Emergency Hearing 7/2/10 (Criminal) - Defense Wants To See Evidence Privately

Casey To Attend Emergency Hearing Friday

Posted: 5:38 pm EDT July 1, 2010
Updated: 5:49 pm EDT July 1, 2010

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Casey Anthony will be back in court Friday afternoon for an emergency hearing, WFTV learned Thursday. The defense wants its experts to see evidence at the sheriff's office without the supervision of the state.

The hearing is scheduled the begin at 1:30pm. WFTV.com will have it live online.

WFTV also reviewed the list of new witnesses who will be brought in to help defend Casey Anthony. Casey's parents and brother are on the list, too.

Casey's parents told investigators her car smelled like a dead body. Investigators found maggots and coffin flies in her trunk, which they say shows Casey put Caylee Anthony's lifeless body in there before bagging it and leaving her body in the woods.

The defense has hired forensic entomologist Dr. Timothy Huntington, a Nebraska professor, to refute that damning evidence.

“The forensic evidence in this case will come down to a battle of the experts,” WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said.

Cadaver dogs alerted on Casey's trunk and in the Anthony's back yard. Now, the defense lists witness Dr. Kenneth Furton, a Florida International University chemistry professor, who is listed as an expert in the use of dogs to detect human remains.

Once Caylee's remains were found in the woods near her house, investigators found a lot more evidence. They even documented how tall the plants were that were growing amid Caylee's remains.

Colorado biologist Dr. Jane Brock, who is listed as an expert in analyzing plant evidence at crime scenes, is on the defense witness list along with Canadian professor Dr. Scott Fairgrieve, who has researched human skeletal biology and torture. Duct tape was found layered over Caylee's face, which prosecutors say would have prevented her from breathing.

Sheaffer says jurors are tougher on defense experts.

“A defense expert is getting paid to come down, getting paid to testify, getting paid to reach the conclusions they reach,” Sheaffer said.

Friday, the defense will try to convince the judge to appoint a special magistrate to supervise its experts when they examine the evidence so no defense secrets are divulged to prosecutors.

http://www.wftv.com/news/24114206/detail.html

Emergency hearing scheduled in Case Against Casey

By Jacqueline Fell, News 13 Reporter
Last Updated: Thursday, July 01, 2010 5:46 PM

ORLANDO -- News 13 has confirmed there will be an emergency hearing held Friday in the Case Against Casey Anthony at 1:30 p.m.

Anthony will be present.

Here's what the hearing will cover: Anthony’s defense team wants to be able to inspect evidence in the case that's being held at the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

In court papers just filed, Anthony's attorneys want Judge Belvin Perry to appoint what’s called a "special master," which is an objective observer -- a lawyer or retired judge -- who will impartially oversee the defense's request to view this evidence.

Prosecutors and law enforcement officials wouldn't be allowed to participate.

The defense team wants to view the evidence over two days -- July 14 and July 15 -- and several top defense experts are planning to attend.

News 13 has also learned who those experts are.

The defense also recently filed its amended witness list that has new experts.

Unarguably, Anthony's murder trial will come down to circumstantial evidence, which means experts hired to analyze dirt, dust, remains and other evidence hold her fate in their hands.

The latest hired experts for the defense are no strangers to the courtroom.

Dr. Jane Bock has analyzed plants and other evidence for criminal investigations for years. According to her web page, for nearly 30 years she has worked on developing the use of plant cells in the gastrointestinal tract to aid in homicide investigations.

Dr. Timothy Huntington has consulted on more than 50 death investigations. The forensic entomologist was one of the experts waiting to get access to where Caylee's remains were found in December 2008. He studies insects to help establish a time of death.

Dr. Scott Fairgrieve is a forensic anthropologist. He's expertise is the use of cadaver dogs. He's likely consulted with the search, recovery, and analysis of Caylee's skeletal remains.

Dr. Kenneth Furton, the only Florida expert listed, will likely testify in the areas of drug analysis and dogs detecting chemicals.

The state is also relying on several experts to make their case. A billing expense was recently released for their forensic entomologist, Dr. Neal Haskell.

News 13 was the first to report the expert is expected to earn $20,000 for his analysis of insects.

In the case notes, Dr. Haskell wrote "in more than 800 cases over a 25 year period, this case has generated the highest number of samples I have ever had to analyze."

Other expert witnesses include Dr. Henry Lee, a forensic expert who has worked on many high profile cases.

Also, one of the nation’s most renowned DNA experts, Dr. Lawrence Kobilinsky, is working with the defense.

News 13 will be in court for the hearing Friday and we'll continue to be out front in developments on this case.

http://www.cfnews13.com/article/news/2010/july/116464/Emergency-hearing-scheduled-in-Case-Against-Casey

Lawyers to argue over evidence review Friday
Casey Anthony will attend the 1:30 p.m. hearing Friday

Amy L. Edwards, Orlando Sentinel
5:41 p.m. EDT, July 1, 2010

Casey Anthony and her lawyers will be back in court Friday to argue about who will watch defense experts as they review evidence in the case.

The hearing is in response to a motion filed Thursday by attorney Jose Baez, who said the defense team has several experts "from all parts of the world" lined up to review evidence in the first-degree murder case.

That evidence is currently in possession of the Orange County Sheriff's Office, and the state wants agency officials present during the defense's inspection, Baez wrote.

Baez said it's critical that the defense team and experts be able to consult each other during the evidence inspection without sheriff's officials present.

Having sheriff's officials there "would unfairly subject statements made between counsel and the expert witnesses to discovery, creating an unfair prejudice against the Defendant in her preparation for trial," Baez stated.

The experts are slated to inspect the evidence July 13 and July 14. Those are the only days all experts could meet with the defense attorneys.

The experts and attorneys will test, copy and photograph the evidence.

Baez is asking for Perry to appoint a special magistrate to be present during the inspection.

Orange-Osceola Chief Judge Belvin Perry will hear the arguments at 1:30 p.m., a court spokeswoman said Thursday afternoon.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-casey-anthony-evidence-hearing-20100701,0,6307339.story

Anthony lawyers want magistrate for inspection of evidence

Updated: Thursday, 01 Jul 2010, 6:29 PM EDT
Published : Thursday, 01 Jul 2010, 6:29 PM EDT

ORLANDO, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Attorneys for Casey Anthony have filed a motion to appoint a Special Magistrate during the inspection of evidence with expert witnesses later this month. The defense is asking that the Special Magistrate oversee the witnesses as they look over discovery items, currently in the possession of the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

Prosecutors with the State Attorney's Office have found it sufficient enough to have representatives from the Sheriff's Office present during these inspections. However, defense lawyers contend that, during the inspections, certain communication might occur with the witnesses which should remain confidential and exclusive to the defense team. They are alleging that questioning or any other conversation between attorneys and expert witnesses would constitute "real time work product," and therefore suggest that this is protected under what is known as the "work product doctrine."

In the motion which was submitted on Thursday, Jose Baez writes that, "the State has an obligation to permit the defendant to inspect, copy, test, and photograph" material within the State's possession or control.

An emergency hearing has been scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Friday before Orange County Judge Belvin Perry, Jr, to address the motion. We are planning to stream the event live on MyFoxOrlando.com.

http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/news/anthony_case/070110-Casey-Anthony-state-magistrate

Updated WFTV article:

Casey To Attend Emergency Hearing Friday

Posted: 5:38 pm EDT July 1, 2010
Updated: 12:27 pm EDT July 2, 2010

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Casey Anthony will be back in court for an emergency hearing Friday afternoon. Casey's defense team will ask an Orange County judge to appoint a third party to monitor its experts as they examine the evidence.

DOCUMENT: Defense's Motion For Hearing
VIDEO REPORT: Emergency Hearing Friday

The hearing is scheduled the begin at 1:30pm. WFTV.com will have it live online.

Normally investigators with the sheriff's office would oversee this type of work, but Casey's lawyers don’t want them there.

This is a very unusual, if not unprecedented, request by the defense to make the sheriff's office leave its own building, where the evidence is kept, so the defense experts can have privacy in examining the evidence. The defense has lost in its bid to win privacy at the Orange County jail, which is also a public facility.

The defense filed a motion Thursday asking for an emergency hearing Friday to try to convince Chief Judge Belvin Perry to appoint a "special magistrate" to supervise at the Orange County Sheriff's Office in place of sheriff's detectives while defense experts examine and analyze the evidence next month.

Casey's lawyers say their experts will converge on Central Florida all at the same time, July 13 and 14, from all over the world and they want their privacy.

One of the defense experts, Dr. Henry Lee, was chastised by a California judge for apparently losing key prosecution evidence in Phil Spector's first murder trial. It ended in a mistrial after Dr. Lee apparently misplaced the tip of the victim's fingernail, which could have shown she was fighting for her life.

http://www.wftv.com/news/24114206/detail.html

Casey Anthony To Appear In Court Today
Defense Team Wants To See Evidence Alone

POSTED: 6:09 am EDT July 2, 2010
UPDATED: 6:47 am EDT July 2, 2010

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Casey Anthony's defense team heads back to court Friday over evidence they want to see, but without Big Brother watching.

Anthony's attorneys want an independent magistrate to be there with them as they sort through evidence.

The reason, they said, is that they don't want deputies from the sheriff's department to hear what they are talking about. However, the state wants the Orange County Sheriff's Office present while the defense inspects the evidence.

Jose Baez also filed a list of defense witnesses consisting of experts on plants and insects, as well as college professors who are expected to challenge forensic evidence.

This will be the first time Anthony is seen in public since her fall in the courthouse elevator on her way to her last hearing, which she then couldn't attend.

It will also be her first hearing without attorney Andrea Lyons. Lyons was her death penalty attorney. She quit the team Wednesday, citing financial reasons.

Lyons claims she was spending too much money flying to Orlando from Chicago. Those expenses are not covered by taxpayer money.

Anthony is in the Orange County Jail charged with murder in the death of her daughter, Caylee. Caylee's remains were found in a wooded area near the Anthony family home in December 2008.

Anthony maintains a nanny by the name of Zenaida Gonzalez kidnapped Caylee. Her trial is set to begin in May 2011.

http://www.wesh.com/news/24119545/detail.html

Casey In Court As Judge Denies Motion, Sets Rules

Posted: 5:38 pm EDT July 1, 2010
Updated: 3:03 pm EDT July 2, 2010

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Casey Anthony was back in court for an emergency hearing Friday afternoon as Casey's defense team asked an Orange County judge to appoint a third party to monitor its experts as they examine the evidence. Judge Belvin Perry, though, citing no previous cases to support such a ruling, declined the defense's request less than an hour into the hearing, but set forth other rules for the two parties to follow.

CASEY WALKS IN: See Images | Raw Video
COURTROOM PICS: Attorneys, Casey, Family In Court
WATCH HEARING: Part 1
DOCUMENT: Defense's Motion For Hearing

Casey walked into the courtroom just after 1:30pm wearing a light blue, short-sleeve, button-down shirt and black slacks. She sat at a table next to her attorney, Jose Baez. Also in the courtroom were Cindy Anthony and Anthony family attorney Brad Conway.

Normally, investigators with the sheriff's office would oversee the defense examination of evidence, but Casey's lawyers don’t want them there.

“What we are actually trying to get to the heart of is to properly and effectively examine the evidence in this case,” Baez said Friday to start his argument on their motion.

This is a very unusual, if not unprecedented, request by the defense to make the sheriff's office leave its own building, where the evidence is kept, so the defense experts can have privacy in examining the evidence. The defense has lost in its bid to win privacy at the Orange County jail, which is also a public facility.

“It is just an inspection [of evidence],” Baez said, addressing Chief Judge Belvin Perry’s question of whether they were just planning to inspect or actually test evidence.

The defense filed a motion Thursday asking for an emergency hearing Friday to try to convince Judge Perry to appoint a "special master" to supervise at the Orange County Sheriff's Office in place of sheriff's detectives while defense experts examine and analyze the evidence next month.

“With the narrow request we’ve asked for, if both sides can work together, I don’t think it would be unreasonable,” Baez told Judge Perry.

Casey's lawyers say their experts will converge on Central Florida all at the same time, July 13 and 14, from all over the world and they want their privacy.

“In no way, shape or form is it our desire to restrict their access to this evidence,” prosecuting attorney Linda Drane-Burdick told the judge after Baez concluded his initial arguments.

Drane-Burdick then pointed out to the judge that there are facility issues, including having enough space for all their experts (at least four, plus counsel), and challenges with having all the evidence in question in the same place.

"The inspection itself can be videotaped," Drane-Burdick said. “The concern that I have is how they want to handle this evidence."

Drane-Burdick argued that the state has made efforts to provide the evidence in ways that would have allowed the defense access, but said those efforts either fell through or were rejected.

“We are not endeavoring to restrict their access,” Drane-Burdick concluded her initial arguments. “We just want to make sure it is done in the appropriate way.”

Baez then responded to the prosecution's arguments, suggesting that the volume of evidence isn't as great as the prosecution suggested when it argued that it would be difficult to provide all in one place. Baez also shot back at the prosecution's concern about being able to provide a sufficient space before Baez returned to the argument of the defense having privacy.

“We have struggled for privacy in the defense from the very beginning. My client can’t do a thing without it becoming public,” Baez argued, somehow connecting this issue of privacy with their demand to view evidence in private. “She can’t order a bra without it becoming public. I can’t meet with her without it being videotaped. She can’t receive letters without it being public. It has gotten to the point where it has choked our abilities to defend her in the proper matter.”

After Baez's response, the state chose to make no further comments.

“Last night, I did check to see if I could find any cases. I also had some of the staff attorneys see if they could find any reported cases,” Judge Perry told the court. “There are no reported cases.”

Judge Perry then touched on what he views as personal issues instigating this situation.

“What it sounds like to me is there is some discomfort between the two sides about certain things dealing with evidence and certain things dealing with personalities. While this case is a very important case, it’s like the hundreds of other cases that has occurred involving homicides and the court has no control over what the news media considers newsworthy or what the news media does not consider to be newsworthy,” Judge Perry said. “The defense under our rules of discovery and under the 6th Amendment of the United States Constitution has a right to inspect this evidence.”

Judge Perry then ordered that the sheriff’s office will have to find an air conditioned space sufficient for the inspection of the evidence and that the defense will have to give a detailed list of what they want to inspect. Judge Perry said a representative of the sheriff’s office and the state can be present.

“I’m also requiring that there should be an area close by when they look at an item they are free to go to an adjacent room and they are free to discuss anything they want ,” Judge Perry said, adding that video taping of the opening, closing and inspection of evidence is allowed, but no audio of video recording is allowed in the aforementioned adjacent room.

Judge Perry said Baez must turn in his list of requested evidence to the state by July 8.

“I will have someone in my office to answer my phone during that entire day [of the inspection],” Judge Perry said. “So, if something comes up, I can be reached to mediate any disputes.”

One of the defense experts, Dr. Henry Lee, was chastised by a California judge for apparently losing key prosecution evidence in Phil Spector's first murder trial. It ended in a mistrial after Dr. Lee apparently misplaced the tip of the victim's fingernail, which could have shown she was fighting for her life.

http://www.wftv.com/news/24114206/detail.html

CASEY WALKS IN:
See Images http://www.wftv.com/slideshow/news/24124277/detail.html

Raw Video http://www.wftv.com/video/24124199/index.html

COURTROOM PICS:
Attorneys, http://www.wftv.com/slideshow/news/24124574/detail.html

Casey, http://www.wftv.com/slideshow/news/24124574/detail.html

Family http://www.wftv.com/slideshow/news/24124574/detail.html

WATCH HEARING: Part 1 http://www.wftv.com/video/24124701/index.html

http://wdbo.com/localnews/2010/07/live-blog-casey-anthony-hearin-1.html

WDBO Local News

LIVE BLOG: Casey Anthony hearing
By Drew Petrimoulx @ July 2, 2010 1:31 PM

The Casey Anthony case hearing is back in court Friday afternoon to hear a defense motion to have a special magistrate oversee the inspection of evidence.

2:35 Hearing over.

2:29 Judge Perry: Law on inmate privacy is clear: They have none.

2:22 Baez brings up that he is displeased that the state released letters written to Casey in jail.

2:15 Judge rules that defense must submit a list of items they want to inspect. The facility where they inspect the items must be air conditioned. The sheriff's office can video tape the inspection of the evidence, but there must be an adjacent room where the defense can talk in privacy.

2:02 Baez: We have struggled for privacy throughout this entire case.

1:55 Burdick: We are concerned how the defense will handle the evidence.

1:43 Prosecutor Linda Drane Burdick says Baez requested to be alone with the evidence.

1:43 Baez: Similar magistrate was appointed in Phil Specter murder trial. (just my opinion, but why in the hell would he even speak that name! That trial was a fiasco and ended with Dr. Lee running away to China to take a teaching job because of the accusations of mishandling evidence in that case!)

1:41 Baez: Items in question were collected at crime scene.

1:40 Baez: Special master would be present to make sure there in no tampering with evidence.

1:30 Defense attorney Jose Baez doesn't want law enforcement present during inspection of evidence. He argues that his expert's observations and conversations are protected and not subject to discovery.

Judge denies Casey Anthony's request, says prosecutors and Sheriff's Office can be present during evidence inspection
Casey Anthony attended the hearing but did not speak

Amy L. Edwards, Orlando Sentinel
2:34 p.m. EDT, July 2, 2010

The state and Sheriff's Office can have officials present while Casey Anthony's defense experts review evidence seized in her first-degree murder case, Orange-Osceola Chief Judge Belvin Perry ruled this afternoon.

At an emergency hearing today, defense attorney Jose Baez argued that he wanted experts to be able to consult with each other during the evidence inspection later this month without sheriff's employees present.

Baez asked that a special master be appointed to oversee the inspection instead of having the state and Sheriff's Office attend.

The evidence in question are items that were collected from the woods off Suburban Drive in east Orange County where the remains of Casey Anthony's daughter, Caylee Marie Anthony, were found in December 2008.

Prosecutor Linda Drane Burdick said Casey Anthony's defense team has a right to inspect the items and discuss the evidence, but that policy and precautions need to be followed as protocol, such as wearing hair nets and gloves.

The Sheriff's Office wants to maintain the integrity of the evidence, she said.

Perry ruled that Baez needed to provide a detailed list of the evidence he wanted to inspect. He said the Sheriff's Office needs to move the evidence to an air-conditioned room so everyone can work in comfortable conditions, and that inspection can be videotaped. Audio can not be recorded.

Perry also said the defense attorneys and their experts need to have access to a space where they can meet in private.

The judge said he will be available the two days the evidence is slated for review -- July 13 and July 14 -- in the event any conflicts need resolved.

After the hearing, Baez said he doesn't think it's appropriate that the Sheriff's Office will be able to videotape the defense team and experts as they inspect the evidence.

He wouldn't specify what they want to review, but said it will be "relevant" pieces that were collected. Baez said the defense will do the best they can with the perimeters set by Perry.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-casey-anthony-evidence-hearing-20100701,0,4059615.story

It appears KC can now watch her mother when the camera is on Cindy..... when did they put these monitors in the courtroom? I don't believe they haven't always been there.

Hearing Slideshow

I don't see KC showing her teeth in any of these pics..... wonder if she got her tooth fixed????

Also, isn't is amazing how long KC's hair has grown? If she doesn't cut it between now and trial, it's gonna be as long as Martine's hair!!!!!

Snaz, I read that she did get her tooth fixed.

I don't know if it's accurate. It was on one of the chat blogs during the hearing. Someone said that a local FL radio station reported this morning that is was fixed.

I hate it, too, tish!!! But I hate that the Florida taxpayers are paying for anything for that baby murderer.

Sometimes it feels like the criminals have all the rights.

Julie, if you come across anything that shows she might have her tooth fixed, please be sure to post it here for us!

Just this from the chat:

One tv station reported this am that her tooth had been repaired and looked as good as new.

Thanks, Jules!

Updated:

CASEY WALKS IN: See Images | Raw Video
COURTROOM PICS: Attorneys, Casey, Family In Court
WATCH HEARING: Part 1 | Part 2
VIDEO REPORT: Judge Denies Defense Motion
DOCUMENT: Defense's Motion For Hearing

So I guess she did get her tooth fixed:

Casey's father, George, has stopped coming to court after she accused him and her brother of molesting her. Friday, she mouthed "I love you" to her mother before she left court, never showing her newly-capped tooth after her fall last time.

http://www.wftv.com/news/24114206/detail.html

As an aside, I read from a blogger who attended today's hearing that Cindy mouthed "I love you" to KC, and KC responded with a weak smile and mumbled something, but that it definitely was not "I love you."