I knew that the order to have her serve probation, although technically not yet dismissed, wouldn’t hold up. Judge Strickland, who ordered the one-year probationary period for Casey, will look like a fool at the end of the day. TGO
Refer to story below. Source: Reuters
By Barbara Liston | Reuters
ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) – A judge ruled on Wednesday that Casey Anthony, the Florida mother acquitted of murdering her toddler, will not be required to report to an Orlando probation office on Thursday as ordered by a different judge.
Judge Belvin Perry instead will hold a hearing Friday morning to consider the concerns raised by Anthony’s attorneys over the probation order.
Anthony, 25, will not be present at the hearing, a court spokeswoman said.
Earlier this week, Judge Stan Strickland said that he meant for Anthony to serve probation for a check fraud case after her release from jail on the murder charge connected to her 2-year-old daughter Caylee’s death, rather than during her incarceration.
Anthony’s lawyers filed an emergency motion on Tuesday challenging Strickland’s amended probation order.
Strickland recused himself from the check fraud case on Wednesday. Perry, who presided over Anthony’s murder trial, took over the other case as well.
The defense contends Anthony completed her probation while she was in jail awaiting her murder trial and that Department of Corrections records reflect that, according to the motion.
The defense accused Strickland of reckless disregard for Anthony’s civil rights and said the judge’s action subjected her to double jeopardy.
“The whole thing is very confusing, and we’re certainly trying our best to clarify it, and we want to take the proper legal steps to do so,” defense attorney Jose Baez said on the Today show early on Wednesday.
The defense raised concerns about Anthony’s safety if she be forced to return to Orlando, where her high-profile, televised trial ended in a dramatic acquittal. Anthony’s whereabouts have been kept from the public since her release from jail on July 17.
Baez said on the Today show that he hoped to avoid bringing Anthony back into the public eye in Orlando.
“They had to shut down streets for us to leave Orlando,” he said. “I certainly don’t think that’s something they want to embrace for her to come back.”
“It’s a bad situation. This thing is over and done. For some reason things seem to keep coming up again for no apparent reason,” Baez said.
(Reporting by Barbara Liston; Writing by Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Greg McCune)
