Casey Anthony: Judge Belvin Perry plays accountant sternly
Casey Anthony had a more subdued look in court today. Photo credit: Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel
Chief Judge Belvin Perry meant business today during a status hearing in the Casey Anthony case. The judge’s determined style was the focus of television coverage this evening.
Standout clip: ” I am not gonna write an open check. I’m just not,” Perry told defense attorneys.
Anthony is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her daughter, Caylee. The defense has spent more than $300,000 on the case — $40,000 was tax money – but is seeking more for indigent client Anthony. (WFTV-Ch. 9 decorated its report with $300,000 in big type.) Anthony is scheduled to go on trial in May.
“He [Perry] was really setting a tone, and it was a hard line,” WESH-Ch. 2’s Bob Kealing reported. “In many cases, the judge would demand to know what the defense team had done with money he already budgeted and what they would do with any more he might give them.”
Kealing said that defense attorneys Jose Baez and Cheney Mason were not commenting after court today.
WFTV-Ch. 9’s Kathi Belich observed, “The judge does not seem impressed with how it [the defense] has used some of the tax money so far.”
The defense sought 300 additional hours for its private investigator, but Perry OK’d just 60 hours.
“The judge got conflicting answers about how many authorized hours of work already have been done as the defense asks for more,” Belich said.
WOFL-Ch. 35’s Shannon Butler weighed in: “Perry is a judge, but it also seems he’s a pretty good accountant.”
In another oft-played clip, Perry told Baez, “Taxpayers’ funds do not allow you to go on fishing expeditions. It must be for a particularized need, not in drilling hoping that you’ll find oil.”
The stations noted that the defense had lost its third bid to seal Anthony’s jail records, such as commissary purchases and the visitors log.
Anthony’s look also drew scrutiny. WOFL anchor Bob Frier highlighted the “hair slicked back.” Kealing said that “Anthony herself came to court looking as if she had been crying.” And Belich noted that Anthony wasn’t in shackles.
Orlando defense attorney Diana Tennis, who offers analysis for WOFL, theorized that the defense is “telling her [Anthony] to draw as little attention to herself as possible. Don’t do the long, pretty hair. Don’t do the makeup. Don’t make expressions. Don’t look around. Be as invisible as possible, so there are as few clips out there on the Internet of her as possible.”
Tennis predicted the money spent in the death-penalty case could exceed $1 million. “This is a special case. It’s a special penalty that’s being sought,” Tennis said. “Even though Judge Perry had some tough talk today, I think the reality is he’s going to continue to give to the point that’s he not worried about the appellate court saying she was denied due process.”
Anthony attorney Ann Finnell did talk to reporters after court. She and Perry had a robust discussion about her budget for the death-penalty phase.
“I think he’s got a responsibility to mind the store,” Finnell said of Perry.