ORANGE COUNTY, Fla.,None — The case against Casey Anthony is the biggest trial in Orange County history, but the Clerk of Courts is trying to use it to keep her budget from being slashed. Lydia Gardner said on Thursday that budget cuts put the trial at risk of being canceled or suspended.
VIDEO REPORT: Trial May Be In Jeopardy
However, Gardner does not have the authority to cancel a trial. Now, there's a showdown brewing between Gardner and Chief Judge Belvin Perry because of the statements she made.
The case against Casey will cost an estimated $361,000 to bring to trial. Gardner said that expense is coming while the state is looking to slash her budget.
Gardner wrote in a statement: "Our funding for the Casey Anthony trial is in serious jeopardy at this time. The Florida Senate has proposed a 5 percent cut to our budget in the 4th quarter, just as the Anthony trial is scheduled to begin. I have informed both the Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court as well as Chief Judge Belvin Perry of these dire circumstances. If the Senate proposal goes through, the trial is in jeopardy of being canceled or suspended."
But Gardner backed off the statement when WFTV questioned her. She said the state wants to cut her annual budget by five percent, and that would mean she couldn't afford to pay jury costs.
"There is not going to be enough in there to take care of the Anthony trial," Gardner said.
At issue are the jury costs of $361,000, and $234,000 are shouldered by the clerk's office to pay for food, hotels, and security to sequester jurors for eight weeks.
Gardner said state lawmakers are threatening to cut 20 percent of her 4th quarter budget. It would slice the budget from $7.5 million to $6 million, and that's what prompted the written statement.
But Gardner does not have the authority to cancel of suspend a trial; that is up to the state court.
Chief Judge Belvin Perry, who is in Tallahassee, told WFTV her statement is premature and the courthouse administration doesn't expect a problem.
"The State vs. Casey Anthony trial is moving forward. It has not been continued," said Karen Levey, Chief of Due Process Services, Ninth Judicial Circuit Court.
But Gardner is in charge of the money to pay for jurors, and it now appears she's trying to use her leverage in the county's biggest case to tell lawmakers not to touch her budget.
"What would you say to someone who would accuse you of playing politics with a child death case?" WFTV reporter Jeff Deal asked Gardner.
"Anyone who knows me would know that wouldn't be in my nature," Gardner replied.
Gardner has had problems paying for juries before. In the summer of 2009, Orange County courts were at risk of not having jurors, because Gardner said she couldn't pay for them.
It was a $359,000 tab. She and Chief Judge Belvin Perry had to hire attorneys to sort it out.
WHAT'S NEXT IN THE CASE?
Next week is another busy week in the case against Casey. She'll be in court next Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to go over scientific evidence in the case. WFTV.com will have them live online and will be live blogging from our Casey Anthony section.
The trial is scheduled to start May 9.
CASEY JURY EXPECTED TO COST COURTS MORE THAN $360,000
New numbers show the case against Casey Anthony will cost the courts more than $360,000, according to a report in the Orlando Sentinel.
Most of that money will cover sequestering the jury.The hotel bill for 12 jurors and eight alternates is expected to cost more than $125,000 and close to $50,000 will go toward meals.
Transportation, security, juror wages, and miscellaneous expenses are expected to cost more than $170,000.
STATE FILES RESPONSE OVER HAIR EVIDENCE IN CASEY CASE
The state filed its response Wednesday to a defense motion trying to keep key evidence about a hair found in Casey Anthony's car trunk out of court.
READ: State's Response On Hair Evidence
A hair in the trunk did show signs of decomposition, but the defense says there's not enough "science" to back up that claim.
Prosecutors submitted more than 300 pages of case law to back their claims.
The judge still has to rule on the issue.
DOCUMENT RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT EVIDENCE IN CASEY CASE
A newly released report (read it) shows Casey Anthony's defense is trying to claim the Orange County medical examiner botched Caylee Anthony's autopsy.
READ: Defense Dr. On Caylee Autopsy VIDEO REPORT: Defense: Autopsy Was Botched
The defense is trying to prove that the duct tape on Caylee's mouth was placed there after Casey was already in jail.
Casey's defense team is working hard to discredit the Orange County medical examiner Dr. Jan Garavalia and her findings of Caylee's autopsy.
"Many have tried to discredit her, few if any have been successful," said WFTV's legal analyst Bill Scheaffer.
The defense hired their own expert Werner Spitz, a Michigan forensic pathologist, to perform another autopsy. He questioned the timing of when the duct tape was placed over Caylee's mouth.
"The defense is also trying to attack the integrity of the crime scene and implying that the body was placed there after Casey was in jail, that the duct tape was placed on Caylee after Casey was in jail," said Scheaffer.
Spitz claimed he didn't find any of Caylee's DNA on the duct tape that was supposed to be attached to her hair.
This statement contradicts the Orange County medical examiner's findings. But Scheaffer said this argument may not be enough to convince a jury.
"I don't believe that this in and of itself is going to be enough to raise reasonable doubt," he said.
The defense's doctor also said the cause of Caylee's death is undetermined and that there's no scientific evidence it was murder.
REPORTS: FBI WIRED FRIEND DURING TALKS WITH CASEY
New documents were released in the case against Casey Anthony Friday. The documents reveal new information about one of Casey's friends who wore a wire for the FBI, during a conversation with her.
It's another bombshell dropped in the case against Casey, almost three years after it started.
ORDER: Memorializing Motions DOCUMENTS: Examination Report | Lab Report READ TRANSCRIPT: EquuSearch Volunteer VIDEO REPORT: Documents Released In Casey Case
Mark Hawkins told the FBI that Casey called him around the time that Caylee Anthony disappeared and said she was upset, that something had happened "a long time ago."
Hawkins also said that Casey had told her mother and brother about it and they were angry and frustrated, but she couldn't talk about it over the phone.
Casey and Hawkins met at Colonial High School and had remained close friends.
Hawkins told investigators that when Casey texted him, Caylee had been missing for 31 days. He said he called her and asked why she hadn't told anyone until then.
Hawkins also said Casey told him "she was worried for Caylee's safety and that she conducted her own investigation." Hawkins also said he got a text from her two months later, saying she missed him and wanted to see him.
So in October 2008, Hawkins, who worked with the U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service, or NCIS, agreed to come to Orlando, put on a wire and visit Casey.
The first time, he rode with Cindy to pick up Casey from attorney Jose Baez's office. The second time, when he wore the recording device, he visited with Casey at her house.
The documents also show when he asked Casey what she couldn't tell him over the phone, she said her brother Lee knew most of the story about what had happened to Caylee and she would tell him all about it "some day."
The NCIS report says Casey never made any admissions to Hawkins about Caylee's death or knowing where Caylee was.
Hawkins said he called her house and in the document he stated, "She had no idea where Caylee was. She said the last time she saw her was when she dropped her off at the babysitter's. Casey told me when she tried to call the babysitter's phone it was turned off."
Hawkins also told investigators when Casey would argue with her parents she would frequently go away for some time with Caylee.
The new documents also show defense experts question the validity of testing done on Casey's car trunk. Defense experts said the air tests that found chloroform and other compounds of human decomposition are experimental, and that bugs found in Casey's trunk could have been attracted by the trash. The defense said they are not proof Caylee's body was there.
During questioning, chief medical examiner doctor Gary Utz was asked if he found any trauma to Caylee's body to prove she was murdered.
He replied there wasn't, but that most of the body was gone by the time they discovered it. Utz also said he didn't find any toxic chemicals during the autopsy, like the chloroform found in the trunk of Casey's car.
Also Friday, WFTV obtained some of the evidence the defense has gathered and shared with prosecutors, showing there was no DNA found on the laundry bag and on Caylee's shorts, which were found with her remains.
In the documents, WFTV found a transcript of a phone interview with EquuSearch volunteer Linda Ann Davis, conducted by the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
Davis said she searched the heavily-wooded area behind the Anthony home on Suburban Drive. She was asked to describe the surroundings and who assisted in the search for Caylee Anthony.
Casey has pleaded not guilty in the death of her daughter. She goes to trial on May 9.
CASEY'S DEFENSE WANTS MORE TAXPAYER MONEY
The defense in the Case against Casey is asking for more money from taxpayers for its private investigator.
Casey's lawyers want investigator Jeremy Lyons to do another 300 hours of work at a rate of $40 per hour. That's an extra $12,000.
The defense said Lyons would be going through new evidence submitted by the state and looking into the prosecution's witness list.
Judge Belvin Perry has yet to rule on the request.
JUDGE TO RULE ON MOTIONS NEXT WEEK IN CASEY CASE
Defense attorneys for Casey Anthony will have to wait about two weeks to find out if their attempt to keep key evidence out of the trial was a success.
Four days of crucial hearings wrapped up Monday. The defense doesn't want jurors to hear about the lies Casey told to investigators and her family, as they tried to figure out what happened to Caylee Anthony.
WFTV's legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said the defense has a lot to lose if the damaging statements are included because they put Casey in a bad light.
"Because the state will show her pattern of lies, lies, lies, and her demeanor is totally inconsistent with a mother whose child is missing," Sheaffer said.
WFTV will update as soon as Chief Judge Belvin Perry rules on this issue.
Previous Stories: March 17, 2011: Casey Jury Expected To Cost Courts More Than $360,000 March 15, 2011: Document Raises Questions About Evidence In Casey Case March 14, 2011: Reports: FBI Wired Friend During Talks With Casey March 10, 2011: Casey's Defense Wants More Taxpayer Money March 8, 2011: Judge To Rule On Motions Next Week In Casey Case March 7, 2011: Final Arguments Made, But No Ruling At Casey Hearing March 4, 2011: Cindy Testifies, Baez Apologizes At Casey Hearing March 4, 2011: Casey Docs Reveal Defense Expert Witnesses' Testimony
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