Motions Update - Judge Lectures Both Sides, Cindy Speaks (WESH)

by mom_in_il Tue Nov 25, 2008 11:35 pm

http://www.wesh.com/video/18146547/index.html

Judge Hears Arguments For Anthony Gag Order

Judge To Rule Wednesday On Motion

POSTED: 11:42 am EST November 25, 2008

UPDATED: 5:40 pm EST November 25, 2008

A judge withheld his ruling on a gag order in the Casey Anthony case on Tuesday, just hours after her parents again criticized authorities for stopping their search for granddaughter Caylee.For three hours, attorneys argued over several motions about evidence, but the most time and attention went to one that would limit what lawyers and family representatives could say publically about the case.

Judge Stan Strickland said he would rule on the gag order on Wednesday. Casey Anthony was not in court, but her parents were.

The hearing came on the same day Cindy and George Anthony held a news conference, in which they repeated their assertion that Caylee Marie Anthony is alive. Caylee’s mother, Casey, is in Orange County Jail, charged with killing Caylee, who was reported missing in July and has not been found.

The hour-long news conference opened with a long statement from Michelle Bart, who is the family’s new spokeswoman. She criticized people who say Caylee is dead, and investigators who said they are no longer actively searching.

“I would be checking out every lead known to man…because this child has asked for this help, this child deserves this help,” Bart said during her impassioned talk.

Their investigator, Dominic Casey, talked about a recent photograph showing a girl at a Florida mall. The family said the girl looked like Caylee.

“All of the tips we have received, almost all, have been from out of state,” Cindy Anthony said.

She said without an active search from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, it is harder to check into these tips that Caylee is alive.

The OCSO said last week it was not searching for Caylee.

“Caylee Marie has rights…she should have the right for everybody to look for her,” Cindy Anthony said.

Anthony said even if it is a year from now, she would want to search for Caylee, if she has not been found.

The hearing on the gag order and several other motions began at 2 p.m. in the Orange County Courthouse.

Prosecutors want to restrict what attorneys and Anthony family representatives can say about the case in public, which they argue could make it harder to find an impartial jury. The defense and an attorney for several media outlets argued against the order.