Rumors are now flying around that Casey Anthony's defense team could decide to go after Casey's father, George Anthony, as little Caylee's murderer. This could create doubt, in the mind of jurors, as to whether or not Casey murdered her daughter. It could be the only defense strategy Casey's lawyers could use, with all of the circumstantial evidence they have against Casey. Think about it... George was the last person to see Caylee alive, when he said he saw her leaving with Casey. He was the last person to see what Caylee was wearing (other than Casey). Add to that the fact that Casey has accused her father of sexual abuse, it could explain Casey's non-chalant behavior when discussing her missing child with police. Oh and let's add a little more grossness to this analogy and say that George sexually abused little Caylee as well. And to that I say... WTF?!!
Are they kidding me? Really? Would someone in their right mind actually believe this? Could this kind of defense fly? Framing George for Caylee's murder?
What's even sadder is that I could see George going along with that, in order to save his daughter from the electric chair.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
CASEY ANTHONY FRYE HEARINGS (My thoughts & opinions)
As I watch the raw video footage of the K9 expert witness (aka police officer), Casey Anthony's lead defense attorney, Jose Baez, asks the officer if he noted in his training logs that the K9 dog was ever trained using "double blind" methods. Double blind meaning that both the officer AND the K9 dog were uneducated as to where the training cadaver items were buried. Officer's answer is No. Reason, the officer continued, is that it's generally accepted that 1) the K9 NEVER knows where the hidden cadaver objects are, and 2) the officer usually doesn't know either. But that isn't good enough for Baez. He's trying to get us to believe that if it's not written down, in the officer's training log, as being "double blind", it should be thrown out.
Jose: "No documentary evidence that you conducted double blind testing on the dog other than your memory... My question to you, it's fair to say that the integrity of these training logs are critical..."
Officer responds that there were witnesses, other officers, trainers, an Andy Redmond (head trainer), instructors that he didn't personally "queue" a dog to find cadaver sites during these K9 tests.
For petes sakes. Friggin' friggin'.. Geezus! Jose Baez's line of questioning gives me such a headache! You know, I try to have an open mind. As I listen to these testimonies, I start off believing nothing. After about 20 minutes, my head is starting to ache. Baez has been jumping all over the place...talking about training logs in 2008, then 2005, then back to swearing to 2008 (but eliminating 2 instances that he didn't wanna talk about, cuz it was incriminating for Casey). I thought I was the only one with a mooshed up brain until the officer told Baez that he was jumping all over the place and that his questioning was confusing.
I say to Jose... STOP THE MADNESS! Get a grip! Otherwise, my reactions are going to be the jurors reactions... pissed off with a headache.
Jose: "No documentary evidence that you conducted double blind testing on the dog other than your memory... My question to you, it's fair to say that the integrity of these training logs are critical..."
Officer responds that there were witnesses, other officers, trainers, an Andy Redmond (head trainer), instructors that he didn't personally "queue" a dog to find cadaver sites during these K9 tests.
For petes sakes. Friggin' friggin'.. Geezus! Jose Baez's line of questioning gives me such a headache! You know, I try to have an open mind. As I listen to these testimonies, I start off believing nothing. After about 20 minutes, my head is starting to ache. Baez has been jumping all over the place...talking about training logs in 2008, then 2005, then back to swearing to 2008 (but eliminating 2 instances that he didn't wanna talk about, cuz it was incriminating for Casey). I thought I was the only one with a mooshed up brain until the officer told Baez that he was jumping all over the place and that his questioning was confusing.
I say to Jose... STOP THE MADNESS! Get a grip! Otherwise, my reactions are going to be the jurors reactions... pissed off with a headache.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
CASEY ANTHONY FRYE HEARINGS - SQUIRRELS, DECOMPOSITION & BAEZ MELTDOWN
It's 11am pst and the case against Casey Anthony is in full swing. The Florida state Prosecution attorney is interviewing an expert forensic witness (Dr. Vass), who is explaining, in very scientific detail, how the "air of death" tests are conducted. He explained how syringes of air were taken, from Casey's car trunk, and analyzed. Moving forward, was his testimony of doing some analysis on squirrel decomposition. I'm guessing that the dead squirrel smell test was done cuz Casey told people that the death smell was probably from a dead squirrel, that had been stuck in the grill of her car's hood. Dr. Vass testified that he did a test to compare the smell of human decomposition and that of a dead squirrel. He expressed his surprise that there wasn't any decomposition smell associated with a dead squirrel. He alluded that perhaps the squirrel's "fur" possibly diffused the stink? He's not sure. I'm not sure. And the testimony continues...
I think that the best analogy Dr. Vass made, for us laypeople, of how the smell of death smells, he talked about how, when you come in contact with the smell of a skunk, that smell is recognizable and intense. He further stated that the smell of death is along that line and not similar of the smell of garbage and such.
Now he's testifying about stages of decomposition, fatty acids, and now... that he found the remnants of chloroform, which he said was also found in Casey's trunk (it's all in his report, he says).
Final question to Dr. Vass, from the prosecution, was to explain how he first reacted when he approached Casey's car to start doing his tests. He said that he "jumped back about two feet" cuz the smell was so intense.
It's now 11:30am pst., and it's Casey's defense's turn to question the Dr. Vass. As Jose Baez, Casey's lead defense attorney, begins his questioning, we hear "Objection!"from the prosecution. "Sustained" by the judge. "Objection!"again by the prosecution, "Sustained" ... on and on as Jose Baez tries to question the witness. Jose is not doing a good job with his attempts to discredit Dr. Vass. What he is successfully doing is confusing the good doctor, and everyone else, with his aggressive, weird-ass line of questioning. I don't understand what he's trying to get the witness to admit to. But what I do know is that he's failing miserably, cuz the judge keeps sustaining all of the prosecution's objections. And it's pissing me off cuz he's getting aggressive with Dr. Vass, who up till now has been very matter-of-fact and understandable (scientific, nerdy but understandable). I think that Baez is trying to attack the nerdy science cuz he just doesn't know what else to do. Baez's former forensic attorney team member, Linda Kenny-Baden, would have been of so much help here. But she's off the case now cuz there's no mo' money for her. This is where Casey Anthony's trial and O.J. Simpson's differ in that O.J. had tons of money for great attorneys to get him off and Casey has none. She's left with, um... a bumbling Baez.
And NOW, to make matters worse... Baez has pissed off the prosecuting attorney, Mr. Ashton. The judge told Baez to keep it down, as Baez raised his voice against Mr. Ashton. Words of contempt flying. Judge is reprimanding Baez and Baez is against the wall. Judge: "Why did you place that reservation in this document where all minds would be clear? Someone might assume you would be waiting in ambush." Baez... "These notes were significantly spoken to .... this is no surprise to Mr. Ashton...this is something that an intelligent attorney..he had a contempt file hanging over my head...we went over numerous statements...something I said in open court...he knew he could lock it in...". Judge Perry: "Let me make myself abundantly clear...it was not contempt, I opposed sanctions, not contempt. The word "contempt", the State and YOU utilized. They are basically sanctions. But it looks like you are trying to rescind an agreement you entered into. Because if you knew what you knew back when you did this, that you were not going to honor that, then you could have simply written down... maybe you would not have come to an agreement. Let me ask you this question? What do you propose to do with the documents?" Baez: "I would like to question this witness about..." Judge Perry: "What does that have to do with the Frye issue?" and the judge goes to explain what a Frye hearing SHOULD be about to Jose Baez. Baez asked for a 5 minute recess (to go shiver & compose himself in a bathrooms stall, me thinks).
Man oh man, this does NOT look good for Casey at all. It looks like she probably murdered her little baby girl, Caylee, who was not even 3 years old. That's the most horrible, unimaginable thing I've ever heard in my life. Casey, you are going to go to prison! I'm not sure if you're going to get the death penalty, but you are definitely going to prison... I think.
Let's take a moment and pray for Caylee.
I think that the best analogy Dr. Vass made, for us laypeople, of how the smell of death smells, he talked about how, when you come in contact with the smell of a skunk, that smell is recognizable and intense. He further stated that the smell of death is along that line and not similar of the smell of garbage and such.
Now he's testifying about stages of decomposition, fatty acids, and now... that he found the remnants of chloroform, which he said was also found in Casey's trunk (it's all in his report, he says).
Final question to Dr. Vass, from the prosecution, was to explain how he first reacted when he approached Casey's car to start doing his tests. He said that he "jumped back about two feet" cuz the smell was so intense.
It's now 11:30am pst., and it's Casey's defense's turn to question the Dr. Vass. As Jose Baez, Casey's lead defense attorney, begins his questioning, we hear "Objection!"from the prosecution. "Sustained" by the judge. "Objection!"again by the prosecution, "Sustained" ... on and on as Jose Baez tries to question the witness. Jose is not doing a good job with his attempts to discredit Dr. Vass. What he is successfully doing is confusing the good doctor, and everyone else, with his aggressive, weird-ass line of questioning. I don't understand what he's trying to get the witness to admit to. But what I do know is that he's failing miserably, cuz the judge keeps sustaining all of the prosecution's objections. And it's pissing me off cuz he's getting aggressive with Dr. Vass, who up till now has been very matter-of-fact and understandable (scientific, nerdy but understandable). I think that Baez is trying to attack the nerdy science cuz he just doesn't know what else to do. Baez's former forensic attorney team member, Linda Kenny-Baden, would have been of so much help here. But she's off the case now cuz there's no mo' money for her. This is where Casey Anthony's trial and O.J. Simpson's differ in that O.J. had tons of money for great attorneys to get him off and Casey has none. She's left with, um... a bumbling Baez.
And NOW, to make matters worse... Baez has pissed off the prosecuting attorney, Mr. Ashton. The judge told Baez to keep it down, as Baez raised his voice against Mr. Ashton. Words of contempt flying. Judge is reprimanding Baez and Baez is against the wall. Judge: "Why did you place that reservation in this document where all minds would be clear? Someone might assume you would be waiting in ambush." Baez... "These notes were significantly spoken to .... this is no surprise to Mr. Ashton...this is something that an intelligent attorney..he had a contempt file hanging over my head...we went over numerous statements...something I said in open court...he knew he could lock it in...". Judge Perry: "Let me make myself abundantly clear...it was not contempt, I opposed sanctions, not contempt. The word "contempt", the State and YOU utilized. They are basically sanctions. But it looks like you are trying to rescind an agreement you entered into. Because if you knew what you knew back when you did this, that you were not going to honor that, then you could have simply written down... maybe you would not have come to an agreement. Let me ask you this question? What do you propose to do with the documents?" Baez: "I would like to question this witness about..." Judge Perry: "What does that have to do with the Frye issue?" and the judge goes to explain what a Frye hearing SHOULD be about to Jose Baez. Baez asked for a 5 minute recess (to go shiver & compose himself in a bathrooms stall, me thinks).
Man oh man, this does NOT look good for Casey at all. It looks like she probably murdered her little baby girl, Caylee, who was not even 3 years old. That's the most horrible, unimaginable thing I've ever heard in my life. Casey, you are going to go to prison! I'm not sure if you're going to get the death penalty, but you are definitely going to prison... I think.
Let's take a moment and pray for Caylee.
2ND DAY OF TESTIMONY IN CASEY ANTHONY EVIDENCE HEARINGS
It's 11am pst and the case against Casey Anthony is in full swing. The Florida state Prosecution attorney is interviewing an expert forensic witness, who is explaining, in very scientific detail, how the "air of death" tests are conducted. Talks of syringes of air, from Casey's car trunk, taken & analyzed. Also shocking is his testimony of his analysis of squirrel decomposition (which I'm guessing was done cuz Casey said that the smell was probably associated with a dead squirrel that she had seen in the grill of her car's hood (that was her way of trying to explain away the horrible death smell. This expert testified that he did a test to compare the smell of human decomposition and that of a dead squirrel. He expressed his surprise that there wasn't any decomposition smell associated with a dead squirrel. He alluded that perhaps the squirrel's "fur" possibly diffused the stink? He's not sure. I'm not sure. And the testimony continues...
Now he's testifying about stages of decomposition, fatty acids, and now... that he found the remnants of chloroform, which he said was also found in Casey's trunk (it's all in his report, he says).
Man oh man, this does NOT look good for Casey at all. It looks like she probably murdered her little baby girl, Caylee, who was not even 3 years old. That's the most horrible, unimaginable thing I've ever heard in my life. Casey, you are going to go to prison! I'm not sure if you're going to get the death penalty, but you are definitely going to prison... I think.
Let's take a moment and pray for Caylee.
Now he's testifying about stages of decomposition, fatty acids, and now... that he found the remnants of chloroform, which he said was also found in Casey's trunk (it's all in his report, he says).
Man oh man, this does NOT look good for Casey at all. It looks like she probably murdered her little baby girl, Caylee, who was not even 3 years old. That's the most horrible, unimaginable thing I've ever heard in my life. Casey, you are going to go to prison! I'm not sure if you're going to get the death penalty, but you are definitely going to prison... I think.
Let's take a moment and pray for Caylee.
2ND DAY OF TESTIMONY IN CASEY ANTHONY EVIDENCE HEARINGS
It's 11am pst and the case against Casey Anthony is in full swing. The Florida state Prosecution attorney is interviewing an expert forensic witness, who is explaining, in very scientific detail, how the air of death tests are conducted. Talks of syringes of air, from Casey's car trunk, taken & analyzed. Also shocking is his testimony of his analysis of squirrel decomposition (which I'm guessing was done cuz Casey said that the smell was probably associated with a dead squirrel that she had seen in the grill of her car's hood (that was her way of trying to explain away the horrible death smell. This expert testified that he did a test to compare the smell of human decomposition and that of a dead squirrel. He expressed his surprise that there wasn't any decomposition smell associated with a dead squirrel. He alluded that perhaps the squirrel's "fur" possibly diffused the stink? He's not sure. I'm not sure. And the testimony continues...
Now he's testifying about stages of decomposition, fatty acids, and now... that he found the remnants of chloroform, which he said was also found in Casey's trunk (it's all in his report, he says).
Man oh man, this does NOT look good for Casey at all. It looks like she probably murdered her little baby girl, Caylee, who was not even 3 years old. That's the most horrible, unimaginable thing I've ever heard in my life. Casey, you are going to go to prison! I'm not sure if you're going to get the death penalty, but you are definitely going to prison... I think.
Let's take a moment and pray for Caylee.
Now he's testifying about stages of decomposition, fatty acids, and now... that he found the remnants of chloroform, which he said was also found in Casey's trunk (it's all in his report, he says).
Man oh man, this does NOT look good for Casey at all. It looks like she probably murdered her little baby girl, Caylee, who was not even 3 years old. That's the most horrible, unimaginable thing I've ever heard in my life. Casey, you are going to go to prison! I'm not sure if you're going to get the death penalty, but you are definitely going to prison... I think.
Let's take a moment and pray for Caylee.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
CASEY ANTHONY DNA & K9 DOG PRETRIAL EXPERTS TAKE THE STAND
Today is the first of three days this week that Casey Anthony gets to sit in a courtroom and hear how scientific and cadaver dog evidence should be used against her by the State of Florida's prosecution. Her defense attorneys are trying to get all of this evidence thrown out, saying that it's "junk evidence".
The K9/Cadaver dog testimony revolved around the July 17th - 18th when K9/cadaver dogs were brought in to smell around Casey's car and her parents' backyard. As the prosecution's expert witnesses (FBI & detectives) testified today, the dog(s) "hit" on a few key areas. They said that this type of alerting was due to the probability of a decomposing body having been there. The "hits" included several areas around Casey's little white car and her parents' backyard. Casey's defense brought in expert witnesses of their own, one of which tried to explain that K9/cadaver dogs are just "tools" in an investigation, and the idea of them "hitting" or "alerting" of decomposing bodies is not what should be concluded by the dogs' alerts. Their stance was that the dogs could be alerting to something other than a decomposing body. Maybe some rotten pizza or dead squirrel perhaps? LOL.
The Scientific evidence testimony centered around a piece of hair that was found in Casey's car trunk. The prosecution's witness, a young dark-haired FBI lady agent, testified that the hair was tested and came back as being from a dead body. She said that the tests also concluded the hair came from Caylee's dead body as she laid in the trunk of Casey's car. The defense tried to get the FBI agent to say that the "death band" around the hair's root/shaft, could have been darkened by some other means, such as being immersed in water for several months. When the FBI agent failed to waiver, the defense attorney kept trying to ask the same question in other ways, to try to get the agent to trip up and admit that there could be another reason for the death band. She kept asking the same question, but in different formats, but the FBI agent stood firm. After watching this go on for a while, the prosecution objected and the judge agreed. The defense attorney tried to explain her way out of her continued line of questioning but that didn't go over so well either. In the end, the judge got pissed off and demanded that the defense attorney stop. She finally shut up.
As I watched the defense's attorneys cross-examining prosecution witnesses, and getting their own witnesses to say things in Casey's defense, I started to fall asleep. It seemed that these testimonies just went on and on. I started getting bored since I have a technical/to-the-point state of mind, and just wanted them all to just get to the point of the matter. Doesn't look like that's what's gonna happen in this trial. There's gonna be a lot of jockeying for position by the defense, so to try to keep Casey out of prison and away from the death penalty.
The K9/Cadaver dog testimony revolved around the July 17th - 18th when K9/cadaver dogs were brought in to smell around Casey's car and her parents' backyard. As the prosecution's expert witnesses (FBI & detectives) testified today, the dog(s) "hit" on a few key areas. They said that this type of alerting was due to the probability of a decomposing body having been there. The "hits" included several areas around Casey's little white car and her parents' backyard. Casey's defense brought in expert witnesses of their own, one of which tried to explain that K9/cadaver dogs are just "tools" in an investigation, and the idea of them "hitting" or "alerting" of decomposing bodies is not what should be concluded by the dogs' alerts. Their stance was that the dogs could be alerting to something other than a decomposing body. Maybe some rotten pizza or dead squirrel perhaps? LOL.
The Scientific evidence testimony centered around a piece of hair that was found in Casey's car trunk. The prosecution's witness, a young dark-haired FBI lady agent, testified that the hair was tested and came back as being from a dead body. She said that the tests also concluded the hair came from Caylee's dead body as she laid in the trunk of Casey's car. The defense tried to get the FBI agent to say that the "death band" around the hair's root/shaft, could have been darkened by some other means, such as being immersed in water for several months. When the FBI agent failed to waiver, the defense attorney kept trying to ask the same question in other ways, to try to get the agent to trip up and admit that there could be another reason for the death band. She kept asking the same question, but in different formats, but the FBI agent stood firm. After watching this go on for a while, the prosecution objected and the judge agreed. The defense attorney tried to explain her way out of her continued line of questioning but that didn't go over so well either. In the end, the judge got pissed off and demanded that the defense attorney stop. She finally shut up.
As I watched the defense's attorneys cross-examining prosecution witnesses, and getting their own witnesses to say things in Casey's defense, I started to fall asleep. It seemed that these testimonies just went on and on. I started getting bored since I have a technical/to-the-point state of mind, and just wanted them all to just get to the point of the matter. Doesn't look like that's what's gonna happen in this trial. There's gonna be a lot of jockeying for position by the defense, so to try to keep Casey out of prison and away from the death penalty.
CASEY ANTHONY DNA & K9 DOG PRETRIAL EXPERTS TAKE THE STAND
Today is the 1st day of 3 this week whereby Casey Anthony gets to sit in a courtroom and hear more evidence that will be used against her by the State of Florida's prosecution.
Here's an excerpt from WFTV.com:
RE: SCIENTIFIC TESTIMONY
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Casey Anthony was back in court Wednesday, less than seven weeks from the scheduled start of her murder trial. During three days of hearings, defense attorneys will try to get scientific evidence thrown out, claiming it's not reliable technology.
Lawyers spent all day arguing over scientific evidence, including a hair that was found in the trunk of Casey's car and the cadaver dogs that searched for Caylee's body.
Casey Anthony walked into the court room around 9:00am Wednesday wearing a low-cut pink blouse and dark slacks, with her haired pulled back into a bun (images | video).The first motion to be heard involved the defense request to have post-mortem banding evidence be excluded as unreliable (read it). Karen Korsberg Lowe, an FBI expert in forensics, was the first to testify on behalf of the prosecution, who believes the evidence should be admissible.The defense was having a tough day in court. The defense started off trying to keep out its own confidential expert's research, which actually validates the hair evidence the defense wants thrown out as "junk science".WFTV was the first to report the dark, parallel banding that can indicate hair came from a dead body early in the case. That banding was on one of Caylee's hairs found in Casey's trunk.The defense tried to challenge the FBI investigators who found the banding. Defense attorney Dorothy Sims asked Lowe whether a hair from a live person could develop dark spots after exposure to water, soil or enzymes.Lowe believes a hair in Casey's trunk came from a deceased body with DNA similarities to hair from Caylee's hairbrush."The characteristics present in this hair were consistent with post-mortem root banding, which I recorded as apparent decomposition," Lowe stated.Sims' repeated improper questioning sparked a lecture from Chief Judge Belvin Perry."How many times do I have to tell you?" Perry asked Sims.Prosecutor Jeff Ashton was told to stop interrupting her to object, but a stranger to the case caused the biggest outburst."The Lord has shown himself in Japan with the destruction!" said an unknown person in the courtroom."Out! Remove that person from the courtroom!" Perry said.RE: K9/CADAVER DOG TESTIMONY
Prosecutor Linda Drane-Burdick's objection to a defense expert's testimony, that a cadaver dog handler could inadvertently cause the dog to alert on an area being searched for a body, brought a comment from defense attorney Jose Baez."I can't help it if Ms. Drane-Burdick didn't do her homework."He can insult me all day long, all he wants," Drane-Burdick replied.About 30 minutes later, Baez wasn't so snarky when the prosecutor reduced the defense expert to merely an observer and a reader."You're not an expert in that area, but you've read a few articles," Drane-Burdick asked Dr. Scott Grieve."Yes," Grieve answered.WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said from what he's heard in court Wednesday, the defense will lose that fight. The evidence that the jury will hear once Casey's murder trial starts in May is mounting.The jury will hear all the lies Casey told to investigators and to her family right after Caylee was reported missing.Sheaffer said he's never seen cadaver dog evidence thrown out, and defense arguments to keep out the hair evidence fell short."This witness will not let the lawyer confuse her or confuse the issues," Sheaffer said. Sheaffer said if the jury does hear all of the evidence against Casey, the defense will have to create not just doubt, but reasonable doubt in the minds of the jurors."The only person that could refute a lot of this circumstantial evidence is Casey Anthony herself but she comes with too much baggage," he said.Casey is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her daughter, Caylee Anthony. Casey has pleaded not guilty and says a babysitter kidnapped Caylee.The trial is set to start May 9.Getting new science into trials is not new ground for lead prosecutor Jeff Ashton.In 1987, he was the first prosecutor in the country to get a conviction on DNA evidence. Jimmy Lee Andrews was convicted of burglary and rape.
The scientific evidence testimony from the FBI centered around one piece of hair that was found in Casey's car trunk. This hair, the prosecution & FBI expert said had a dark band at the root which signified that it came from a dead body. After they ran DNA tests on it, it came back as being either from Casey, her mom Cindy or the victim Caylee. Since Caylee is the only one who is dead, they are saying that this hair belonged to her. The defense attorney tried to argue with the FBI expert, saying that it was possible that this hair band theory could simply be a dark band from some other means, such as being submerged in water for a long period of time, which is how Caylee's body was probably placed for several months. That didn't go over so well with the judge and prosecutor cuz this day was supposed to argue the scientific validity of hair bands = dead body. The defense attorney got a bit chewed up by the judge for her persistence in trying to get the FBI to say otherwise.
The K9/Cadaver dog testimony revolved around the July 17th - 18th when K9/cadaver dogs were brought in to smell around Casey's car and her parents' backyard. As the prosecution's expert witnesses (FBI & detectives) testified today, the dog(s) "hit" on a few key areas. They said that this type of alerting was due to the probability of a decomposing body having been there. The "hits" included several areas around Casey's little white car and her parents' backyard. Casey's defense brought in expert witnesses of their own, one of which tried to explain that K9/cadaver dogs are just "tools" in an investigation, and the idea of them "hitting" or "alerting" of decomposing bodies is not what should be concluded by the dogs' alerts. Their stance was that the dogs could be alerting to something other than a decomposing body. Maybe some rotten pizza or dead squirrel perhaps? LOL.
As I watched the defense's attorneys cross-examining prosecution witnesses, and getting their own witnesses to say things in Casey's defense, I started to fall asleep. It seemed that these testimonies just went on and on. I started getting bored since I have a technical/to-the-point state of mind, and just wanted them all to just get to the point of the matter. Doesn't look like that's what's gonna happen in this trial. There's gonna be a lot of jockeying for position by the defense, so to try to keep Casey out of prison and away from the death penalty.
Here's an excerpt from WFTV.com:
RE: SCIENTIFIC TESTIMONY
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Casey Anthony was back in court Wednesday, less than seven weeks from the scheduled start of her murder trial. During three days of hearings, defense attorneys will try to get scientific evidence thrown out, claiming it's not reliable technology.
Lawyers spent all day arguing over scientific evidence, including a hair that was found in the trunk of Casey's car and the cadaver dogs that searched for Caylee's body.
Casey Anthony walked into the court room around 9:00am Wednesday wearing a low-cut pink blouse and dark slacks, with her haired pulled back into a bun (images | video).The first motion to be heard involved the defense request to have post-mortem banding evidence be excluded as unreliable (read it). Karen Korsberg Lowe, an FBI expert in forensics, was the first to testify on behalf of the prosecution, who believes the evidence should be admissible.The defense was having a tough day in court. The defense started off trying to keep out its own confidential expert's research, which actually validates the hair evidence the defense wants thrown out as "junk science".WFTV was the first to report the dark, parallel banding that can indicate hair came from a dead body early in the case. That banding was on one of Caylee's hairs found in Casey's trunk.The defense tried to challenge the FBI investigators who found the banding. Defense attorney Dorothy Sims asked Lowe whether a hair from a live person could develop dark spots after exposure to water, soil or enzymes.Lowe believes a hair in Casey's trunk came from a deceased body with DNA similarities to hair from Caylee's hairbrush."The characteristics present in this hair were consistent with post-mortem root banding, which I recorded as apparent decomposition," Lowe stated.Sims' repeated improper questioning sparked a lecture from Chief Judge Belvin Perry."How many times do I have to tell you?" Perry asked Sims.Prosecutor Jeff Ashton was told to stop interrupting her to object, but a stranger to the case caused the biggest outburst."The Lord has shown himself in Japan with the destruction!" said an unknown person in the courtroom."Out! Remove that person from the courtroom!" Perry said.RE: K9/CADAVER DOG TESTIMONY
Prosecutor Linda Drane-Burdick's objection to a defense expert's testimony, that a cadaver dog handler could inadvertently cause the dog to alert on an area being searched for a body, brought a comment from defense attorney Jose Baez."I can't help it if Ms. Drane-Burdick didn't do her homework."He can insult me all day long, all he wants," Drane-Burdick replied.About 30 minutes later, Baez wasn't so snarky when the prosecutor reduced the defense expert to merely an observer and a reader."You're not an expert in that area, but you've read a few articles," Drane-Burdick asked Dr. Scott Grieve."Yes," Grieve answered.WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said from what he's heard in court Wednesday, the defense will lose that fight. The evidence that the jury will hear once Casey's murder trial starts in May is mounting.The jury will hear all the lies Casey told to investigators and to her family right after Caylee was reported missing.Sheaffer said he's never seen cadaver dog evidence thrown out, and defense arguments to keep out the hair evidence fell short."This witness will not let the lawyer confuse her or confuse the issues," Sheaffer said. Sheaffer said if the jury does hear all of the evidence against Casey, the defense will have to create not just doubt, but reasonable doubt in the minds of the jurors."The only person that could refute a lot of this circumstantial evidence is Casey Anthony herself but she comes with too much baggage," he said.Casey is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her daughter, Caylee Anthony. Casey has pleaded not guilty and says a babysitter kidnapped Caylee.The trial is set to start May 9.Getting new science into trials is not new ground for lead prosecutor Jeff Ashton.In 1987, he was the first prosecutor in the country to get a conviction on DNA evidence. Jimmy Lee Andrews was convicted of burglary and rape.
The scientific evidence testimony from the FBI centered around one piece of hair that was found in Casey's car trunk. This hair, the prosecution & FBI expert said had a dark band at the root which signified that it came from a dead body. After they ran DNA tests on it, it came back as being either from Casey, her mom Cindy or the victim Caylee. Since Caylee is the only one who is dead, they are saying that this hair belonged to her. The defense attorney tried to argue with the FBI expert, saying that it was possible that this hair band theory could simply be a dark band from some other means, such as being submerged in water for a long period of time, which is how Caylee's body was probably placed for several months. That didn't go over so well with the judge and prosecutor cuz this day was supposed to argue the scientific validity of hair bands = dead body. The defense attorney got a bit chewed up by the judge for her persistence in trying to get the FBI to say otherwise.
The K9/Cadaver dog testimony revolved around the July 17th - 18th when K9/cadaver dogs were brought in to smell around Casey's car and her parents' backyard. As the prosecution's expert witnesses (FBI & detectives) testified today, the dog(s) "hit" on a few key areas. They said that this type of alerting was due to the probability of a decomposing body having been there. The "hits" included several areas around Casey's little white car and her parents' backyard. Casey's defense brought in expert witnesses of their own, one of which tried to explain that K9/cadaver dogs are just "tools" in an investigation, and the idea of them "hitting" or "alerting" of decomposing bodies is not what should be concluded by the dogs' alerts. Their stance was that the dogs could be alerting to something other than a decomposing body. Maybe some rotten pizza or dead squirrel perhaps? LOL.
As I watched the defense's attorneys cross-examining prosecution witnesses, and getting their own witnesses to say things in Casey's defense, I started to fall asleep. It seemed that these testimonies just went on and on. I started getting bored since I have a technical/to-the-point state of mind, and just wanted them all to just get to the point of the matter. Doesn't look like that's what's gonna happen in this trial. There's gonna be a lot of jockeying for position by the defense, so to try to keep Casey out of prison and away from the death penalty.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Judge Rules In Favor Of Prosecution In Casey Anthony Case
Well my faith in the justice system has been restored. After reviewing all of Casey Anthony's defense motions to throw out Casey's initial statements about her missing daughter, Caylee, have been DENIED. This means that the Prosecution will be able to tell jurors about how unconcerned Casey was about her missing daughter, and how she lied and lied and lied to the police about where she last saw her daughter.
Casey's defense argued that these statements should be thrown out due to the fact that Casey was never informed of her Miranda rights by the police during that time when they were asking about Caylee's whereabouts.
As per WFTV.com's website: ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- Chief Judge Belvin Perry issued his rulings Friday on motions from hearings earlier this month on whether jurors will hear the statements Casey Anthony made to investigators right after her daughter Caylee was reported missing.
Perry denied the motion (read it) to suppress statements that were made by Casey to George, Cindy, and Lee Anthony, as well as those made to pen pal Robyn Adams and correction's officer Sylvia Hernandez. The defense was fighting to have those statements blocked from the trial.
Defense attorneys had argued that her family members were acting as agents of prosecutors and detectives and the statements were obtained in violation of her right to an attorney. Prosecutors argued that her statements can be used, and the judge agreed."The judge's ruling has dealt a crippling blow to the defense of Casey Anthony," WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said.Judge Perry also denied (read it) the defense's motion to suppress statements made to law enforcement. The defense team said Casey's Miranda Rights should've been read to her when she was questioned in mid-July 2008; they weren't because she wasn't a suspect at the time.
(TO SEE MORE of WFTV's article, go to their website: www.wftv.com)
Yup. That's a blow to Casey's defense, that's for sure. Whoops for her. Yay for justice for Caylee.
Casey's defense argued that these statements should be thrown out due to the fact that Casey was never informed of her Miranda rights by the police during that time when they were asking about Caylee's whereabouts.
As per WFTV.com's website: ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- Chief Judge Belvin Perry issued his rulings Friday on motions from hearings earlier this month on whether jurors will hear the statements Casey Anthony made to investigators right after her daughter Caylee was reported missing.
Perry denied the motion (read it) to suppress statements that were made by Casey to George, Cindy, and Lee Anthony, as well as those made to pen pal Robyn Adams and correction's officer Sylvia Hernandez. The defense was fighting to have those statements blocked from the trial.
Defense attorneys had argued that her family members were acting as agents of prosecutors and detectives and the statements were obtained in violation of her right to an attorney. Prosecutors argued that her statements can be used, and the judge agreed."The judge's ruling has dealt a crippling blow to the defense of Casey Anthony," WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said.Judge Perry also denied (read it) the defense's motion to suppress statements made to law enforcement. The defense team said Casey's Miranda Rights should've been read to her when she was questioned in mid-July 2008; they weren't because she wasn't a suspect at the time.
(TO SEE MORE of WFTV's article, go to their website: www.wftv.com)
Yup. That's a blow to Casey's defense, that's for sure. Whoops for her. Yay for justice for Caylee.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Casey Anthony Defense Witnesses
I listened to a news story that talked about some defense witnesses for Casey Anthony. They included some biologists/scientists who claim to refute the prosecution's scientific evidence, such as the cadaver dogs "hitting" on areas where young Caylee Anthony's body was probably placed (in Casey's car trunk & Casey's parents' backyard area near Caylee's playhouse). There's also some defense expert who is trying to also refute the timeline of when Caylee's body was placed in the swamp area near Casey's home.
Law experts say that this is common, for the defense team to find their own experts, so that the prosecution's experts' testimonies will become questionable.
It all just gives me a headache. I say "lock up Casey Anthony & throw away the key". I'm not too keen on the death penalty for her...yet. I may change my mind once I hear more from the prosecution during trial.
Law experts say that this is common, for the defense team to find their own experts, so that the prosecution's experts' testimonies will become questionable.
It all just gives me a headache. I say "lock up Casey Anthony & throw away the key". I'm not too keen on the death penalty for her...yet. I may change my mind once I hear more from the prosecution during trial.
Monday, March 7, 2011
March 7th - BOTH SIDES SUM UP THEIR ARGUMENTS
OMG, Cheney Mason is BORING! As Casey Anthony's senior defense attorney (and 2nd in command), I was hoping to hear a more concise and to-the-point summary from Mr. Mason. But NO... As I found out today, he is just as annoying as Casey's lead attorney, Jose Baez. With Jose, I find myself wanting to poke his beady little eyes out. With Cheney Mason, he just goes on and on, that I end up getting a headache and falling asleep. Seriously! I fell asleep during his argument. His monotone talk, with the occasional gravelly clearing of his throat, put me out... cold.
Do you know who Cheney Mason reminds me of? He reminds me of that teacher in the Ferris Bueller movie, the one who talks in monotone, in such a boring manner that the kids in class are bored and falling asleep.
So Cheney gave me a headache and then put me to sleep. Is this what we get to look forward to with the upcoming trial? Looks like it's gonna have a lot of snoozer moments.
The prosecution on the other hand, was very matter-of-fact and pointed out over 20 case rulings to combat the defenses' motions to throw out evidence. I didn't listen to all of it cuz it sounded pretty much standard. The judge appeared to know about several of them as well. I'm hoping that this indicates that he's leaning towards tossing out the defenses motions & letting all the evidence into trial.
LOOK, the facts show that Casey was detained, and after 5 minutes released. She was "detained" NOT "arrested". There was no need to mirandize her cuz she was part of the investigation of finding her young daughter. Right?! And regarding her family members acting as "Agents of the State", I believe that her parents were just as, if not more, anxious to question Casey about her daughter Caylee's whereabouts. They never had a formal agreement to be agents for the state. Therefore, the information gathered by them, from Casey, should not be thrown out either.
And if you still have doubts about whether Casey killed her daughter Caylee, you should listen to the very 1st phone call that Casey made to her mother Cindy, from the Jail. In this recorded conversation, you can hear how callous Casey is about wanting to talk to her boyfriend. She lets it slip out that she's resentful that everyone's concern about her missing daughter. When she catches herself, she adds that that is her intention too. Then she slips back to being a bitch when her girlfriend starts to cry about the possibility that something bad has happened to little Caylee. With hearing her friend crying, Casey angrily states that the call was "a waste...just give me Tony's number". Now there's a true glimpse inside the dark, empty soul of this 22 year old witch, Casey Anthony.
Well now we have to wait 2 weeks to hear what the Judge will (or will not) allow as evidence in this trial. ARGH!
Do you know who Cheney Mason reminds me of? He reminds me of that teacher in the Ferris Bueller movie, the one who talks in monotone, in such a boring manner that the kids in class are bored and falling asleep.
So Cheney gave me a headache and then put me to sleep. Is this what we get to look forward to with the upcoming trial? Looks like it's gonna have a lot of snoozer moments.
The prosecution on the other hand, was very matter-of-fact and pointed out over 20 case rulings to combat the defenses' motions to throw out evidence. I didn't listen to all of it cuz it sounded pretty much standard. The judge appeared to know about several of them as well. I'm hoping that this indicates that he's leaning towards tossing out the defenses motions & letting all the evidence into trial.
LOOK, the facts show that Casey was detained, and after 5 minutes released. She was "detained" NOT "arrested". There was no need to mirandize her cuz she was part of the investigation of finding her young daughter. Right?! And regarding her family members acting as "Agents of the State", I believe that her parents were just as, if not more, anxious to question Casey about her daughter Caylee's whereabouts. They never had a formal agreement to be agents for the state. Therefore, the information gathered by them, from Casey, should not be thrown out either.
And if you still have doubts about whether Casey killed her daughter Caylee, you should listen to the very 1st phone call that Casey made to her mother Cindy, from the Jail. In this recorded conversation, you can hear how callous Casey is about wanting to talk to her boyfriend. She lets it slip out that she's resentful that everyone's concern about her missing daughter. When she catches herself, she adds that that is her intention too. Then she slips back to being a bitch when her girlfriend starts to cry about the possibility that something bad has happened to little Caylee. With hearing her friend crying, Casey angrily states that the call was "a waste...just give me Tony's number". Now there's a true glimpse inside the dark, empty soul of this 22 year old witch, Casey Anthony.
Well now we have to wait 2 weeks to hear what the Judge will (or will not) allow as evidence in this trial. ARGH!
Friday, March 4, 2011
Pretrial Hearings
On Friday, March 4, 2011, we saw the conclusion of three days worth of testimonies from people critical to the Casey Anthony case. These people included Casey's parents, Cindy and George Anthony, Casey's brother, Lee Anthony and the lead detective, Yuri Melich. A few other testimonies were also taken, but these were the critical ones.
After watching these testimonies, I'm starting to see how each side is going to work. The prosecution appears to be all about getting to the truth, and the defense is all about throwing out the truth... I mean evidence.
What has shocked me is how police never read Casey her Miranda rights. Even at the time of her formal arrest (the 1st arrest for Child endangerment & 4 Counts of lying to police. I don't know about the 2nd arrest yet). I really hope there's a good reason for this. Even more so, I hope that the judge does not throw out key evidence because of this. Or if he does, that the crucial evidence will be able to be entered into the trial for the jury to hear through a different way.
I'm sorry, but it looks like Casey Anthony killed her cute little daughter Caylee, and then partied like a wild single chick right afterwards. Drinking & dancing at bars, playing house w/her new boyfriend, watching movies, getting a new tattoo reflecting her now Beautiful Life (Bella Vita), all the while remaining mum about her missing daughter (actually she was telling everyone that her missing daughter was find & with her nanny). Now, her defense lawyers, Jose Baez & Cheney Mason, is trying to get all the evidence that shows her actions of doing this, thrown out. I know that's his job, but it just pisses me off.
For more information, the best website for this case is provided by WFTV.com.
( Cut & paste link: http://www.wftv.com/caseyanthony/index.html)
After watching these testimonies, I'm starting to see how each side is going to work. The prosecution appears to be all about getting to the truth, and the defense is all about throwing out the truth... I mean evidence.
What has shocked me is how police never read Casey her Miranda rights. Even at the time of her formal arrest (the 1st arrest for Child endangerment & 4 Counts of lying to police. I don't know about the 2nd arrest yet). I really hope there's a good reason for this. Even more so, I hope that the judge does not throw out key evidence because of this. Or if he does, that the crucial evidence will be able to be entered into the trial for the jury to hear through a different way.
I'm sorry, but it looks like Casey Anthony killed her cute little daughter Caylee, and then partied like a wild single chick right afterwards. Drinking & dancing at bars, playing house w/her new boyfriend, watching movies, getting a new tattoo reflecting her now Beautiful Life (Bella Vita), all the while remaining mum about her missing daughter (actually she was telling everyone that her missing daughter was find & with her nanny). Now, her defense lawyers, Jose Baez & Cheney Mason, is trying to get all the evidence that shows her actions of doing this, thrown out. I know that's his job, but it just pisses me off.
For more information, the best website for this case is provided by WFTV.com.
( Cut & paste link: http://www.wftv.com/caseyanthony/index.html)
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