Legal Questions for our Verified Lawyers #4

[nomoresorrow]

(BBM)

If these 2 questions have already been answered



let me know and I'll reread this thread - my mind is still in shock, so could have overlooked them-

Cindy testified in court that she had a patent on Caylee's name so people couldn't profit off her name -- does that or will that apply to Casey making money from this horrible story??

Also, since Jose, in his opening statements said something along the lines of "she didn't report Caylee as missing because she wasn't missing - she was dead (the horrible accident story) -- and since Casey was charged and convicted with lying to law enforcement - could the state of Florida now sue Casey for any of the money spent on this investigation?

Thanks for your answers.

Great question - I'm wondering this also Wanetta!

 

[NotRocketSighence]

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.

After the verdict was read, Jose, Cheney and Casey went to the podium and the Judge Perry appeared to formally judge her not guilty on the top counts and guilty on the bottom counts. Was his judgement simply a formality of echoing the jury verdict because technically he rules over the proceedings OR was this declaration something he has discretion to change if he personally feels the jury verdict did not accurately reflect the evidence put forth?

Is it possible, likely at sentencing that the prosecutors will file other charges (failure to report a death? improper disposal of a body?) Separate charges where double jeopardy won't attach of course.

Thank you once again.

 

[MADJGNLAW]

I have always thought that the Judge has the last word. So, even though the jury claims Casey is innocent can Judge Perry say, well I think she is guilty? There has to way to re-open this case.


Baez said that George had found Caylee and admitted Casey knew Caylee was dead. Can't the State of Florida charge her for all the money they used to search for Caylee as well as TES?

Can't the State of Fl re-open the case using the defense statements that it was an accident and indite George and Casey and let another jury decide who should be charged with the murder/accessory to murder?


The fact that this alt juror is talking, implying that they all spoke about the case which is a big No No...can that make the judge find an other jury?

Then one of jurors had conviction, how on earth was he selected? The judge was in a hurry to get this trial going and I feel that the jury didn't want to be there, even in jury selection most just did not want to be there so of course they didn't pay attention to the evidence..they just wanted to go home. The way it sounds they only payed attention to the defense when they were up there with there theatrics..

There has to be some hope for Caylee to get justice!? :banghead:

 

[ynotdivein]

Bumping for anyone who awoke with legal questions bouncing around their heads this morning...

 

[Roze]

There is a post on Caylee Daily that claims that some of the jurors may have been bullied by another juror that teaches classes in trial evidence. If this is true and a juror felt bullied and came forward, could this cause a mistrial?

 

[Sophiered]

Could Casey be charged with interfering with a dead body, such as placing the body in 3 bags and hiding them, could she be charged for placing duct tape on the mouth of a living child, Caylee must have been alive for there to be any need for the tape.

 

[Sustained]

Is there a jury instruction that defines the difference between direct and circumstantial evidence and that if a case is solely defined by circumstantial evidence, it is OK to "connect the dots" in deciding a verdict ? If not, should there be ?

 

[cmsg2002]

I thought there had been mentions that Casey would still be serving felony probation on the check charges. If so, wouldn't the convictions for the lying to LE charges be a violation of that probation? Subject to revocation of probation and further jail time? (one can only hope!)

I know this might be best answered by our verified lawyers.....

 

[KenoshaKid]

Bumping...

 

[Bainbridge]

I apologize if this was already asked, but I can't find it through searching.
Can Roy Kronk file a civil suit for defamation of character, or something along those lines? Or is what is said in court off limits? I find it very troubling that he could have no legal way to clear his name.

 

[Chili Fries]

Is there something else the state should have charged her with to insure she spent time in jail even if she was found not guilty on the murder, manslaughter and child abuse charges? Something that would have given her more than the 4 years max for the 4 charges of lying to police. Or something that would have added time to those charges, not been served concurrently.

 

[Frigga]

Can Judge Perry, at sentencing, due to the VERY recent motion of incompetency filed by her attorneys stipulate that she get mental health treatment for a specified amount of time after she is released?

 

[nephers]

I'm sure this has already been asked, I apoligize if it has....

Now that the trial is over, will all the sealed information become available? Specifically the video of ICA's reaction to Caylee being found.

Also, will JB still face sanctions for his behavior during trial? JP seemed to indicate JB would be in some sort of trouble once the trial was over.

 

[Sustained]

Could Judge Perry have ruled on the Ann Finnell motion for mistrial either during deliberations or before the verdicts were read ?

 

[Quester]

Does HHJP have any leeway to exceed the maximum 1 year per guilty given the egregious level of lying, the voluminous audiovisual documentation of her lying and the gravity of the situation (missing/dead child)?

TIA

 

[SCSam]

I'm sure this has been asked and answered (apologizes) but WHO can file a civil suit in this matter such as was done after OJ's acquital??

 

[gmt]

Do you think anyone has a good case to sue any party in this case? Do you think any other charges will or could be filed against anyone in this case? If so which ones please?
Do you think TES has a good chance to win if they file? Thank you for your answers and time given here.

 

[AZlawyer]

I'm sure this has been asked and answered (apologizes) but WHO can file a civil suit in this matter such as was done after OJ's acquital??

Caylee's dad. If he isn't dead and can be found. But even then he would get no damages as he didn't even know her.

Does HHJP have any leeway to exceed the maximum 1 year per guilty given the egregious level of lying, the voluminous audiovisual documentation of her lying and the gravity of the situation (missing/dead child)?

TIA

No.

Could Judge Perry have ruled on the Ann Finnell motion for mistrial either during deliberations or before the verdicts were read ?

Yes.

I'm sure this has already been asked, I apoligize if it has....

Now that the trial is over, will all the sealed information become available? Specifically the video of ICA's reaction to Caylee being found.

Also, will JB still face sanctions for his behavior during trial? JP seemed to indicate JB would be in some sort of trouble once the trial was over.

No. Someone would have to file a motion to release any sealed information.

It is up to HHJP whether he still wants to sanction JB.

Can Judge Perry, at sentencing, due to the VERY recent motion of incompetency filed by her attorneys stipulate that she get mental health treatment for a specified amount of time after she is released?

No.

Is there something else the state should have charged her with to insure she spent time in jail even if she was found not guilty on the murder, manslaughter and child abuse charges? Something that would have given her more than the 4 years max for the 4 charges of lying to police. Or something that would have added time to those charges, not been served concurrently.

I can't find anything else applicable in the statutes.

I apologize if this was already asked, but I can't find it through searching.
Can Roy Kronk file a civil suit for defamation of character, or something along those lines? Or is what is said in court off limits? I find it very troubling that he could have no legal way to clear his name.

No, what is said in court is off limits.

I thought there had been mentions that Casey would still be serving felony probation on the check charges. If so, wouldn't the convictions for the lying to LE charges be a violation of that probation? Subject to revocation of probation and further jail time? (one can only hope!)

I know this might be best answered by our verified lawyers.....

No, she was not on probation when she lied to the police.

Is there a jury instruction that defines the difference between direct and circumstantial evidence and that if a case is solely defined by circumstantial evidence, it is OK to "connect the dots" in deciding a verdict ? If not, should there be ?

In this case, no such instruction was given. I tend to think that it is confusing to jurors to give that instruction.

Could Casey be charged with interfering with a dead body, such as placing the body in 3 bags and hiding them, could she be charged for placing duct tape on the mouth of a living child, Caylee must have been alive for there to be any need for the tape.

It does not appear that there is any Florida statute about improper disposal of dead bodies.

Caylee was charged with child abuse. If the jury thought she had duct taped Caylee's mouth while Caylee was alive, they would have convicted her of child abuse. If the jury thought Caylee had died as a result, they would have convicted Casey of murder.

There is a post on Caylee Daily that claims that some of the jurors may have been bullied by another juror that teaches classes in trial evidence. If this is true and a juror felt bullied and came forward, could this cause a mistrial?

No.

I have always thought that the Judge has the last word. So, even though the jury claims Casey is innocent can Judge Perry say, well I think she is guilty? There has to way to re-open this case.


Baez said that George had found Caylee and admitted Casey knew Caylee was dead. Can't the State of Florida charge her for all the money they used to search for Caylee as well as TES?

Can't the State of Fl re-open the case using the defense statements that it was an accident and indite George and Casey and let another jury decide who should be charged with the murder/accessory to murder?


The fact that this alt juror is talking, implying that they all spoke about the case which is a big No No...can that make the judge find an other jury?

Then one of jurors had conviction, how on earth was he selected? The judge was in a hurry to get this trial going and I feel that the jury didn't want to be there, even in jury selection most just did not want to be there so of course they didn't pay attention to the evidence..they just wanted to go home. The way it sounds they only payed attention to the defense when they were up there with there theatrics..

There has to be some hope for Caylee to get justice!? :banghead:

No, HHJP did not have the option of rejecting the verdict.

The State might be able to sue Casey for the money spent on the searches, but I don't think they will bother. They spent a lot more money on the prosecution than on the searches. IMO TES will not win a lawsuit for the money spent on the searches because they were not in any way obligated to do so. In addition, both the State and TES were looking for a dead body more than they were looking for a live missing child, so really Casey's lies didn't affect the searches much.

The case cannot be reopened; opening statements are not evidence; and an accident does not mean someone is responsible for murder.

Juror misconduct or failure to care about the evidence cannot undo a not guilty verdict.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.

After the verdict was read, Jose, Cheney and Casey went to the podium and the Judge Perry appeared to formally judge her not guilty on the top counts and guilty on the bottom counts. Was his judgement simply a formality of echoing the jury verdict because technically he rules over the proceedings OR was this declaration something he has discretion to change if he personally feels the jury verdict did not accurately reflect the evidence put forth?

Is it possible, likely at sentencing that the prosecutors will file other charges (failure to report a death? improper disposal of a body?) Separate charges where double jeopardy won't attach of course.

Thank you once again.

Yes, it was a formality. He did not have any discretion to disregard the verdict.

New charges cannot be filed at sentencing, and in addition I cannot find any Florida criminal statute requiring the reporting of a death or proper disposal of a body.

If these 2 questions have already been answered let me know and I'll reread this thread - my mind is still in shock, so could have overlooked them-

Cindy testified in court that she had a patent on Caylee's name so people couldn't profit off her name -- does that or will that apply to Casey making money from this horrible story??

Also, since Jose, in his opening statements said something along the lines of "she didn't report Caylee as missing because she wasn't missing - she was dead (the horrible accident story) -- and since Casey was charged and convicted with lying to law enforcement - could the state of Florida now sue Casey for any of the money spent on this investigation?

Thanks for your answers.

Cindy is obviously using the word patent (if that's what she said) in a legally inaccurate way.

Regardless of whatever Cindy has or thinks she has, she cannot prevent Casey from using Caylee's name, for profit or otherwise.

No, the State cannot sue Casey for the money spent on the investigation.

Two quick questions...

Does JP still reserve the right to call for a mistrial now that the verdict has been read?

If Caylee's biological father were to come forward now, could he request a civil trial?

Thanks!

No.

Yes, but he would not get any damages to speak of--see my answer earlier in this post.

 

[AZlawyer]

Do you think anyone has a good case to sue any party in this case? Do you think any other charges will or could be filed against anyone in this case? If so which ones please?
Do you think TES has a good chance to win if they file? Thank you for your answers and time given here.

No.

No.

And no.

Sorry.

 

[manorlady]

In hindsight, would it have been wiser to reserve the lesser charge of child abuse in case the murder conviction fell through? If they had done that and she had been acquitted of murder, could they then have filed child abuse charges against her?