Casey Anthony trial: Attorneys decline to discuss why court recessed early - OS

By Anthony Colarossi, Orlando Sentinel

5:36 p.m. EDT, June 25, 2011
Private discussions of the judge and lawyers, held outside the earshot of jurors and court watchers, have become a signature characteristic of the Casey Anthony murder trial.

That is why most people tracking the case are in the dark about what happened Saturday morning — and why jurors never even walked into the courtroom to hear testimony.
Chief Judge Belvin Perry and the attorneys met outside the courtroom and discussed matters that are "under seal" and not part of the public record, according to a court-system spokeswoman.

Perry emerged from the conference and announced aloud in court that a "legal matter" had come up, requiring court to be recessed.

His announcement came about 9:40 a.m. on a day he had expected to hear testimony until about 3:30 p.m. Instead, Perry announced that Anthony's trial in the 2008 death of her daughter, Caylee, will resume Monday morning.

In the absence of an explanation, speculation soared that a plea deal might be in the making or that another call for mistrial had emerged or that there might be legal issues involving testimony by Lee and Cindy Anthony — the defendant's brother and mother.

Neither the defense nor the prosecution commented on the day's early end as they emerged from the Orange County Courthouse. Defense attorney Cheney Mason barked at reporters, warning them to get away as a throng clustered around the defense team.

Assistant State Attorney Jeff Ashton could only confirm that the sudden halt in the trial had "nothing to do with" earlier conversations in court about defense expert witness Dr. Kenneth Furton.

Before the discussions moved behind closed doors, Ashton indicated in court that Furton had expressed a new opinion, previously unreleased to the prosecution.

Earlier in the trial, Ashton complained about the same thing happening with two other defense experts.

When asked whether the latest delay was caused by the defense, Ashton said: "Can't say anything other than that because that's all the judge said."

Asked whether a plea deal could be put on the table at this point in the trial, Ashton said: "I couldn't talk about that one way or the other. If I give you an answer, I won't be practicing law Monday."

One theory about the abrupt recess involved some reporting by Geraldo Rivera of Fox News.

In an online posting Friday, Rivera described having lunch with defense lawyer José Baez, who "expressed deep frustration over what he believes to be rulings from the bench that limit his ability to make the abuse argument, however implausible."

Baez alleged in his opening statement that Casey Anthony suffered sexual abuse by her father and brother. Those factors and the family's dysfunction led her to lie after her daughter's "accidental drowning" in June 2008, he told jurors.

Rivera also shared details about the Baez lunch with Juan Williams on "The O'Reilly Factor" television show.

He observed: "He [Baez] wanted that jury to know that those parents feared Lee Anthony was the father of that child. That's why they didn't want him involved in the baby's birth. That's where he was going. The judge stopped it."
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/caylee-anthony/os-casey-anthony-trial-day-28-20110625,0,2868459.story
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