Casey Anthony: Appeal's delays let her keep mum in civil cases...Palm Beach Post

More than six months after Casey Anthony's attorneys filed notice they intend to appeal her criminal convictions, they have yet to submit an initial brief laying out the substance of her legal challenge.


While her criminal appeal moves at a seemingly glacial pace, civil suits filed against Anthony progress through the circuit court here in Orlando. One of the three is set for trial in April.


Normally, civil and criminal matters remain on distinct sides of the court system, but in Anthony's many ongoing cases, they're intertwined.


Anthony's appeal of four misdemeanor convictions for lying to law enforcement has allowed her to largely avoid answering questions posed by the legal teams suing her for money. That's because her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination applies while her appeal is pending.


In other words, she cannot be forced to answer questions now that might come back to hurt her later if she wins her appeal and is granted the chance at a new trial.


Some familiar with the case question whether delays in Anthony's appeal could be designed, in part, to thwart the civil cases and provide her protection from explaining under oath the circumstances surrounding the death of her daughter, Caylee Marie.


"It does seem to us to be an attempt to continue to provide a shield for Casey Anthony's testimony," said Matt Morgan, one attorney representing Zenaida González, who is suing Anthony for defamation. "We anticipated for this appeal to drag on."


Anthony's legal team handling the appeal — attorneys Cheney Mason and Lisabeth Fryer — did not return calls for comment.


But Mason recently announced on national TV that Jose Baez is no longer on the case and that negotiations regarding any interviews Anthony would do for money would start after her appeal was over.


The document noticing Anthony's appeal was filed July 15, 10 days after her acquittal on murder and other charges. It simply says the appeal is "to review the final order of judgment and sentence entered [July 7, 2011] … by the Honorable Belvin Perry."


'It's a long delay'


Assistant Attorney General Wesley Heidt, who is handling the appeal for the state, said "it's a long delay, but not extraordinarily so," considering the volume of paperwork.


Heidt said he suspects Anthony's legal challenges may involve double-jeopardy issues and questions of whether law enforcement properly advised Anthony of her Miranda rights early on in the case. But all of that, he said, is speculation "until I get a brief in hand." And while the appeal is ongoing, "she has a right not to incriminate herself."


As for the attorneys defending her civil suits, Heidt added, "it does give them cover."


Time extensions requested by Anthony's defense and granted by the Fifth District Court of Appeal in Daytona Beach have prolonged the case, according to the file. But the appellate court has also signaled the need for Anthony's defense team to move the process along.


On Oct. 28, for example, the DCA issued an order asking Anthony's attorneys why the "appeal should not be dismissed for failure to file an initial brief and the record on appeal in this cause."


On Oct. 31, Fryer blamed delays in filing transcripts of the trial proceedings on a "grossly understaffed" Official Court Reporter office here in Orlando.


On Nov. 1, the appeals court granted a time extension. But the court warned further requests "for this purpose must be accompanied by [an] affidavit from [the] court reporter stating factual basis for need for further extension."


Officials with Orange County court administration contacted this week confirmed that long-term court-reporting vacancies caused delays in creating the record for the appeal.


Attorneys familiar with the appellate process say creating the record for appeal is often a cause for delays. And they note that Anthony's criminal trial lasted longer than any in local case in recent memory. At the same time, Anthony's appeal involves the minor counts involved and not the case's most serious charges or the bulk of the prosecution.
On Dec. 21, Fryer asked the court for permission to add more transcripts of testimony taken during Anthony's criminal trial and a Sept. 2 hearing dealing with law-enforcement costs related to Anthony's case. Fryer asked at that point for another time extension to file the initial brief.


On Jan. 12, the court gave Fryer more time to file the initial brief. The order essentially sets a mid-March deadline for the filing of the brief.


That's less than one month before the Zenaida González defamation case is set to go to trial.


Last week, the appeals court received 115 volumes — comprising thousands of pages from the Anthony trial. The additional documents should arrive by next month, with the initial brief to follow.


With Orange Circuit Judge Lisa Munyon ruling that Anthony's constitutional rights trump the desires of those suing the 25-year-old to fully question her, the current timeline virtually assures Anthony will not be compelled to speak before the González trial.


With their lawsuit having lingered now since September 2008, González's lawyers could ask for a continuance and try to put off the trial.


"We're not at that point yet," Morgan said. "We will likely circle the wagons and figure out how to proceed right before the trial."

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