Casey Anthony: Could she hold her own or was she victim of conspiracy? - Hal

Casey Anthony: Could she hold her own or was she victim of conspiracy?
posted by halboedeker on March, 7 2011 6:32 PM

Day 4 in the Casey Anthony hearings, and the attorneys supplied the drama.

They have styles that echo pop culture. Defense attorney Cheney Mason is the showboating good old boy; it’s as if Big Daddy from “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” had decided to practice law. Don’t you expect him to say mendacity?

Prosecutor Linda Drane Burdick has a determined, precise style — think Glenn Close in “Jagged Edge.”

WESH-Channel 2’s Bob Kealing set the scene: “We heard prosecutors invoke the name of Zenaida Gonzalez. Meanwhile, the defense did claim conspiracy and said detectives in the case targeted Casey as a suspect early on.”

Television replayed dramatic highlights from the fourth day in hearings about whether crucial statements will make it into the trial. Anthony is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her daughter, Caylee.

Mason said that 110-pound Anthony was surrounded by “four big guys” – two in front and two in back — as she gave them a tour of Universal Studios. (She said she worked there, but she didn’t.)

Drane Burdick scoffed at the notion of “little Casey Anthony,” adding, “She could hold her own, and she did.”

Cheney Mason, defense attorney for Casey Anthony, in court today. Photo credit: Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel

Mason also said that detectives “with a nod and wink” used Anthony’s family to conspire against her. Burdick countered that Anthony’s family was working independently to find Caylee above all and couldn’t be considered agents of law enforcement.

WKMG-Channel 6’s Tony Pipitone offered analysis: “The law appears to be much more on the state’s side.”

The defense argued that Anthony wasn’t read her Miranda rights, but prosecutors countered that she wasn’t considered a suspect early in the case. WFTV-Channel’s Kathi Belich noted that Anthony had given 26 statements freely early in the case.

What would it take to get Anthony’s statements tossed from the trial? The Miranda rights have to be given when a person is in “custodial interrogation,” Pipitone explained. “To determine that the judge has to look at the purpose, place and manner of questioning,” Pipitone added. “It’s up to the judge to determine if a reasonable person — not necessarily Casey Anthony — but a reasonable person would believe under those circumstances that they were in custody.”

Drane Burdick said the focus early in the case was on the baby-sitter that Anthony said was named Zenaida Fernandez-Gonazalez and had the toddler.

But Belich added, “Casey didn’t even need a nanny nor could she afford one because she lied about having a job.”

WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said it was critical for the defense to get Anthony’s statements out. “The state will show that she consistently lied, lied, lied, and that demeanor is the antithesis of the demeanor of a woman whose child has gone missing,” he said.

The stations supplied details about what unfolded in the court. Kealing observed that Anthony squeezed Mason’s shoulder. “That seemed to take him by surprise. He didn’t realize she was coming in,” Kealing said. “At the end of today’s hearing, Casey did not appear to acknowledge her parents, who were in the courtroom all afternoon. Judge Perry says it will likely be toward the end of next week before he makes a ruling.”

Kealing later added more detail: “We saw George Anthony in the audience shaking his head with disgust from time to time [at] the state’s statements and arguments he didn’t agree with.”

On WOFL-Channel 35, Keith Landry also highlighted that Perry’s rulings will be coming next week. Landry described the atmosphere as “spirited” and noted that Anthony wore a lavender turtleneck with her hair pulled back.


http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2011/03/casey-anthony-could-she-hold-her-own-or-was-she-victim-of-conspiracy.html