So I guess none of us have anything better to do than to watch the latest trial of the Century on this fine summer day. Casey Anthony is facing seven charges relating to the death of her three-year-old daughter, Calee. They include first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, and aggravated manslaughter resulting in death of a child.
Resuming the defense’s summation:
4:15 p.m. – The Court is taking a break allowing the attorneys to review the tape of the prosecutor’s conduct.
4:26 p.m. – The fact that the Court has stopped the trial to review the conduct of the attorneys is not something that happens often but the judge had to stop the shenanigans. Bad attorneys. BAD! BAD!
4:30 – The judge did not hold either attorney in contempt but issued stern warnings. They are not charging the jury today, which means that they will not get the case today but tomorrow. Happy Fourth of July!
4:31 – The defense attorney is resuming his closing. His job is to poke holes in the State’s case and not to prove her innocence. He so far has addressed the credibility of the testimony regarding the duct tape, the autopsy and the smell of the vehicle. Again, I ask, unless you are in law enforcement, WHO KNOWS WHAT DEATH SMELLS LIKE!
4:34 – Ha! He’s saying he is not suggesting that George Anthony (Casey’s dad) killed Calee. Um, yeah you kind of did. You’ve called him a liar and the only one that smelled “death” in the car.
*Housekeeping note: The State will have an opportunity to rebut at the end of the defense’s argument which it appears will be today.
4:37 – “It’s not a too-muh.” Okay, can’t say I wouldn’t giggle a little bit there.
4:39 – Back to the gas can. He’s getting lost with the freaking gas can. “Walls are getting closer and closer to George Anthony” BUT I’M NOT ACCUSING HIM OF MURDER!
4:41 – So dad is now on trial for philandering? Dude. Bring it back. This is getting way off course.
4:42 – The defense is trying to draw the line from her dysfunctional upbringing to her weird imaginary friends to her inappropriate reaction to her daughter drowning (the defense’s theory of how Calee died). Major red herring. If she’s crazy then she may have killed her daughter to go party, no? By the way, google Casey Anthony images. Homegirl liked to PAR-TAY!
4:46 – This is back to the Baez I’ve come to know over the trial. He gets lost, his points aren’t clear and leaves me scratching my head. He doesn’t have to prove that someone else did it, just that Casey didn’t. I have no idea why we are looking at this. All it does is remind the jury that a child was trashed in a swamp.
4:48 – He’s holding up photos of the gas can and duct tape that her dad owned but he is not, NOT saying that George Anthony killed Calee.
4:50 – She was at home when she died because she didn’t have sock or shoes on? Does this guy have children? They take them off all the time.
4:52 – The defense called several witnesses from the FBI in its case-in-chief which they allege show that the forensic scientists could not conclude that the shovel had any evidence of the location of the body or the time of death of the child.
4:53 – “Inculpate?” Just use normal words.
4:55 – If there’s no DNA then Casey gets to walk away!
4:57 – Baez talked about earlier the lack of DNA testing on the maggots – EW! Okay, but his point is that maggots would have digested the child’s DNA and had they tested the maggots, they could have discovered the DNA of the child. So, so gross.
4:59 – No cause of death is pretty rare in a murder case. His “accident” argument isn’t going to help on the negligence charges so maybe he’s just trying to keep her from the murder charge.
5:00 – Objection sustained as to his statement that the State did not call the man who found the body. If it’s not in evidence, you can’t argue it but it seems that there was a pretrial ruling on this witness in particular based on the objection.
5:02 – Forget the skull and get distracted by a snake? Again, men! You didn’t learn from the Garden of Eden?
5:03 – Yeah so the remains were hidden and marked by a white board. What is the point? Bring this around.
5:05 – Is this jury gonna get [Roy] Crunked tonight? Okay, so Plan C – he’s blaming the guy who found the body?
5:07 – What WUT? Crunk was urinating in the area of the body for a second time? I haz a confused.
5:09 – Ugh. This is awful. Talking about someone tampering with a child’s skull? So for those keeping track – we have George Anthony, the original Plan B and now Roy Crunk as now Plan C. Anybody but Casey. The State better be able to answer this.
5:12 – This is a major point – how did she die? Aaaaaaand he left it.
5:13 – “Deciders?” Curse you, W!
5:14 – This is his Atticus Finch moment. Don’t screw it up.
5:15 – He screwed it up. I am not impressed with the manner in which he used his final moments. He got lost in the accusations of the others and really lost his high points in attacking the evidence during the meat of the closing. He should have given the jury some visuals to take back to the deliberation room.
BREAK: That was the last time that the defense will speak to the jury. Now the State comes up and does its rebuttal. The State took about an hour in its preliminary closing. It has four hours total, so a little less than three left. My guess is that the State is going to take significantly more time to rebut the defense’s points, which is smart. Plus, you get pretty fired up having to listen to the criticisms of your case so rebuttals tend to be pretty firey in the hands of a skilled litigator. This should be fun.
5:23 – Hold up. The defense apparently is going to have another chance to talk to the jury? I have never heard of this. Ever.
5:27 – Court is back and the defense is going to go over the elements of each of the charges. This is a BIG, BIG error. Losing the momentum for the dry law which is exactly what the Court would do. This may be an appealable issue.
5:29 – Is this guy underwater?
5:30 – Here’s what they are doing. You hear that accent? You hear that he just cited to a friend who was a judge in South Florida? This is what’s called “home-towning” the jury. Baez didn’t sound like the jurors, but this guy does. He’s citing to the Bible. He’s one of them.
5:32 – If the State didn’t object to this, I would say that’s a major tactical error. Two closing arguments?
5:36 – Oh dear. This is going to take FOREVER!
5:38 – Did he just correlate hand signals to the relative burdens of the parties? Is he a traffic cop? I don’t think the jury is going to like this. This seems like an obvious ploy by the defense to get someone who is “seasoned” and from their neck of the woods to close the deal. The jury wants the damn case. Everybody sit down and shut up.
5:40 – This is cummulative. I think the State is scared to object and the judge is too tired to notice because this is really not a recitation of the elements of the charges. Yes, the mic is on you are just BORING US TO TEARS.
5:43 – Sometimes an attorney is brought in for certain things in a case. If this attorney has been practicing for a long time, he may have just been brought in for this portion of the case, because he didn’t want to try the entire thing because it’s so taxing.
5:48 – I gotta believe that this is really confusing for the jury.
5:50 – NOW he’s getting to it. What is the act? The State has to answer this. If it was not an affirmative act that was premeditated, then no conviction on first degree. I don’t know how they get felony murder here. What crime was she committing when the child died? Ah. The felony was aggravated child abuse. No evidence of that.
5:52 – Pretty sure the judge is asleep.
5:56 – Here’s what I thought Baez should have done so I guess he was leaving it to this cat. Go through and point out each point that the State failed to prove. I still think it should be written down in the form of a list. Lawyers need more listicles.
5:59 – Chloroform is a media baby. Congratulations, media!
*WRITER’S NOTE: You all understand that I am doing searches for this post and for no other reason. I’m documenting that right here!
6:02 – “Shoes and shovel and so forth.” That is important stuff. If there is something to highlight, it’s that! Why did she kill the child? I think this is a minefield for the defense. Who knows. Maybe because she did want to act like a 22 year-old. The State will HAMMER this point.
6:06 – This is a big mistake. Big. Huge! I have to go shopping now.
6:10 – People still pay taxes – just ask Wesley Snipes!
6:13 – Well it is circumstantial evidence that the child was murdered but at the same time, three year-old children rarely just die. And if they do, they aren’t reported missing until a month later and then stuffed in a garbage bag in the woods if they do.
6:14 – Oh HE got the Atticus Finch moment. Poor Baez. He gave up so much to this marble-mouthed hometowner.
6:16 – PRAISE GOD that’s over. Totally and 100% unnecessary with the exception of the hometown charm element.
BREAK: Stand up and do some kicking and stretching. Put on the Rocky music because the State is going to come out swinging. They have to feel good about where they are now. That was a snoozefest for the jury and everyone knows it. This is really quite a lot to ask of the jury and if the State is good and organized, then they will answer some questions, and hit the high points and SIT DOWN. They don’t have to chase every one of the defense’s rabbits down a hole. That is a tempting but fatal error to do that. We’ll see soon enough.
The female prosecutor, not the one who was busted for snickering and smiling will be doing the rebuttal. It’s pretty common to split the primary statements and rebuttal – not what the defense did – so I expect that this will be well received by the jury.
Typically, forensics can tell whether someone has died by drowning but they can’t here because of the condition of the body when it was finally recovered. So, the defense is free to throw that theory out there.
UPDATE:
6:38 – Judge is telling the jury that it’s be a lowng day. OH SNAP! We’re done for the day. Wow. Okay, here are the ramifications of that. They jury will be free to consider the defenses argument all night long. For the prosecution, that is not what you want, even though the defense ended with a thud. What you would like to have happen is that the jury can have in their heads, for 12-15 hours, your argument, not the other party’s. But again, the defense really muddled their argument with the second closing so the jury isn’t fired up. As the pundits are saying, the prosecution has all night to prepare for the rebuttal. The jury will be revived and ready to deliberate. The State has a little less than three hours tomorrow and while they would be mistaken to take that time, now they won’t feel the pressure to wrap it up. Major error on the defense side.
Well, kids. Maybe we will resume this tomorrow. I think we have to now that we have spent a day watching this unfold.
State’s Rebuttal:
I missed the first part of the rebuttal but that doesn’t bode well, in my opinion. Apparently Ashton delivered a 45-60 minute rebuttal that followed the rabbit holes created by the defense’s closing. Linda Crane Burdick is now delivering the final final closing. The thought is that a woman will appeal to the emotional side of the jurors *sigh* but it works.
10:08 – She said that going over the evidence is not her style. WHAT?
10:10 – She is emphasizing that the State never asked them to make decisions based on emotion. Back to the common sense approach which is, people don’t make accidents (drowning) look like murder.
10:12 – Sweet Jesus a sustained objection in the closing?
10:13 – “The most documented liar in a courtroom?” I think she was talking about Baez. Objection overruled but this is not a good start for the her.
10:18 – The fifth or sixth objection in five minutes by the defense. Classic error but the defense. The jury will get annoyed. It’s argument so you are not making a great record because you are not objecting to evidence that the jury can consider. Baez needs to have someone sit on him.
10:20 – The police were there TO HELP, DAMMIT!
10:22 – We weren’t slut shaming!
10:23 – Casey wrote a four page written statement with one fact correct, Calee’s birthdate. Well, at least she got that right?
10:24 – “What do guilty people do? They lie, they run…” and that’s why the jury heard about the 31 days. It wasn’t grief. Hmmmm, good point.
10:27 – Casey’s actions during those 31 days answer the question of who killed Calee. Wait, you just said we know who killed Calee and now you are saying the question is who killed Calee? Well, yes but how and when. Also, SIT DOWN BAEZ. Enough objections!
10:30 – Baez just asked to approach the bench and was DE-NIED. He really needs to be quiet because he may face the judge’s wrath for continuing to interrupt.
10:31 – They are playing the tape of the officer explaining to Casey how he has sat down with mothers who have had their children die under a variety of circumstances to rebut the argument that the police had “murder on their minds” when investigating. Baez is out of his chair again.
10:33 – They showed a video of the parents and Casey talking in jail about the new theory but the media that she drown and Casey said “surprise, surprise.” Odd. I thought this was the defense’s argument that she drown. Back to the argument that no one would make an accidental death look like murder. This is a very strong argument.
10:36 – I think she just stole a line from Chris Rock – providing for your kids doesn’t make you a great mother, it makes you a mother. Or as Chris Rock says, “that’s what you are SUPPOSED to do.”
10:38 – “If this was an accident that George Anthony knew about, he would have called 9-1-1.” He wouldn’t have scooped her up, put her in a bag and thrown her in the swamp. George has got to feel good about that.
10:40 – They are showing a photo of the grandparents backyard with a cut playhouse and a stone base. George didn’t want insects to crawl on her. So now they are pitting the parents up against Casey. This would make sense for the jury if this were a normal family.
10:45 – They are playing the tape of Casey calling her mom after her mom was on TV and she is pissed that mom suggested that Casey doesn’t know where Calee is. Mom is calling Casey a liar. Her brother gets on the phone and she tells them not to come to court. They are obviously upset with her and want to know what is going on. PRO TIP: When you call from jail, THE CALLS ARE RECORDED AND MONITORED!
10:46 – Call continued…she wants to get her boyfriend’s number. It sounds like the family is working with police to try to get information from her by asking about Tony and why she wants to talk to Tony, asking if he is involved. The police are for sure in the house telling the callers what to say.
10:48 – Call continued…Casey is claiming that the police are to blame for not being able to find the woman she blamed for Casey’s disappearance. TROUBLE!
10:50 – Oh jeez. MSNBC apologizes for the language. We’ve all heard “fucking” and we are talking about a dead kid. I think we can handle a few F-bombs.
10:51 – I went over to HLN because MSNBC thinks we can’t handle the language. Hey MSNBC, fuck off.
10:52 – Tape ends. Casey’s focus was on her boyfriend. Kind of sad and embarrassing. Women, don’t let a man bring you down!
10:54 – She texted that she thought her dad ran over a dead animal and that was the smell but her dad didn’t even drive it? Stupid people do and say stupid things.
10:56 – Talking about a shirt. Who’s shirt? What shirt? Remind us the jurors what shirt, please.
10:58 – Parents are back to sitting next to each other again. Yesterday, they were not. They have an attorney so I have to think every move is being advised. At this point, I have to think that they are incredibly saddened about their daughter’s behavior but that for the defense to blame them was not something the could stand.
11:00 – Playing the 9-1-1 call from Casey’s mom and she is distraught. She is saying that her daughter finally admitted that the baby is gone.
11:01 – Tape continued…Yikes. That’s pretty compelling. This is pretty good impeachment for the mom’s cover-up about the chlorophyll leads to chloroform searches on the computer.
11:02 – She closes with pictures of Casey getting a tattoo and partying to show that it was only Casey’s life who would have been “better” with Calee gone.
That’s all, folks! The judge will instruct the jury on the law which will take a lowng time. The jury will have the case by lunch. Note: the jury will have the instructions with the in the deliberation room because, if you are still watching, you can see how complicated they are. Casey is facing seven charges which are:
1) First degree (premeditated) murder, which includes the lesser crimes of second degree murder, manslaughter and third degree felony murder;
2) Aggravated child abuse;
3) Aggravated manslaughter of a child; and
4) Four counts of providing false information to a law enforcement officers.
First degree murder, felony murder and I think aggravated child abuse are death penalty eligible offenses. The jury is only to decide what she is to be convicted of, not her punishment. The sentencing phase starts 48 hours after the verdict is reached and will be decided by the same jury that convicted her. If she is convicted of any of the death penalty eligible charges, she doesn’t necessarily have to be sentenced to death. During the sentencing phase, you can bet all your dollars that George Anthony will be on trial AGAIN for the abuse allegations and whatnot.
The jurors will need to appoint a foreperson and will likely take a quick vote on some of the charges to see where everyone is. Then Twelve Angry Men [and Women] begins.
What are your thoughts on a conviction on any of the charges?