Judge Delays Casey's Return In Probation Case

A judge to stayed an order that would have required Casey Anthony to return to Orange County to serve probation, WFTV learned Wednesday.

Judge Belvin Perry signed the order Wednesday afternoon. A hearing on the matter will be held at 9 a.m. Friday. Casey does not have to report to the Orlando probation office on Thursday, as another judge's order had stated. And she is not expected in court Friday.

READ: Order Staying Probation Order READ: Judge's Order Of Recusal READ: 2011 Order To Appear | Judge's 2010 Order DOCUMENT: Motion For Emergency Hearing VIDEO REPORT: Judge Leaves Case VIDEO: Baez Talks On "Today" Show RAW VIDEO: Corrections Depart. Presser On Casey Status

The judge who ordered Casey back to Orlando to serve probation for check fraud stepped down from that case Wednesday and Casey's lawyer warned she would be in danger if she has to return from an undisclosed location.

Circuit Judge Stan Strickland recused himself from the case on Wednesday, two days after signing an order that Casey had to report for a one-year-probation term.

Strickland did not say why he was removing himself, but Casey's defense lawyers had accused him of prejudice after he gave television interviews about Casey's acquittal last month.

Strickland was the original judge assigned to Casey's murder trial but he recused himself from the criminal case last year at the request of defense attorneys. Judge Belvin Perry, who presided over Casey's murder trial, will take over the probation case.

Casey has until 10 a.m. Thursday to report to the Orlando probation office, said Gretl Plessinger, a Department of Corrections spokeswoman.

"We are prepared to begin her probation," Plessinger said. "Our goal is to treat her like any other probationer."

If she fails to show up, officials said they will issues a bench warrant for Casey.

“Under the terms of the probation order right now, she has to report to the Orlando intake office,” said Plessinger.

Unless a judge changes the probation order, there is no way Casey can avoid reporting to the Orlando intake office. Once she is in the probation system, her address and income information could become a public record unless an exception is made because of safety concerns.

Under the probation terms, Casey would have to report monthly to a probation officer, avoid drugs, get a job, be prohibited from owning a firearm without her probation officer's permission and could not associate with criminals, Plessinger said.

Defense attorney Jose Baez told NBC's "Today" show Wednesday he hoped that Casey will not have to return to Orlando this week and that his team was seeking an immediate hearing for their motions to quash the judge's probation order.

Casey has vanished from public view since her acquittal by a jury in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee. She was convicted of lying to detectives but released from jail because of time served.

Earlier this week, Strickland ordered Casey back to Orlando to meet a probation officer to start a year of probation.

Baez said bringing Casey back to Orlando would only add to what he called the "circus-like atmosphere" around her case.

Strickland sentenced Casey to probation in January 2010 after she pleaded guilty to using checks stolen from a friend. Corrections officials interpreted the sentence to mean that Casey could serve the probation while she was in jail for her murder trial, but the judge said last week that he intended the probation to be served after her release.

On Monday, Strickland signed a "corrected" version of Anthony's probation order to make clear she was supposed to start the one-year term after her release from jail.

But Casey's defense team claims Strickland's order to force Casey to come home for probation is a year too late and not valid.

In a motion filed Tuesday, Baez and his team said Casey already served her probation while in jail and to have her do so again would be double jeopardy. They said Florida law stipulates the judge cannot amend his sentence more than 60 days after it was signed, which was in January 2010.

Casey's lawyers also argued that Strickland has revealed a prejudice against Casey in two television interviews he gave after her acquittal last month. They said he is no longer qualified to issue the amended order since he recused himself from Casey's criminal case and that the amended order was fraudulently filed since there was no court proceeding attended by Casey or her attorneys.

"This thing is over and done. And for some reason things seem to keep coming up again for no apparent reason, for absolutely no apparent reason, other than let's just keep this thing going, let's just keep this madness going and engage in the circus-like atmosphere that is called the Casey Anthony case," Baez said.

Baez said there were threats against Casey because of her acquittal and Orange County would have to provide security if she was forced to return. To back up that claim, Casey's attorneys included a flyer in their motion that showed a doctored photo of Casey with a bullet mark on her forehead. Text underneath the photo reads in part, "With a forehead that big, the headshot will be easier."

Baez did not say where she was located, only that she was not in Florida when the judge's order was signed Monday.

Previous Stories: August 3, 2011: Casey Anthony's Attorneys Fight Judge's Probation Order August 3, 2011: Reports: Casey Anthony Spotted In Ohio August 2, 2011: Judge Orders Casey Anthony To Report For Probation July 29, 2011: State Says Casey Served Her Probation July 29, 2011: Sheriff's Office Spent Nearly $300K Investigating Casey July 29, 2011: Man Held In Contempt During Casey Trial Gets Bond July 29, 2011: Casey Judge Wants Change To Protect Jurors' Identities July 27, 2011: Casey Wants Taxpayers To Pay Appeal Costs July 27, 2011: Judge: Casey Jurors' Names To Be Public In 3 Months