Casey Anthony: Did a cadaver dog impress? Did Jose Baez? - Hal

Casey Anthony: Did a cadaver dog impress? Did Jose Baez?
posted by halboedeker on June, 7 2011 6:57 PM

The Anthonys’ back yard and a cadaver dog’s responses were the focus this afternoon in the Casey Anthony murder trial.

The prosecution impressed Judge O.H. Eaton Jr., WESH-Channel 2’s legal analyst, who praised the way the dog’s alerts were explained. ”We’ve had several witnesses testify there was a body in the trunk at one time,” Eaton said. “The dog comes in and alerts on the trunk. This gives the dog credibility, and the dog goes and alerts on two places in the back yard. I think the jury was probably impressed with the ability of the dog.”

WESH’s Amanda Ober reported that dog handler Jason Forgey from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said his dog alerted to decomposition at two places in the Anthonys’ back yard: near a picnic table and near Caylee’s playhouse.

WFTV-Channel 9’s Kathi Belich said cadaver dogs gave the most attention to a spot near Caylee’s playhouse. Casey Anthony is charged with first-degree murder in her daughter’s death. “Prosecutors believe that Casey made an attempt to bury her daughter’s dead body in their yard,” Belich reported.

A second dog handler will be the first witness on Wednesday, and Chief Judge Belvin Perry broke early today rather than start that testimony.

WKMG-Channel 6’s Tony Pipitone said the media seemed relieved to get out early, but he sensed that the jury wanted to keep working.

WFTV’s Belich said “jurors appeared bored” when the defense tried to question the dog handler’s credentials. ”They were less than riveted and one even chuckled when [defense attorney Jose] Baez got tough with the dog handler,” Belich said. But Baez got Forgey to acknowledge that one of the searches was inconclusive, Belich added.

Another recurring theme: How is Baez doing?

WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer pointed to problems in Baez’s opening statement. “He promised too much, and he hasn’t been able to deliver through cross examination what he promised, ” Sheaffer said.

Sheaffer agreed with a trial observer, remarking via Twitter, that Baez has a convoluted way of posing questions. “It takes some experience to learn how to formulate questions on cross examination, when to ask questions, when not to ask questions, how far to go,” Sheaffer said. “Sometimes he’s very good at that, sometimes he’s not so good. Today, I think, we saw an occasion when he was not so good.”

But WOFL-Channel 35 legal analyst Diana Tennis cited Baez’s questioning of FBI chemist Micahel Rickenbach as the day’s high point. “The defense did a decent enough job of pointing out why Dr. [Arpad] Vass, although he’s adorable, wasn’t really the forensic kind of person that they’ve held him out to be and really poked huge holes, I think, in the chloroform theory,” Tennis said.

WKMG anchor Lauren Rowe said that Baez and the defense team “actually did pretty well today” with “questions that seemed to rattle the witnesses.” WKMG legal analyst Mark NeJame said it was the defense’s best day and gave Baez a B grade. “It was their best day without question,” NeJame said.

WESH’s Bob Kealing said that Baez did a more effective job of countering testimony from Rickenbach. Kealing also highlighted that Baez questioned Dr. Vass’ credibility after the scientist identified the wrong sample in court yesterday.

Pipitone noted that prosecution handed Vass the wrong can to identify. That, Pipitone said, could suggest the state has “a witness who will say or do whatever the state or investigators ask him to do.”

WOFL anchor Bob Frier said it seemed like the judge sustained 95 percent of the state’s objections and just 5 percent of the defense’s.

Tennis said a defense attorney has to object a lot for appellate reasons. But she added that the defense is making other objections that come off like “beating a dead horse” and could give the impression that Judge Perry doesn’t like Baez.

“Which I don’t think is true,” Tennis quickly added, “but I think that’s the perception the jury may be getting. The other perception the jury gets is this is somebody who doesn’t know what they’re doing, which is the last thing you want them to think. I think he’s not cluing in on some of the obvious cues the judge is sending,” Tennis said of Baez.

Tennis predicted that Roy Kronk, the former meter reader who found Caylee’s remains, could take the stand Wednesday.

More: http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2011/06/casey-anthony-did-a-cadaver-dog-impress-did-jose-baez.html