Top

Casey Anthony Acquitted

January 27, 2012 by · Comments Off on Casey Anthony Acquitted 

Casey Anthony Acquitted, More than six months after Casey Anthony’s attorneys filed notice they intend to appeal her criminal convictions, they have yet to submit an initial brief laying out the substance of her legal challenge.

While her criminal appeal moves at a seemingly glacial pace, civil suits filed against Anthony progress through the circuit court here in Orlando. One of the three is set for trial in April.

Normally, civil and criminal matters remain on distinct sides of the court system, but in Anthony’s many ongoing cases, they’re intertwined.

Anthony’s appeal of four misdemeanor convictions for lying to law enforcement has allowed her to largely avoid answering questions posed by the legal teams suing her for money. That’s because her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination applies while her appeal is pending.

In other words, she cannot be forced to answer questions now that might come back to hurt her later if she wins her appeal and is granted the chance at a new trial.

Some familiar with the case question whether delays in Anthony’s appeal could be designed, in part, to thwart the civil cases and provide her protection from explaining under oath the circumstances surrounding the death of her daughter, Caylee Marie.

“It does seem to us to be an attempt to continue to provide a shield for Casey Anthony’s testimony,” said Matt Morgan, one attorney representing Zenaida Gonz?lez, who is suing Anthony for defamation. “We anticipated for this appeal to drag on.”

Anthony’s legal team handling the appeal — attorneys Cheney Mason and Lisabeth Fryer — did not return calls for comment.

But Mason recently announced on national TV that Jose Baez is no longer on the case and that negotiations regarding any interviews Anthony would do for money would start after her appeal was over.

Bottom