Casey Anthony: Jury selection speeds up; George, Cindy aggrieved - Hal

Casey Anthony: Jury selection speeds up; George, Cindy aggrieved
posted by halboedeker on May, 13 2011 6:39 PM

Jury selection picked up speed in the Casey Anthony case today, but George and Cindy Anthony were making headlines, too.

They’re evidently angry at Brad Conway, their former attorney. No word on their reaction to their daughter Casey, whose defense team blasted the parents by saying Casey was sexually abused, emotionally abused and used as a pawn to cover up parental misconduct.

The lawyer for Anthony’s parents intends to file a grievance against Brad Conway, the couple’s former attorney. “Mark Lippman says Conway violated attorney-client privilege by speaking out about the Anthony family dynamic and dysfunction to the media,” WESH-Channel 2 anchor Martha Sugalski.

Or as WESH’s Michelle Meredith put it: “The Anthonys’ new attorney says their old attorney talks too much.”

Attorney Mark O’Mara, legal analyst for WKMG-Channel 6, said, “I guess what’s happening is the Anthonys are saying ‘Brad Conway … got information confidentially from us … is talking about it and talking about it too much.’ ”

Lippman told Meredith that he was “bothered” by Conway’s comment that the Anthonys are a dysfunctional family. “I’m extremely angry. It’s egregious what he’s doing,” Lippman said.

Conway told WFTV-Channel 9 that he had never discussed anything privileged, anchor Martie Salt said. He told WESH’s Meredith that everything he discussed was on the record.

In jury selection from Pinellas County, WKMG-Channel 6’s Tony Pipitone at 6 p.m. focused on a female who said she didn’t like to judge, she didn’t follow the Anthony media coverage and she didn’t have friends. The juror’s comments prompted the prosecutors to use a challenge to exclude her.

But the challenge is not automatic in this instance because the woman is an African-American. Chief Judge Belvin Perry said that she could sit in judgment, and Pipitone reported that the deeply religious woman will be definitely seated as a juror.

“An amazing development,” Pipitone said. “Certainly a good start for the defense team, that’s for sure,” anchor Lauren Rowe added.

WFTV reported at 5 o’clock that eight jurors had passed through the current phase and one had been dismissed. “The judge expects to work a full day tomorrow and maybe even Monday,” WFTV’s Kathi Belich reported.

WESH-Channel 2’s Bob Kealing noted that of the three women retained for the jury, two are nurses and one is studying to be a nurse. Kealing said the plan was to swear in the dozen jurors tomorrow and continue working Saturday to find eight alternates.

Belich noted that the first African-American man made it through this phase, even though he said he’s against the death penalty. Randy Fisher, WFTV’s jury specialist, said the possible juror could be the best one so far for the defense team. Fisher admired the prospective juror’s willingness to pause before answering questions.

Anthony is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her daughter, Caylee.

Retired Judge O.H. Eaton Jr., analyst for WESH, predicted that Perry would sequester the jurors immediately after they are sworn in, perhaps in Pinellas County.

Eaton said he agreed with Judge Perry’s decision not to allow jurors to smell air samples from Anthony’s car. “Jurors are supposed to determine facts based upon evidence presented during the trial, not become investigators themselves,” Eaton said.

In the how-does-Casey-look department, Kealing said that Anthony “appeared glassy-eyed” much of the afternoon.

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2011/05/casey-anthony-jury-selection-speeds-up-george-cindy-aggrieved.html