Good things happened in three’s.
We had our first trilogy this year in which we conducted jury research projects back to back this Spring (lots of traveling but so worth it) for three different clients and all three clients went to verdict and WON! We are so very grateful for the opportunity to have worked with the clients and law firms involved and want to congratulate all of the trial teams! Thank you for having us aboard!
Now bring on the 4th (could we call that a prequel?)
Anatomy of a travesty – NYPOST.com. NY cops found not guilty of rape. How the CSI effect and drinking by the victim may have shaped the final outcome of this case.
My interview with the NY Post.
Primacy is crucial in trials. What do you want the jurors to understand immediately about your case? For the Prosecution they are definitely putting the “character” of Casey Anthony front and center in the first week of their case in chief.
No matter how you look at it and whether or not the jurors are going to believe the theory that Caylee drowned in the family pool – this panel heard today: a) that the very day after Caylee allegedly drowned (or was murdered as alleged by the State) – Mom spent the entire day in bed with her boyfriend Tony; Tony skipped class that day to spend it in bed with Casey; Casey participated in a “hot body” contest at the bar where Tony worked and during the whole time post June 16th – Casey was happy and in no way showed any signs of distress.
This came after a slew of Fushion bar “shot girl” factual witness testimony this morning in which all of them pretty much testified that they never really knew that Casey had a daughter (except for one) no one ever heard her saying that her daughter was missing nor did they think that she was somehow emotional or upset – quite the contrary. In describing Casey, they said she was nice and almost mother hen like in the supervision of the shot girl’s duties. Puzzling for sure considering that the jury will have to believe either Casey killed her daughter or knew her daughter was dead at this point.
Yet in another “random untruth moment” the jury heard today from a friend and/or acquaintance of Casey that Casey had invited this witness in July to Caylee’s birthday party in August. Why oh why would someone who knew their child was dead invite them to their bday party? How the Defense is going to prove and/or move the point in time when Casey knew that Caylee was dead to accomodate this type of story is anyone’s guess?
Opening Statements in the Anthony case occurred today in a dramatic fashion. Plenty of surprises and tears as expected. The Prosecution did a solid job of setting up an undisputable thematic timeline which displayed more times than not – where Casey told her parents and friends she was – she was not; who was watching Caylee changed as many times as the days in the week (and all of these individuals do not actually exist); Casey spent a great deal of time getting tattoos, participating in “hot body” contests, attending parties, hanging out with her boyfriend and shopping at Target and Ross during the 30 days while her daughter was missing.
However, not to be outdone, the jurors then heard from the Defense…”and you never know what secrets lie within the Anthony house.” Insert picture of the Anthony home here. Apparently, the secrets are: Caylee died an accidental death by drowing in the family swimming pool; Casey Anthony’s father molested her at a young age (8); her father had an affair with another woman during the time of this investigation; and if you follow the duct tape (because this is the real evidence) this will lead you (the jury) to the right result. The main theme being that the Prosecution’s “investigation of this case reached the level of desperation” and they would overlook anything or believe anyone if they were willing to point their finger in the direction of Casey.
Another hitch for the jury in this case is the Dad issue, he was the first witness called by the Prosecution. He did answer the question in a believable fashion that he never molested Casey and he was extremely hurt by the allegations. However, where the Defense scored a “that just doesn’t make sense point” and where Mr. Anthony did not help himself because he fell into a common witness trap of “though protest too much” is on the issue of when he knew that Casey was pregnant and if and when he asked Casey who Caylee’s father was. Seemingly simple questions…but there were no simple concrete answers given.
The bigger question now may be for either side is will they really want to ever see Mr. Anthony take the stand again?
Will we ever hear Opening Statements in the Casey Anthony murder trial?? If I was a betting woman – I would say hopefully by next week. However, we are still with only 11 jurors and Court ended (abruptly) early today. Kudos to Judge Perry for trying to keep a watchful eye on potential jurors time and effort in coming down to the courthouse day in and day out for the past week and a half. His comment to the defense this morning could have been made with lunch in mind… “potential jurors are not grits for a grits meal, just to be set aside, used up for inconvenience”. Link to another radio interview on this topic coming soon.
Watching the “art” of the backstrike during the Anthony trial and having done this several times as a consultant really makes me wonder whether or not Texas Courts should adopt this principle in jury selection in civil matters. As a consultant it definitely allows you to hold your cards until the time of swearing in but is it really the better route for judicial economy and the best use of juror time? Hmm…
One sure fire way to get you booted off the jury – update your status on Facebook that you plan to write a book about your service. Prosecutors in the Casey Anthony case busted a potential juror for posting on Facebook that he planned to write a book about the case, just days after the Judge Perry told him not to discuss it.
A witness testifying in the Casey Anthony case was present in the 49 person jury pool. Arguments have been made that this witness was discussing the case with potential jurors. Now, this panel has been dismissed and a new panel will be brought in.
A record number of jurors (20 plus) will be seated to hear the trial of the young mother Casey Anthony who is accused of killing her 2 year old daughter. The seating in the courtroom is also of interest because she will be facing the jury panel throughout trial instead of sitting at an angle.
Took 15 hours of deliberations due to one juror holdout but finally jury found Chris Coleman guilty of killing his wife and two sons. http://t.co/VP330uZ
 | Stasey on The 11 juror stalemate |
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