CASEY ANTHONY: what do you think will happen.

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Last summer, I was called for jury duty and seated on a criminal case. I am a federal prosecutor. When the judge asked me if I thought I could be fair and impartial, I told him that I understood, probably more than most, the presumption of innocence and the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Neither the assistant district attorney nor the defense challenged me.

Interesting. I've never been that far in the process. My experience in Baltimore is with them bringing the pool of prospective jurors in and the judge asking a series of pretty basic questions - you stand up if the question applies to you. Then the attorneys confer and you either sit down or are dismissed. I assume that if you qualify then you get interviewed by the judge on the next "round."

They've always eliminated me on one of the standard items, with no further questions asked.

 

[1001001]

I've always thought it would be very interesting to be on a jury, but as a psychologist, I never make it on. The prosecutor always excuses me immediately.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

I've always thought it would be very interesting to be on a jury, but as a psychologist, I never make it on. The prosecutor always excuses me immediately.

I have been called for jury duty only once. However, as soon as I heard what the case was, I knew that I was on the express line to the parking lot - a failing bank suing it's public accounting firm for a bad audit.

As expected, I was out of there before lunch.

 

[Misfit Toy]

I've been called several times - but only seated once. It was a two-day DUI case that was more-or-less a no-brainer, but we (the jury) got moved in and out of the courtroom so often that it seemed much longer.

 

[bluedana]

Much of jury selection is an exercise in knee jerk social prejudice. I remember trying DUI cases early on in my career and the ADA who was supervising me advised me to use my peremptory strikes against anyone with an Irish surname. Why? Drunks, all of them.

On the other hand, my husband got called for jury duty and was fervently hoping that he would get struck, as a former lawyer, and be back in his office by mid-morning. I told him, You're an educated black man with no criminal record, and a minister as well? You are so on that jury!

He sent me a very peeved text on their lunch break.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Judge Belvin Perry has sentenced Casey Anthony to one year in jail for each count of lying to police, which will run consecutively.

The judge and defense attorney Jose Baez said it will take about an hour to figure out what exact time Anthony has served and how to apply that to the sentence. The jail would also have to consider any good behavior time.

Perry also said he would fine Anthony $1,000 for each count.

Perry also said that the court will work to calculate the cost of the investigation into Caylee Anthony's disappearance and what amount of that Casey Anthony might have to pay.

Link

Sounds reasonable. I wish there were some grounds on which to determine how much the parents impeded the investigation and hit them will a bill for that as well.

Say, bluedana, as a fairly expert observer are you aware of any substantial evidence in this case that was excluded by the judge as a result of defense challenge? We've been talking elsewhere about some of the things that were alleged to have been said, discovered etc over the last three years and why they may or may not have been presented to the jury.

More regarding today's sentencing:

The judge gave her a four consecutive jail sentences, but she has already served nearly three years and would get credit for time served as well as good behavior. [Judge] Perry estimated Anthony could be freed in late July or early August.

Link

The civil case against Anthony for defamation in the matter of "Zanny the nanny" is evidently moving forward; Casey will be deposed.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Casey Anthony will be released on July 13, 2011, according to a court spokesperson.

 

[1001001]

Much of jury selection is an exercise in knee jerk social prejudice. I remember trying DUI cases early on in my career and the ADA who was supervising me advised me to use my peremptory strikes against anyone with an Irish surname. Why? Drunks, all of them.

To be fair, that one's true.



Cheers,

Sean Michael



PS: There's already someone outside the courtroom with a "Marry Me Casey" sign.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

I'm actually surprised there hasn't been more of that - she's young, single, reasonably attractive, notorious, and clearly in distress. You're a psychologist, right?

And, oh yeah, she's also childless.

 

[DarthTom]

PS: There's already someone outside the courtroom with a "Marry Me Casey" sign.

I'm sure someone in your field has written a doctoral thesis on why and what type of neurosis attracts people to murderers.

Perhaps you can shed some light on this?

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

From a year-old report:

ORLANDO, Fla. (CBS/AP) Letters of love, lust, support, criticism, and even letters proposing marriage that were sent to Casey Anthony, the jailed Florida mother charged with killing her 2-year-old daughter Caylee, were among 5,000 pages of documents released Friday morning by the Florida state attorney's office.

People from all over the country, including inmates around the nation, wrote to Anthony.

One that stands out is a 2009 letter from her father, George Anthony, asking to visit her in jail.

"It has been too long to not hear your voice call me 'Papa Joe/Dad.' I need," he wrote, "to hear that from you no matter what. Please let Papa Joe come to visit. You are the boss. You can make it happen. So what if the media gets some of it. It will
be just you and I - and the conversation is under your control."

Some of the letters detail people's experiences with depression, jail, relationships and religion. Many wrote multiple times with intimate detail of their lives.

Some letters are effusive in their support for the accused murderer.

"I promise you that you will always have me to 'comfort' you. My friendship is unconditional, I will be on your side no matter what. But I do not believe you are responsible. I hope you are proven innocent, because I hate thinking of you all by yourself in jail," wrote a letter signed by Mark LeBlanc of Calgary, Canada. At the bottom it read: "P.S. I send you a BIG HUG to comfort you." Numerous other men offered to "wipe the tears" off Anthony's cheeks.

Men and women made passes at Anthony, referring to her as "sexy" and "princess." Some proposed marriage. "MARRY ME CASEY MARIE. MARRY ME. I will do whatever you need me to do to show you I'm real," read a message signed by Alfred Rego of Dartmouth, Mass.

"I think I'm one hot single dad. Don't you?" asked a letter signed by Rob Crespo of Melbourne, Fla.

But not just men have apparently been affected by Anthony's case. "When I have a bad day," said a February 2009 letter signed by Julie Reynolds in Lexington, Ky., "I see your smile, and it changes everything,"

Not all were positive. A letter signed by Carol Grant of Utah was one of the few that did not support Anthony. The message read, "YOU ARE A MONSTER. I hope you rot in hell!!"

Link

I'm sure I'm the only one who finds "Papa Joe's" letter creepy and ominous.

 

[DarthTom]

I'm sure I'm the only one who finds "Papa Joe's" letter creepy and ominous.

What's amazing to me is the number of people who have the time, make the effort and have the inclination to not only follow this trial on TV but show up.

The Today Show recently featured one woman who forgoed her family vacation to Disney World instead to stand in line daily for the trial.

Then there are those that feel so personally connected to a stranger to show up with signs in angst over this verdict.

There is so much human tragedy in the world, in these people's states and right in their own communities that it's perplexing to me that they focus on this one when others they might actually be able to effectuate change on.

I'm not sure if it was you or someone else Dennis that said that Casey should send a thank you card to Nancy Grace for publicizing this trial. I'd take that one step farther and suggest to Casey to appear on her show for a huge fee.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Here's something interesting:

"Caylee's Law"

It might be unconstitutional as a federal law, but I'd imagine that there could be a lot of political support for it on state levels.

 

[DarthTom]

Here's something interesting:

"Caylee's Law"

It might be unconstitutional as a federal law, but I'd imagine that there will be a lot of political support for it on state levels.

Lets hope that the Congress and the President learned from President Bushes huge error [Terri S.] in trying to intervene on an issue that is really a state matter.

There is absolutely no reason the congress needs to create a national law that is already likely covered by most state laws.

 

[1001001]

PS: There's already someone outside the courtroom with a "Marry Me Casey" sign.

I'm sure someone in your field has written a doctoral thesis on why and what type of neurosis attracts people to murderers.

Perhaps you can shed some light on this?

As the song says, I radiate more heat than light....




I don't really know a lot about this particular phenomenon, although I do have a couple of thoughts.

When it comes to women proposing to murderers in prison, I think there's something about a "misunderstood" guy that attracts a certain type of female. It creates a false intimacy ("I'm the only one who understands him") and feeds into the distortion that "my love will heal him". In my practice I have come to believe that sometimes, women's hearts are too big for their own good.

I would also imagine that the self-esteem of these women is very, very low. I would not be surprised if there was a higher rate of Cluster B Personality Disorders in these women, but I don't know if that is true or not.

As for males writing or proposing to females, until this case I hadn't given it much thought. Perhaps the dynamics are similar regardless of gender.

Or...she's young, hot and crazy. What guy isn't attacted to that (for a little while)?



I'm sure Holdfast will be along shortly to correct me, so stay tuned...

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

I suppose that whether Casey Anthony herself could benefit from any kind of therapy is an open question. If you can't be honest with yourself on any emotional level, where's insight going to come from?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Here's something interesting:

"Caylee's Law"

It might be unconstitutional as a federal law, but I'd imagine that there will be a lot of political support for it on state levels.

Lets hope that the Congress and the President learned from President Bushes huge error [Terri S.] in trying to intervene on an issue that is really a state matter.

There is absolutely no reason the congress needs to create a national law that is already likely covered by most state laws.

It's that bullshit about "won't somebody think of the children?" writ large. Sticking a child's name onto a law somehow makes it more likely to get passed because it's basically emotional blackmail, even though as you say, the relevant law is already covered. Obstruction of justice would seem to do just that. Because that's exactly what this is.

 

[bluedana]

Say, bluedana, as a fairly expert observer are you aware of any substantial evidence in this case that was excluded by the judge as a result of defense challenge? We've been talking elsewhere about some of the things that were alleged to have been said, discovered etc over the last three years and why they may or may not have been presented to the jury.

I pretty much ignored any discussion of the evidence in favor of just watching, when I could, what happened in court, so nothing jumps out at me. I will say that I was surprised that the judge let in the "suicide" note of George Anthony, because it didn't seem to me to meet the requirements of admissibility under the dying declaration doctrine.

 

[Gil T.Azell]

....

PS: There's already someone outside the courtroom with a "Marry Me Casey" sign.

That's Fucked up! or they're just a trouble maker.

 

[Trekker4747]

Here's something interesting:

"Caylee's Law"

It might be unconstitutional as a federal law, but I'd imagine that there could be a lot of political support for it on state levels.

Jesus Christ. I don't see what good that would do anyone or anything.