Motion Sickness

Orange County Circuit Court Judge Stan Strickland inched Casey Anthony one step closer to death today when he decided he would not block the State Attorney’s Office from seeking the death penalty. He denied a motion by her defense team that asked the judge to stop the procedure. One of Anthony’s attorneys, Andrea D. Lyon, gave a compelling argument last Friday that the death penalty violated her constitutional rights.

Judge Strickland ruled that the state may continue its quest for death and said the issue of whether Casey should face it or not should be for the jury to decide.

“While the quantum of evidence sufficient to seek the death penalty will virtually always be an issue, that matter is generally best left for the jury,”Strickland wrote in the three-page ruling.

This is the last of the motions argued last Friday and true to his word, this week the judge denied all of them. He denied a motion to dismiss double jeopardy charges of check fraud, he denied a motion to stop the Orange County Jail from videotaping meetings with her attorneys and he denied the defense’s request to destroy video of any and all visits from her family. George and Cindy said they haven’t gone to the jail to see their daughter for fear that the recordings will be released to an overzealous public while being unfairly picked apart by media commentators.

The judge also ruled that a recorded statement made by Joe Jordan cannot be released. The Texas EquuSearch volunteer illegally recorded a conversation that took place with a defense investigator without the investigator’s consent. Jordan told both the defense and prosecution two different stories about whether he searched the same woods where Caylee’s remains were discovered.

Remember, the jury doesn’t have the final say and the vote does not have to be unanimous, just a majority rule. Ultimately, the judge will decide because it will be his call, but judges usually abide by the jury’s call.

In the end, it was a bad week for Casey, her parents and brother, and her attorneys. They must be feeling pretty sick today, but they are resilient. They will bounce back. The death penalty fight is not completely over yet, but there’s no doubt in my mind that Judge Strickland made wise decisions. On every one of them.