Casey Anthony: Whine to this judge? Not a good plan
We learned an important lesson today in the Casey Anthony case: Don’t test Judge Belvin Perry’s patience.
There was news today, but the insight into Perry’s manner was more memorable.
Anthony’s defense team had wanted its experts to inspect evidence privately later this month with supervision from a special master.
“But the judge said that’s never been done before — no one from the sheriff’s office there,” reported Jacqueline Fell of Central Florida News 13. “He said it’s not going to happen here either. A representative from the sheriff’s office will be allowed to be in the room during the inspection as well as someone from the state attorney’s office. And the inspections will be videotaped.”
Defense attorney Jose Baez said a similar arrangement had been used in the Phil Spector trial for defense expert Dr. Henry Lee.
“Bad example,” WFTV-Ch. 9’s Kathi Belich reported. “Prosecutors told the judge how Dr. Lee was chastised by the California judge for mishandling key prosecution evidence.”
If the defense team wants to consult about the evidence, it could move to a private area during the July 13 and14 inspection, the judge ruled.
Anthony is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her daughter, Caylee.
The team at Central Florida News 13 marveled at how Perry cut off defense attorney Jose Baez, who complained that his jailed client had been isolated from the outside world.
“Judge Perry has been in court all day,” Fell said. “He really didn’t want to be in that [Anthony] hearing any longer than it had to last.”
The all-business, keep-it-moving Perry suggested that Baez might file a lawsuit against the county jail and reminded the attorney there’s no privacy in jail, Bell said.
WFTV’s Belich put it this way: “Baez tried to bring in another issue at the emergency hearing, but Judge Belvin Perry shut him down. Baez complained about Casey’s letters being released to the public last week. Judge Perry reminded Baez of something that by now he should know: Casey has no privacy in jail.”
Central Florida News 13 highlighted that this was Anthony’s first court appearance since she fell at the courthouse. The news channel noticed that the defendant mouthed “I love you” to her mother, Cindy.
“Casey’s father has stopped coming to court after she accused him and her brother, Lee, of molesting her,” WFTV’s Belich said. “Today she mouthed ‘I love you’ to her mother, never showing her newly capped tooth after her fall last time.”
The new tooth drew the scrutiny of WESH-Ch. 2’s Michelle Meredith. “All eyes seemed to be on Casey’s tooth,” Meredith said. “It was hard to catch Casey’s smile. She seemed pretty tight-lipped.”
Meredith asked Cindy Anthony about the tooth. “I haven’t seen her,” Cindy said. “I’ve heard she looks fine.”
Judge Perry had bigger things on his mind. “My only concern is that your client and the state of Florida both get a fair trial to resolve the issues in this case,” Perry told Baez.
On WOFL-Ch. 35, criminal defense attorney Hal Uhrig offered analysis. He said calling an emergency hearing today was “odd” and the defense’s motion ”didn’t seem to be so well founded.”
Uhrig added, “It’s not the state’s evidence. It’s THE evidence. Everyone should have reasonable access to it.”
In other Anthony news, corrections officer Silvia Hernandez lost her job for doing nothing to stop letters between Anthony and another inmate at Orange County Jail.
WKMG-Ch. 6’s Mike DeForest explained that Hernandez befriended inmate Robyn Adams and allowed Adams to correspond with Anthony. DeForest reported, “Investigators say Hernandez lied when confronted with reports that she gave Casey Anthony scissors to cut Robyn Adams’ hair.”
DeForest added that investigators found no evidence that Hernandez was helping the prosecution, which Baez alleged.
“Besides lying to investigators and disgracing the department, Hernandez was also fired for asking Jose Baez for his business card,” DeForest reported. “She had planned to pass that card on to inmate Robyn Adams with hopes that Jose Baez would become Robyn Adams’ attorney as well. And that’s also a violation of jail rules.”