Casey Anthony Trial Starts Jury Selection

[Dave]

After 3 years, the trial of Casey Anthony, a Florida mom accused of killing her then 2 year old daughter, is finally coming to a Florida court. I'm a bit surprised that its taken so long for the trail to come about as it seems most cases move through the courts within a year... 3 years is a rarity I'm thinking. I generally don't like to assume guilt on anyone without seeing at least some of the official evidence and this case is no exception. There has been plenty of what is believed to be evidence that has made its way out into the media but until its in a court of law, its nothing and she is innocent until proven guilty. That said, IF what has been said is true, I would have to say that things are not going to turn out well for Casey.

 

 

(Reuters) - Lawyers in the Casey Anthony murder trial began searching on Monday in Pinellas County on Florida's Gulf Coast for 20 people who could move for eight weeks to a hotel in Orlando, 100 miles from home, to serve on the jury.

 

Anthony, 25, of Orlando, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her 2-year-old daughter Caylee whose grandmother reported her missing in July 2008.

 

A jury is being picked in Pinellas County in hope of finding people who haven't become biased by saturation media coverage of the case in Orlando.

 

At the end of the day, 45 people out of the first 66 questioned were sent home after convincing Judge Belvin Perry the lengthy jury duty would be too much of a hardship.

Many prospective jurors said they could not afford to serve because their employers would stop paying them. Small business owners said their businesses might fail. Single parents said they had no one to look after their children. Middle-aged children said they had no one to look after elderly parents.

Perry said he hopes to pick and be ready to transport a total of 12 jurors and eight alternates to Orlando on Monday next week in time for opening statements by the lawyers on Tuesday.

Although the day was devoted to jury selection, it began and ended with lawyers battling over a key piece of evidence -- an analysis of odor captured from Casey's car trunk and analyzed by experts at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. Questions still remained over the issue at the end of the session.

Perry issued a ruling that prosecutors would be allowed to admit evidence that compounds were found in the air sample consistent with the early stages of decay of a human body.

But just before adjourning for the day, Perry warned that he was re-thinking that decision after defense lawyer Jose Baez complained that the defense had never received the details of the study -- a database of some 468 chemical compounds identified in a long-term study of human decomposition -- on which the air analysis was based.

Baez told the judge he had been rebuffed by lawyers for the Oak Ridge expert who said the information is proprietary and belongs to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Prosecutor Jeffrey Ashton argued Baez long ago should have taken further action to get the database from the FBI or via other avenues.

Perry said he was deeply concerned about the ramifications of going forward with the evidence without allowing the defense access to the database.

"It might come back to bite, and to bite in the form of a very significant appellate issue," Perry said. He said he had assigned two staff lawyers to study the issue and planned to research it himself on Monday night.

"I have no plans to do this (trial) again, and if I'm going to err, I'm going to err on the side of caution," Perry said.

Jury selection continues Tuesday at 8:30 a.m.

(Editing by Jerry Norton)

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/10/us-crime-florida-anthony-...

[AQUAMAN]

It's going to be nearly impossible to find a jury that's unbiased in this case. Newscasts have harped on this case for about three years now, only some tourist in Fl. may be unaware of the case details. Anyone else living there is certainly biased by now, giving Casey a poor chance of even having a fair trial, but, from all the evidence so far, no one thinks she deserves one either.

[XLFD]

Truth.  For the longest time whenever I flipped past CNN it seemed that Nancy Grace was harping on aspects of this case.   

However, I sincerely think she deserves a fair trial without all the sensationalism-- anyone who gets so piled on and found guilty by the media deserve no less.

[Lisa O'Brien]

I absolutely HATE the sound of that woman's (Nancy Grace)voice, as far as Casey I do not think it's possible for her to get a fair trial - but in my opinion she is completely guilty. Who goes bar hopping when they can not find their child ?

[RedStormRizing]

hi Aqua... I don't think it will be too difficult to find unbiased people. They're not looking for people who haven't heard anything about the case... THAT would be impossible with all of the media hype.... but, as Dave originally said, innocent until proven guilty. Personally, I think IF she did everything that the news media claims, then she is a monster & no punishment would be severe enough.... but I could stand on that jury, & I believe my hubby could as well, since we would want to hear all evidence before rendering an absolute verdict of guilt or innocence.

It seemed that most of the people dismissed were for hardship of not being able to stay secluded for 2 months (or more). I think it would take a while to find 12 jurors that would be unbiased enough to serve, but not impossible. It depends on how much one allows the media to sway what they think. I think the media itself is too biased to decide for me ;)

[Dave]

Its definitely going to be a tough time trying to find a jury for the trial. Apparently the Judge dismissed 50 people because it was discovered one of the potential jurors was actually on the search team and was a witness even in the case, the person was apparently discussing the case with everyone too. Almost got to wonder if they wont go for a extreme move and move the trial further then they have, even out of state if that's possible.

[AQUAMAN]

Changing the venue of the trial is one thing within the state, but to another state? Nope. The fact that her 2 year old daughter was missing for days while she went about her life partying and staying out all times of night during this missing person scenario, bespeaks of a very tormented and devious mindset that most in Fl. are aware of now for some time. Not good for Casey at all, as well it shouldn't be.

[Lisa O'Brien]

Days??? - it was about a month. My children are in there 20's and I get upset when I don't hear from them for a couple of days. Her poor girl was only 2 - I vote no trial straight to the execution.

[AQUAMAN]

I agree Lisa, it's been reported that they moved the jury selection to Clearwater, hoping for jurors to be in the retired age that can afford to be on a 6-9 month jury trial. It's also been reported that Defense attorneys are going to try to sell the story that Casey was mentally unstable, due to being abused mentally and physically as a child growing up for many years. Meanwhile, the only ones supporting Casey with love and money are her very own parents. Now they must endure this too?

[AQUAMAN]

I agree with all that know our system allows for the assumed innocent to be proven guilty first before final judgment is passed, that's what every American must have and is entitled to here in the U.S.. Many people though in Fl. have been sickened and annoyed with the three year process of reporting of this gruesome crime, and logically, have a notion of guilt about Casey after all the fanfare. There are few if any cases nowadays where the prosecutors seek the death penalty in a murder trial, word is that is exactly what the State is seeking here. A total of 8 jurors have been found in this week's search, a total of 12 plus 8 reserve must be had to start trial, so, this could take another few weeks or month to complete. Time will tell what all the evidence and statements are, but, in most opinions I've heard, people want her executed asap. An innocent 2 year old girl's life was snuffed, someone did it, and Casey surely did not act the proper/normal role of the concerned mother during the days the child was missing at all.

[Dave]

The trial has now started and there already has been a few bombshells as in opening statements, the defense lawyer has come out and said that the little girl drowned in the pool and also claimed that Casey Anthony might of been sexually abused by her dad and her brother. While I suppose its plausible that the little girl drowned, the defense it going to need to provide some proof to support that claim.

 

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The defense attorney for a Florida mother charged with murder in the death of her 2-year-old daughter said Tuesday during opening statements that the girl drowned in the family swimming pool and claimed the toddler's grandparents covered up the accident.

Prosecutors, however, said Caylee Anthony died from three pieces of duct tape being placed over her mouth and nose. Caylee's mother Casey Anthony waited a month before telling her own mother that the toddler was missing.

Anthony, 25, is charged with first-degree murder. If convicted, she could be sentenced to death.

An autopsy was never able to conclude a cause of death. Casey Anthony has previously said a baby sitter kidnapped the girl.

Casey Anthony's attorney said she was abused by her father as a child and alleged that Casey's brother made advances toward her and was given a paternity test to see if he was Caylee's father.

All those secrets eventually led to the cover up of Caylee's drowning, attorney Jose Baez said.

Baez said Caylee and her grandmother, Cindy, swam most of Father's Day on June 15, 2008, and suggested that Cindy forgot to pull up a ladder that prevented the toddler from climbing into the pool on her own. Baez suggested that Caylee slipped into the pool the next day when no one was looking.

The distraught family panicked and didn't call police, he said.

"Casey should have called 911. That's what she's guilty of she's, not guilty of murder. This is not a murder case," Baez said.

Prosecutors offered a timeline of Casey's whereabouts based on cell phone records. It stretched from the time Caylee was last seen by her grandparents until her remains were discovered by a meter reader in woods near her home in December 2008.

Jurors were shown images on a screen of a photo of Caylee taken on Father's Day alongside an image of the little girl's skeletal remains.

Casey Anthony waited a month before telling her mother that Caylee had disappeared, and that was only after her parents, George and Cindy Anthony, had recovered a car Casey had been driving from a towing lot. The vehicle had a foul odor inside.

Prosecutor Linda Drane Burdick asked jurors, between descriptions of Casey Anthony shopping, visiting friends and hanging out with her boyfriend with no sign of her daughter, "Where is Caylee Marie Anthony?"

She also described Internet searches conducted on a computer at Casey Anthony's home that showed queries for chloroform, neck-breaking and alcohol.

Prosecutors said everything Casey Anthony did was based on a web of lies.

"Casey Anthony … appeared to be … a loving mother, trying to provide support for her daughter," Drane Burdick said. "But as the evidence in this case will show, that was an illusion."

During a lengthy opening statement, Baez accused George Anthony of planting duct tape matching the brand later found over Caylee's mouth in a way that would implicate Casey.

"George Anthony took certain steps to make sure he was as far away from this situation and that Casey would end up taking the blame for this," Baez said.

Baez also blamed the police department for botching the investigation, claiming they wanted to feed a media frenzy about a mother killing her child instead of investigating a mundane drowning.

Police "had murder on their minds. This couldn't be an accident," Baez said. "You'll find that professional police work took a backseat in this case. We were more concerned about the public than doing their jobs."

Casey Anthony was emotional throughout the day, crying periodically and wiping her nose with a tissue.

George Anthony sat stone faced in the back of courtroom next to his wife.

[XLFD]

Wow!

[Lisa O'Brien]

Innocent  - can you believe it. I am just stunned.