ORANGE COUNTY, Fla.,None — Some of the most significant events in the case against Casey Friday didn't happen in the courtroom, despite a hearing. Instead, WFTV found them in a stack of documents released by the defense. The documents involve the defense team's expert witnesses.
TRANSCRIPTS: Bock | Bock #2 | Furton | Huntington | Huntington #2 | Fairgrieve VIDEO REPORT: Docs Reveal Witnesses' Testimony
Among the 460 pages WFTV obtained are the transcripts of four experts being questioned. They talked about Caylee's remains, the smell in Casey's car, and the use of police dogs during a search. In every case, the experts negate the theories the state has about those things.
In December, January and February, prosecutors and attorneys in the case against Casey Anthony questioned the four expert defense witnesses.
Biology professor Dr. Timothy Huntington discussed his opinions about findings in Casey's car. He said he smelled the trunk several days after the car was retrieved and admitted it smelled bad, but couldn't determine if the scent was decomposition or the smell of garbage.
When asked if he agreed that remains were found in her car, he said: "I wouldn't have said that based on the evidence at hand. No."
The state argues there was a body in her car.
"This is the defense's witness to counter that. 'No. I don't reach the same conclusion,'" explained WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer.
A forensics expert reviewed materials pertaining to the use of human remains detection dogs. The dogs were used by law enforcement to search the Anthony's home and hit on something. The dogs also sniffed around her car.
"The use of a dog can be somewhat subjective because the dog is not a scientific instrument," Dr. Scott Fairgrieve said.
Fairgrieve said dogs aren't calibrated, so they're not reliable.
"This is an attempt by the defense to refute or dispute the state's expert by way of cadaver dogs," Sheaffer explained.
A biologist was also questioned. She claimed Caylee's remains were surrounded by plant growth, and said the body had been in the woods anywhere from a week to six months.
"This witness is going to say, 'No, it was placed there after Casey was in jail,'" Sheaffer explained.
Sheaffer told WFTV it's common for one side to use experts to try to poke a hole in the other side's theories, just like what's been done here.
CINDY TESTIFIES, BAEZ APOLOGIZES
Casey Anthony and her attorneys were back in the courtroom Friday morning as a scheduled 2-day hearing pushed into a third day. Prosecutors and defense attorney's furthered their cases over the admissibility of conversations between Casey and her family, but not before taking up a matter concerning WFTV.
CASEY ENTERS 03/04: See Images | Raw Video BELICH RULING: Watch Raw Video | Motion BILL SHEAFFER: Pre-Day 3 Analysis CINDY ANTHONY: Raw Testimony PERRY CRACKS WHIP: Judge Chastises Attorneys BAEZ APOLOGY: Regarding Contempt Allegations DETECTIVE MELICH: Part 1 Of 2 | Part 2 IN COURT 03/04: Key Players In The Case VIDEO REPORT: Day 3 Of Hearing Ends READ: Motions To Be Heard March 2-3
Friday afternoon, the judge announced he will hold a hearing next week on a set of key remaining pretrial motions he heard arguments on this week. While Ninth Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Belvin Perry ruled on a handful of small motions Friday that the defense and prosecution argued on over three consecutive days, he has called another hearing for 2:00pm Monday. It is then that he is expected to rule on other motions that could affect the strategies both the defense and state will employ in the upcoming trial of Casey Anthony.
Things got heated fast Friday morning with Judge Belvin Perry reprimanding Casey Anthony for arriving to the courtroom late. The hearing was scheduled for 8:45am, but Casey didn't arrive until around 8:50am.
Judge Perry explained that he would not wait for "clothes" to start the hearing and said that when he sets a hearing for 8:45am, it needs to start at that time. Apparently, Casey's clothes were late arriving for her at the courthouse.
After that bit of procedural reprimand, things got started with WFTV's own attorney, Greg Thomas, arguing to strike WFTV reporter Kathi Belich from the defendant's witness list (read motion).
Defense attorney Cheney Mason argued that it's not a guaranteed privilege for journalists in all cases and said this is an exception. In addition, Mason argued that two inmates, Robyn Adams and Maya Derkovic, are involved in a conspiracy against Casey; Belich had interviewed Derkovic inside jail.
Judge Perry then quoted Florida Statute 90.5015 (statute details) that provides a journalist privilege regarding be called in a case, and that to overcome that privilege they have to make a reasonable argument with specific guidelines.
"Journalists, by their nature, talk to witnesses each and every day not knowing the magnitude or how important or how less important a particular person is," Judge Perry explained. "This was designed to protect journalists and help protect the First Amendment right of freedom of speech ... to protect news-gathering sources."
With that statement, Judge Perry granted WFTV's motion to strike Belich from the defense's witness list.
After the ruling, the defense continued to try to block statements made between Casey and her family from the trial. The defense has suggested that law enforcement tried to use Casey's family to sidestep her attorney, but the lead investigators in the case denied that.
"Is it your intent, as has been suggested today, that you manipulate them to do your bidding?" prosecutor Linda Drane-Burdick added.
"No," lead investigator Yuri Melich replied.
Melich told Judge Perry that it was the Anthony family that asked on numerous occasions how they could sidestep Jose Baez, and it was not the other way around.
"They brought it up and asked for someone to go talk to her in that context we would say again we couldn't talk to her. But if she reached out and wanted to talk to someone, we would make sure that happened," Melich said.
"At any point in time did you tell George Anthony to have Casey write a letter to you?" Drane-Burdick asked. "Did you tell George Anthony to have Casey write a letter to anybody?"
"No, not directly, but we did suggest that if she wanted to contact us she could do so by several means. Writing a letter was one of those included," Melich replied.
George, Cindy and Lee Anthony have also testified that they were motivated by the desire to find Caylee and not by law enforcement. Casey's lawyers are trying to get certain statements Cindy made to deputies tossed out, but she more likely helped prosecutors.
"Not knowingly or willingly," Cindy said when asked about acting as an 'agent' for law enforcement.
Defense attorneys tried to make the case that investigators wanted to use Casey's family to go around attorney Jose Baez. Cindy told the judge that investigators asked them numerous times to go directly to Casey for information, without Baez knowing about the exchange.
Cindy tried to take that a step further and told the court that Orange County sheriff's investigators expressed dislike for Baez.
"Sgt. Allen made it very clear to me and my husband in the very beginning that he didn't trust Mr. Baez and didn't like him," Cindy said as she was interrupted. "I'm trying to answer."
As that exchange continued about Baez, Casey at one point seemed to console him by patting him on the thigh. It seemed an awkward moment after Cindy said investigators thought Baez was "full of s***."
However, Cindy also said much of her motivation was simply to find Caylee.
As the hearing wrapped up, with little actually ruled on thus far, the hearing turned to the contempt allegations against Baez. Instead of hearing the motion dealing with the prosecution's claims of contempt, both sides agreed that they had reached a resolution and Baez will only get a slap on the wrist. Baez then gave an apology to the court and prosecutors.
Previous Stories: March 4, 2011: Cindy Testifies, Baez Apologizes At Casey Hearing March 3, 2011: Another Emotional Day In Court For Casey Hearing March 3, 2011: Day 1 Of Emotional Casey Hearing Wraps Up March 2, 2011: Jose Baez Blames Others In Motion Addressing Allegations February 28, 2011: Casey Prosecution Won't Use Some High-Profile Evidence February 25, 2011: Judge Grants Casey Defense Team Motions February 22, 2011: Prosecutors Want Casey's Attorney Held In Contempt
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