Stunner: Casey Anthony judge disqualifies himself Chief Judge Belvin Perry will handle the Casey Anthony case.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-casey-anthony-motion-20100419,0,6017904.story

By Sarah Lundy and Amy L. Edwards


7:21 a.m. EDT, April 20, 2010

Stan Strickland, who became Central Florida's most
recognized
judge while presiding over the combustible Casey
Anthony case, left some piercing words
for her defense attorneys
Monday before recusing himself.In an order
granting Casey
Anthony's request for him to step down, Strickland
wrote: "At its core,
defense counsel's motion accuses the
undersigned of being a
‘self-aggrandizing media hound.' Indeed. The
irony is rich."Casey
Anthony's defense team filed a motion late
Friday asking the Orange
circuit judge to disqualify himself from
her first-degree-murder case
because of a "personal relationship" he
has with a blogger who's been
critical of their client.Anthony, 24,
is accused of killing her
2-year-old daughter, Caylee Marie, in the
summer of 2008.According
to the defense's motion, Anthony feared
she wouldn't get a fair trial
because of the relationship between
Strickland and blogger Dave Knechel —
known online as "Marinade
Dave."In his order, Strickland noted
that he did talk to the blogger
in court — with a TV camera rolling,
microphones on, and in front
of the attorneys.Strickland wrote
that he recently began looking at
Internet material and blogs to get an
idea of what people are saying
about the case, which is relevant to the
defense's motion for
change of venue.The judge noticed Knechel
"admonished and frequently
chastised those who came onto his blog for
the sole purpose of
bashing the defendant and her family."Strickland
thanked him for
being "fair and civilized.""The content of my
words and context
(open court) both seemed unremarkable," the judge
wrote.
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