder there will not be a penalty phase. Instead the judge will determine the appropriate sentence just as he does in any other criminal case. The sentence may be imposed just after the verdict is returned or the judge may schedule a sentencing hearing for some time in the future.
Casey Anthony in the courtroom with her attorney Jose Baez before the start of court in her murder trial at the Orange County Courthouse in Orlando, Fla. on Thursday, June 30, 2011.The prosecution has only a handful of other witnesses to call a day after Casey Anthony's defense rested in her murder trial without calling her to testify.
The prosecution plans to use its rebuttal case Friday to attack testimony offered by Casey's mother about computer searches she claims she made months before her 2-year-old granddaughter, Caylee, disappeared.
Judge Belvin Perry ruled that electronic time card information from Cindy Anthony's employer can be introduced by the state to rebut testimony she made earlier. Cindy Anthony previously testified that searches made in March 2008 for "chloroform" and "how to make chloroform" were made by her and not Casey Anthony as the prosecution contends.
Closing arguments could begin as soon as Saturday morning.
POSTED: 9:27 am EDT July 1, 2011
UPDATED: 10:34 am EDT July 1, 2011
But those witnesses will have to wait as Judge Belvin Perry has ordered an indefinite recess to allow for depositions to be taken by the defense.
Lead defense attorney Jose Baez said the state had failed to disclose all the information a computer expert and forensic anthropologist planned to testify to.
Court is expected to resume later Friday with Perry already saying he will deny any request during the state's rebuttal case to allow jurors to sniff cans containing what prosecution witnesses have testified is the smell of human decomposition.
Prosecutors contend the 25-year-old Anthony suffocated her 2-year-old daughter Caylee in the summer of 2008, and at some point, put the child in the trunk of her car.
Anthony is charged with first-degree murder and could be sentenced to death, if convicted.
Perry said jurors could hear closing arguments from both sides on Saturday, and following instructions, he would send them out to begin deliberations later that evening.
But the latest delay in the case could push that plan back
Read more: http://www.wesh.com/casey-anth...l.html#ixzz1QsLDU75B
POSTED: 9:15 am EDT July 3, 2011
UPDATED: 11:14 am EDT July 3, 2011
ORLANDO, Fla. -- There's no evidence Casey Anthony was ever molested by her father or her brother, Judge Belvin Perry said Sunday morning.
Perry ruled that the defense would not be able to talk about any molestation allegations during his closing because evidence was not adequately presented during the trial.
The defense claimed in opening statements that Caylee Anthony drowned in an above-ground swimming pool in the back yard of the family home. Perry said the defense will be able to talk about the drowning theory in its closing.
A medical examiner never determined precisely how Caylee died.
Closings begin and end with the prosecution. Watch live coverage on WESH.com and WESH-TV.
"It's going to be a long day, and it's going to be an emotional day," said Orlando criminal defense attorney and WESH legal analyst Richard Hornsby.
Casey Anthony has pleaded not guilty to a charge of first-degree murder. She could face a possible death sentence or life in prison if convicted of that charge
Read more: http://www.wesh.com/casey-anth...l.html#ixzz1R3ienGJM
POSTED: 2:14 pm EDT July 1, 2011
UPDATED: 2:29 pm EDT July 1, 2011
POSTED: 8:20 am EDT July 3, 2011
UPDATED: 12:27 pm EDT July 3, 2011
Prosecutor Jeff Ashton told the jury that Anthony killed her 2-year-old daughter Caylee because she found it difficult to be a parent.
The 25-year-old Anthony is charged with murdering her daughter three years ago and dumping the body in woods near her parents' Orlando home. If convicted of first-degree murder, Anthony could get the death penalty.
Prosecutors contend that Caylee was suffocated by three pieces of duct tape place over her face in June 2008. They said Anthony killed her because the child prevented her from partying and spending time with her boyfriend.
Anthony broke down crying as prosecutors called her a liar who murdered Caylee. She sat unemotional during the first 45 minutes of prosecutor Jeff Ashton's closing argument Sunday, but she then closed her eyes and rested her chin on her fist.
Anthony began weeping silently when Ashton called her claim that Caylee drowned and that Anthony's father made the death look like a murder a lie that makes no sense.
Anthony's attorneys said prosecutors tried to make their client look like a promiscuous liar because the evidence that she murdered her 2-year-old daughter Caylee is weak.
Attorney Jose Baez told the jury that there are more questions than answers in the prosecution's case, including the biggest: How did Caylee die?
The defense said the child drowned in the family's pool and that Anthony then panicked. They said her father threw the body in some nearby woods. Her father denies that.
Read more: http://www.wesh.com/casey-anth...l.html#ixzz1R3qO2Shi
So what happens if Casey Anthony is convicted of the murder of her daughter? The answer to that depends on whether the jury by a majority vote recommends the death penalty and the judge agrees. Technically, the judge has the last word but he is supposed to give great strength to the jury's recommendation. In the the 1970's, the Supreme Court ruled that Capital Punishment, or the death penalty is only constitutional if it is carried out with certain protections. Florida has some of the most broad death penalty laws in the country. Any first degree murder, some drug-trafficking offenses, and some rapes, even without the death of the victim, can result in the death penalty for defendants.
In California, there must be a death accompanied by one of the enhancements listed in the statute. A few of these enhancements are killing for profit or greed, lying in wait, torture, and killing a police officer as well as a few more. These are called Special Circumstances.
Casey Anthony is charged with first degree murder, as mentioned above any first degree murder can result in the death penalty in Florida as long as the prosecution notifies the defense that they intend to seek the death penalty and the jury deliberates the issue of guilt separate from the issue of punishment. In other words, the jury does not hear mitigation evidence.
Capital trials are kind of like two separate trials. The first trial is to determine if the defendant is guilty of the charged crime. If the jury returns a unanimous verdict of guilt, then another trial is done. The next phase does not require that all of the jurors agree, rather as long as a majority of jurors agree, their finding will stand.
The second trial focuses on what the punishment should be. In the second trial the jury will hear about mitigating evidence, such as the defendant was abused as a child or has some mental disease that did not reach the level of insanity. The idea is the jury should consider it before choosing the death penalty and deciding if this crime was particularly heinous. This two step or bifurcated process was implemented because much of what will be presented in the second trial may prejudice the jury regarding the issue of guilt.
In the Casey Anthony trial, lets say she is convicted in the first stage. The defense team may want to introduce evidence from a psychologist that says Casey has a personality disorder that makes it difficult for her to be mature and selfless. Obviously the defense team would not want that evidence to be provided to the jury before guilt is determined, but afterwards they may want to argue that she isn't evil, she just has the personal disorder and therefore she should not be sentenced to death.
Florida has a number of findings, that if the jury found true could be the basis for a recommendation of the death penalty. The victim of the capital felony was under the age of twelve or the capital crime was committed in a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner without any pretense of moral or legal justification.
I wish I had better news for Casey Anthony, but Florida has a dismal record with the death penalty. Florida accounts for the highest number of exoneration of death row inmates. Twenty three people who had been sentenced to death have been later found to be totally innocent and set free from death row. And it is a large death row, 399 people in Florida are on death row.
Excluding Illinois, with it's horrendous record of death penalty convictions and exoneration's, Florida has the highest rate of error when you compare exoneration's and executions, with a approximately 33 percent rate of exoneration. Most states fall in the 2-10% range. Although the relationship between these two data sets can be affected by low execution rate, for example California has a lot of people sentenced to death with only a few executions, as a result their exoneration rate is slightly skewed to look like a high error rate.
If the jury finds Casey Anthony guilty of first degree murder, but the majority of jurors does not recommend the death penalty, or find true the special circumstances, then Casey Anthony will be sentenced to life in prison.
Judge about to smack down Ashton for laughing! Attorneys leave to look at tape.
Perry ="Maybe I am misinformed when I think you all will follow the law."
Accusations throughout the trial. I assume you are all professionals.
Ashton steps up to the podium and says he trusts the judge's decisions and doesn't need to see it
There will be no deliberations and no verdict today. Judge will instruct the jury in the morning.
Ashton claims he was appearing to be smiling behind his hand. I was not laughing he said. I was not nodding.
Perry: if it happens again, he will REMOVE Ashton from the case. Wow!
Baez brings up how Anthony family buried pets. He calls it unusual or odd.
Baez says he isn't suggesting George killed Caylee. He says no evidence of murder. Calls it "accident that snowballed out of control."
"One thing you can see in GeorgeAnthony. This man does not have an ounce of paternal instinct."
George cares about George and no one else. He thought it was funny to spar with me.
George Anthony's displays of affection are not very genuine
Baez puts up picture of Krystal Holloway. she doesn't have a tumor. There's no brain tumor he says!! As george claims.
George was going to her apartment to console her for about fantasy tumour.
he should have bee nat home consoling his wife!! Baez gets very theatrical.cindyanthony needed consoling not Holloway!!!! he raises his voice.
"George cares about George." Baez says he doesn't care about anyone else. Grabs suicide note calls it "self serving."
If he was going to kill himself he would have done, all he had was blood pressure tablets and beer, thats not going to kill someone.
He wasnt going to try to kill himself. it was a self serving motive.
Continuing the live feed from the defence's closing statement
George Anthony doesn't write Cindy Anthony"I need you in my life," as he wrote to alleged mistress.
Casey Anthony was raised to lie. "Is it a surprise she turned out this way?"
Baez says if cops would have just looked around they would have seen there was more going on- a reason for the lies.
Baez: Caylee found with no socks or shoes. She was at home when she died.
Baez: "Things just don't make sense." "Reasonable doubt lives here."
Baez says the shorts she was wearing were too small
If the duct tape was around her face the way the state claimed why wasnt their any dna on it?
on the sticky side or the marker side.
If Caylee had decomposed on that duct tape their would have been DNA on that duct tape, duct tape is one of the best ways of getting this type of evidence and fingerprints.
The jury is still with Jose Baez. They have done an amazing job paying attention.
slams chloroform, air tests, drug tests, hair decomp, etc
all came back negative.
Casey is dumb enough to leave her child a few feet from her home, but smart enough to get rid of dna? no that doesnt add up
(I like that bit)
Baez is listing what wasn't there in state's case - no discoloration in skull, no DNA on tape, no prior injuries. No cause of death.
It only adds up to one thing, it was an accident.
It was an accident, George did it, Kronk moved it...every cop told lies, every state witness told lies, although there is only one proven liar Ev....god he's the ethics of a snake
Baez puts pictures on board, puts pic of Roy Kronk and says the state didn't even call him.
Baez is now telling Jurors Kronk lied on the stand just like George and Cindy.
About the skull being in the bad then not being in the bag.
Baez: We are going to ask you to render a verdict of not guilty. Charges not proven. Simply not proven.Baez is wrapping up. Asks them to render not guilty verdict because guilt wasn't proven.
Baez is done. 10-min stretch break then Cheney Mason finishes up with letting jurors know about the sentencing, what each verdict means.
It was an accident, George did it, Kronk moved it...every cop told lies, every state witness told lies, although there is only one proven liar Ev....god he's the ethics of a snake
lol Baez has, but he did ok in defence terms only
No Cindy lied under oath, George probably did as well about the affair , but not the lies in the way Casey has though.
Cindy lied to try and save her daughter from the electric chair...George lying? I'm not sure, I think the women that said she had an affair isn't to be trusted either by all accounts Ev. I still do not think Casey was sexually abused and Baez's character assignations have really been despicable
based on what Casey said 
Cindy lied to try and save her daughter from the electric chair...George lying? I'm not sure, I think the women that said she had an affair isn't to be trusted either by all accounts Ev. I still do not thunk Casey was sexually abused and Baez's character assignations have really been despicable based on what Casey said
We can never be sure, so much that is not proven and unfortunately will never be.
True Ev, George would be better taking a lie detector test after this is over, about the sexual abuse bit, I am sure I would if I was in his shoes and innocent 
Mason philosophizes.
True Ev, George would be better taking a lie detector test after this is over, about the sexual abuse bit, I am sure I would if I was in his shoes and innocent
The court was in tears today at the summing up, but George was just emotionless.
He did get upset when it was too do with him though, 9when o nthe stand) i just see his daughter being me me me the way her father is. Just my opinion.
Still it must be terrible to hear a defence say you were involved when you may not have been.
I think he is a tough nut, but he is an ex cop....when he did get upset I think he'd just had enough and that's why he did the hand signs walking of the stand...but as you say we are sitting here second guessing and we'll never know.
I think maybe the prosecution will rip all Baez's points to shreds when thye get to have the last word Ev
I'm dying to know how the jury are thinking, how they will put the verdict, and as well their interviews afterwards.
I'm dying to know how the jury are thinking, how they will put the verdict, and as well their interviews afterwards.
So am I, Ev and I'll admit to feeling a wee bit nervous.
Hi Dame.
I'm dying to know how the jury are thinking, how they will put the verdict, and as well their interviews afterwards.
So am I, Ev and I'll admit to feeling a wee bit nervous.
Hi Dame.
Yogiiii
It won't be too long now Yogi. Then i can get back to doing what i do best
*don't ask* 
I'm dying to know how the jury are thinking, how they will put the verdict, and as well their interviews afterwards.
So am I, Ev and I'll admit to feeling a wee bit nervous.
Hi Dame.
Yogi 
Me too.... because of the lack of physical evidence
Mason tells jury tomorrow morning they will be charged the case.
Mason says Casey Anthony doesn't have to prove a thing.
Mason says you can get caught up in emotional rhetoric... And other things but must remember #CaseyAnthony doesn't have to prove anything.
Says never forget state has the burden of proof. Tells them to remember that while back in media room.
mason said Casey Anthony exercised a fundamental right not to testify. Should not be held against her.
Tells jury NOT to view casey Anthony not taking stand as an admission of guilt.
Waffles on a bit more 
about how he never hear nor read any evidence of child abuse. He explained he reads off a screen because he is hard of hearing
I'm dying to know how the jury are thinking, how they will put the verdict, and as well their interviews afterwards.
So am I, Ev and I'll admit to feeling a wee bit nervous.
Hi Dame.
Yogi
Me too.... because of the lack of physical evidence
There is a large amount of circumstantial evidence and I am certain Casey was responsible for Caylee's death, but I'm not sure the jury will convict her of murder in the 1st Degree.
Me too.... because of the lack of physical evidence
There is a large amount of circumstantial evidence and I am certain Casey was responsible for Caylee's death, but I'm not sure the jury will convict her of murder in the 1st Degree.
Me too Yogi, but I wouldn't want someone getting teh death penalty with the proof they have in front of them....
I think it would be an injustice if she walks away though
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