Legal Questions for our Verified Lawyers #4

[TxLady2]

The counts were:
1st degree murder (LWOP or death) (this would include felony murder based on agg. child abuse)
Aggravated manslaughter of a child (30 years max)
Aggravated child abuse (15 years max IIRC)
Lying to LE x 4 (1 year max each count)



It is not done that way everywhere. But it's getting more common. IMO it will become normal procedure within a few years.

You are correct that the transcript is not normally in a readable, paper form during jury deliberations unless the attorneys have been ordering partial transcripts during trial (which I do a lot). But the court reporter should be able to read back portions.



They can ask, but the judge doesn't have to say yes.

WOW! I was on that jury over 20 years ago! I guess Texas is ahead in some things. I think I said the clerk, but I meant the court reporter read it back to us. Good to know I'm right sometimes. :great:

 

[HatesSociopaths]

My legal question is if the initial psychological evaluations in 2008 could be used as evidence if Casey was asked about sexual molestation and said she had not been.

Also, would the prosecution have been more inclined to use forensic psychological evaluation in their own case if they were not going for the death penalty? I feel they should have. I don't think the jury understood ICA was a sociopath. Testimony from a forensic psychologist could have helped reach a guilty verdict, albeit potentially eliciting sympathy from the jury, and no death penalty as punishment.

 

[robmom]

My question is do you think Tim Miller has a chance in his lawsuit? It would seem to me he might if he can prove Casey led him to believe he was looking for an alive child. Also, if he claims that Casey said Caylee was alive, but then her lawyers claimed she was already dead, would Casey then have to admit that her lawyers made that all up or that it's true and she did say that? Or would that be attorney/client privilege?

 

[AZlawyer]

My legal question is if the initial psychological evaluations in 2008 could be used as evidence if Casey was asked about sexual molestation and said she had not been.

Also, would the prosecution have been more inclined to use forensic psychological evaluation in their own case if they were not going for the death penalty? I feel they should have. I don't think the jury understood ICA was a sociopath. Testimony from a forensic psychologist could have helped reach a guilty verdict, albeit potentially eliciting sympathy from the jury, and no death penalty as punishment.

Used as evidence in what case? The murder trial? Since Casey didn't testify, the State would not have been permitted to offer evidence to "impeach" her non-testimony.

There is no way that the State would have been permitted to introduce evidence that Casey had some kind of mental illness making her more likely to murder. And no way to force Casey to submit to an evaluation by whatever expert the State would have used.

 

[AZlawyer]

My question is do you think Tim Miller has a chance in his lawsuit? It would seem to me he might if he can prove Casey led him to believe he was looking for an alive child. Also, if he claims that Casey said Caylee was alive, but then her lawyers claimed she was already dead, would Casey then have to admit that her lawyers made that all up or that it's true and she did say that? Or would that be attorney/client privilege?

I'm not sure about this one. He was volunteering and IIRC the Anthony family asked him to leave pretty much right away. And Casey herself never asked him to come, did she? And then he was pretty much only looking for a DEAD Caylee despite the family's statements, which is what ticked off Cindy, right? There are a lot of facts that are going to get in the way of winning this lawsuit.

Casey cannot be asked what she told her lawyers--that is A/C privilege.

 

[back2back19]

I'm sure this is a dumb question but can GA sue the jury foreman for saying he thought George could have murdered Caylee?

 

[wallflower67]

I am hoping that Casey gets counseling once she is out. Not that I think it will do a lot of good. I'm guessing that since Casey has been aquitted, she can likely speak candidly and openly to any counselor about what she did without fear of repercussions. The therapist would not be required to report the crime of murdering Caylee.

However, what if she confessed to other forms of abuse towards Caylee? Like if she confessed that she drugged Caylee muptiple times and stored her in the trunk of the car and was just surpised as heck that one day Caylee died because of it.

Could she be reported for additional child abuse charges, even though those instances didn't result in Caylee's death?

 

[Sustained]

AZLawyer - thanks for all of your time answering our questions. And I have one more for you ... what would constitute jury tampering ? I assume if the DT agreed to pay the jurors or offer a free cruise, that would be tampering. But what about if one juror offered favors to another juror to "buy" their vote ? And assuming evidence of jury tampering was found or someone on the jury came forward, what would be the process, could the verdict be abandoned, and who would make that decision ?

 

[AZlawyer]

I'm sure this is a dumb question but can GA sue the jury foreman for saying he thought George could have murdered Caylee?

No way.

I am hoping that Casey gets counseling once she is out. Not that I think it will do a lot of good. I'm guessing that since Casey has been aquitted, she can likely speak candidly and openly to any counselor about what she did without fear of repercussions. The therapist would not be required to report the crime of murdering Caylee.

However, what if she confessed to other forms of abuse towards Caylee? Like if she confessed that she drugged Caylee muptiple times and stored her in the trunk of the car and was just surpised as heck that one day Caylee died because of it.

Could she be reported for additional child abuse charges, even though those instances didn't result in Caylee's death?

I suppose she could be reported and charged with additional acts of child abuse, except that I suspect the statute of limitations has passed.

AZLawyer - thanks for all of your time answering our questions. And I have one more for you ... what would constitute jury tampering ? I assume if the DT agreed to pay the jurors or offer a free cruise, that would be tampering. But what about if one juror offered favors to another juror to "buy" their vote ? And assuming evidence of jury tampering was found or someone on the jury came forward, what would be the process, could the verdict be abandoned, and who would make that decision ?

Sure, that would be jury tampering. It would have no effect on the verdict if the DEFENDANT didn't do it, though, because the DEFENDANT is the one with the constitutional rights at stake here.

Plus it didn't happen.

 

[ahi]

Will her name change requests be public and does it have to be filed in FL?

 

[back2back19]

No way.

Thank you. Wendy Murphy said he could/should but I don't trust anything she says, so I wanted to ask.

 

[Sustained]

No way.
Sure, that would be jury tampering. It would have no effect on the verdict if the DEFENDANT didn't do it, though, because the DEFENDANT is the one with the constitutional rights at stake here.

Plus it didn't happen.

Thanks, but I'm not totally understanding - let's say the defense team bought the verdict and paid the jurors $25K each. Evidence surfaced and the defense team confessed to their bribes. Are you saying that the verdict would not be overturned b/c the defendant him/herself did not do the bribing ? What would happen then ? The DT would just be disbarred but the verdict would stand ?

 

[blaizer]

I know this has been asked before, but the answer I saw I really did not understand. When a jury is presented with a charge that has degrees of severity, like murder, must they only decide on the charge presented by the prosecutor or can they choose an even lesser level of guilt?

So for Casey's trial, charge one was first degree murder with lesser included second degree murder. Must it have been first or second degree murder, or was the jury allowed to find guilt on third degree or manslaughter or some other charge. (Again only pertaining to count one, I know manslaughter was part of count three.)

 

[AZlawyer]

Will her name change requests be public and does it have to be filed in FL?

If Casey files a petition to change her name, it would be filed wherever she is residing at the time. Whether or not the request is public would depend on the statutes and court rules of that place.

Thanks, but I'm not totally understanding - let's say the defense team bought the verdict and paid the jurors $25K each. Evidence surfaced and the defense team confessed to their bribes. Are you saying that the verdict would not be overturned b/c the defendant him/herself did not do the bribing ? What would happen then ? The DT would just be disbarred but the verdict would stand ?

The defense team is an agent of the defendant. Most likely the entire trial would be voided at that point (as a mere sham trial) and double jeopardy would not apply.

Once again I feel I must add that this did not happen.

I know this has been asked before, but the answer I saw I really did not understand. When a jury is presented with a charge that has degrees of severity, like murder, must they only decide on the charge presented by the prosecutor or can they choose an even lesser level of guilt?

So for Casey's trial, charge one was first degree murder with lesser included second degree murder. Must it have been first or second degree murder, or was the jury allowed to find guilt on third degree or manslaughter or some other charge. (Again only pertaining to count one, I know manslaughter was part of count three.)

The jury was presented with instructions for lesser included offenses, yes.

Count One was First Degree Premeditated or Felony Murder, with lesser included offenses of 2nd degree, manslaughter, and 3rd degree felony murder.

Count Two was Aggravated Manslaughter of a Child, with no lesser included offenses.

Count Three was Aggravated Child Abuse, with a lesser included offense of child abuse.

 

[manatee]

If Casey files a petition to change her name, it would be filed wherever she is residing at the time. Whether or not the request is public would depend on the statutes and court rules of that place.



The defense team is an agent of the defendant. Most likely the entire trial would be voided at that point (as a mere sham trial) and double jeopardy would not apply.

Once again I feel I must add that this did not happen.

Hi AZ! I value your input but I'm confused as to why you are so sure jury tampering did not happen. I find it odd that this jury left town without a word. I find it strange that they did not take any more time to deliverate. I find it strange that JB did that little cameo shooting at the camera right before the verdict was rendered. I find it strange that a juror that worked as a baker at grocery store decided to retire and leave her husband and get out of town...really? this is all very odd to me.
just curious how you can be so sure that JBs antics did not reach the jury in tampering.

 

[AZlawyer]

Hi AZ! I value your input but I'm confused as to why you are so sure jury tampering did not happen. I find it odd that this jury left town without a word. I find it strange that they did not take any more time to deliverate. I find it strange that JB did that little cameo shooting at the camera right before the verdict was rendered. I find it strange that a juror that worked as a baker at grocery store decided to retire and leave her husband and get out of town...really? this is all very odd to me.
just curious how you can be so sure that JBs antics did not reach the jury in tampering.

I don't find any of those things strange. The jurors might not have wanted to be interrogated after a month of emotionally draining testimony and being separated from their families. 10 hours might have seemed like enough time to deliberate as they apparently weren't having trouble understanding the evidence that WAS there so much as discussing the evidence that WASN'T there. JB is a cocky guy and I do not see his "six-gun salute" as anything but more cockiness. The juror's husband explained why she felt threatened and, given the comments on this forum, I guess I would feel pretty threatened if I were one of these jurors too.

I tend to assume that crazy, soap-opera-worthy things have not happened unless there is some scrap of evidence that they did happen. Buying a verdict is a serious charge--much worse than, e.g., failing to disclose an expert opinion. There is NO WAY NO HOW that this defense team would have risked their licenses, reputations, etc. on buying a verdict, which could not possibly be kept secret for long. It would also have required making overtures to numerous people, and if just one of them had a sliver of ethics, the whole plan would have come crashing down.

 

[Peliman]

I'm not sure about this one. He was volunteering and IIRC the Anthony family asked him to leave pretty much right away. And Casey herself never asked him to come, did she? And then he was pretty much only looking for a DEAD Caylee despite the family's statements, which is what ticked off Cindy, right? There are a lot of facts that are going to get in the way of winning this lawsuit.

Casey cannot be asked what she told her lawyers--that is A/C privilege.

I'm contemplating a hypothetical small claims for those who traveled to search for Caylee to recover their expenses, based on ICA's lies.

I did find this bit of info though.

"Cindy Anthony arrived at the Orange County Sheriff's Office around 3:00pm Thursday in the company of Tim Miller, who heads up EquuSearch. The group says it was Cindy Anthony who called them and asked for help to find her missing granddaughter Caylee."

I think ICA was in jail on charges at the time. Does this have any merit?

http://www.wftv.com/news/17326724/detail.html

 

[AZlawyer]

I'm contemplating a hypothetical small claims for those who traveled to search for Caylee to recover their expenses, based on ICA's lies.

I did find this bit of info though.

"Cindy Anthony arrived at the Orange County Sheriff's Office around 3:00pm Thursday in the company of Tim Miller, who heads up EquuSearch. The group says it was Cindy Anthony who called them and asked for help to find her missing granddaughter Caylee."

I think ICA was in jail on charges at the time. Does this have any merit?

http://www.wftv.com/news/17326724/detail.html

Maybe Tim should be suing Cindy, then, just for the time in between her asking for his help and her telling him to get out of her house. What was that--a week??

 

[grammieto5]

What is needed to prove Aggravated child abuse ? Thanks

 

[MidAtlanticNative]

AZ, I suspect you have more patience in your little finger than I do in my entire being!

My hat's off to you (and your fellow professionals) for your dedication to the 'Lawyers' thread here...