New Judge Confirms Dates In Casey Anthony Case

Posted:
4:06 pm EDT April 29, 2010
Updated: 10:33 am EDT April 30, 2010

ORANGE
COUNTY, Fla. -- Casey Anthony was in
the courtroom Friday
morning for her first hearing in front of the new
judge presiding
over the murder case. Casey arrived just before the
9:30am hearing
and sat down next to her attorney, Jose Baez.CASEY
IN
COURT: See
Images | Raw
Video
COURT
IMAGES:
George,
Cindy, Lawyers Inside CourtroomCasey,
wearing a pink,
long-sleeved button down collar shirt, seemed in
good spirits as she
smiled while talking to Baez before Orange
County Chief Judge Belvin
Perry arrived in the courtroom.Once Judge
Perry arrived, things
got going quickly, with the judge carrying a
firm tone, pressing both
parties on outstanding motions, including
for change of venue and
dealing with the death penalty.Perry
scheduled a hearing during
the week of May 10 to discuss several
motions dealing with the death
penalty.Regarding the change of venue
request made by the
defense, Judge Perry said he would consider it
but, if he did change the
venue, it would not be disclosed until the
last minute. He also said
it's possible they could get the jury
from a pool outside of Orange
County and still hold the trial inside
the county.Judge Perry
said, once the trial starts, if the jury
were to be sequestered, he
would work five and a half days a week (a
half-day on Saturdays).Judge
Perry asked the two parties about the
scheduled trial start date of May
9, 2011 and if they were okay with
it. Both seemed satisfied with that
date.“I would like to do it
sooner, but it looks like ya’ll have
agreed on something. My only
concern is that, as you know, under our
system of laws, the
adversary system of justice is memory dependent and,
unfortunately,
memories deteriorate over a period of time,” Judge Perry
said. “I
will think about it. I’m inclined to stick to the same
schedule, but
once we do that I will enter an order and you will be
stuck with
it.”Judge Perry then pushed for information much more
aggressively
than in previous hearings, pressing the two parties on how
long the
trial will take. After brief discussion, Judge Perry suggested
that
it sounded like the guilt/innocence phase of the trial would last
between
four and six weeks with one week for sentencing if Casey were
found
guilty."As you know, we will have status hearing every 45
days to
make sure you are following this schedule," Judge Perry said,
referring
to the schedule he'll provide to be sure they're ready for the

trial date.WFTV reported when Chief Perry took over for Judge
Stan
Strickland after he recused himself from the case. Judge Perry has
been
on the bench in Central Florida for 21 years. He is the go-to judge
for cases causing a problem for the court.Judge Perry has sent
both
sides a decorum policy and reminded them the rules will be followed
at all times in his courtroom. He has been Chief Judge for 13 years and
is known to get straight to the point and does not put up with
nonsense."He
sets a tone of authority in his courtroom. No one
ever questions
who's in charge once you walk into Judge Perry's
courtroom," WFTV
legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said.Judge Perry is
taking over leading
the proceedings some 20 months into the case against
Casey. The pace
of the case has been slow-going to this point, mostly
because of a
flurry of motions filed by the defense.However,
Sheaffer says Judge
Perry may speed up the case, which currently is not
scheduled to go
to trial until May 2011.Judge Perry has overseen
tough cases before.
He took over the case involving a homeless man's
murder, because
another judge allowed the suspect to get out of jail on
bond. Also,
last year, he sent two men to prison for life when a jury
found them
guilty for murdering Orlando Police Officer Al Gordon.
http://www.wftv.com/news/23309998/detail.html