Sunday, October 31, 2010

A lot of lawyering, a lot of frustration

I arrived at the courthouse about a half hour early, early enough to breeze through security and go up to the 23rd floor. That afforded me enough time to have a good conversation with one of the senior reporters on this case before others arrived. We talked about several issues related to the case, and one of the topics dealt with journalists and bloggers.
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Friday, October 29, 2010

Get Bent

Dura lex sed lex. That's Latin for "the law is hard, but it is the law." Such will be a lesson learned by the defense in the courtroom today, I'm afraid.
What was scheduled to be a status hearing has turned into one of greater magnitude, and one that Casey must attend. She hasn't appeared in court since the July, when her mother and brother took the stand over the admission of Cindy's 911 calls.
While the status of the case will still be discussed, two defense motions will also be heard, and that will include counter motions filed by the JAC and theOrlando Sentinel. Defense attorney Ann Finnell recently filed a motionthat asked Judge Perry to set a cautionary budget for costs she expects to incur to properly represent Casey prior to a sentencing phase; to be prepared if she is convicted of capital murder. The next motion will once again ask the judge to reconsider prior rulings over the public's right to see Casey's jail records, including phone calls, visitor logs and commissary purchases.
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Monday, October 25, 2010

Woe is Mee

On February 16, 2007, I wrote a post about the poor St. Petersburg girl who couldn't shake off hiccups. Believe me, I could relate. Although hers lasted more than a month, mine only hung around for about 2 weeks. Doctors tried everything with her, but in my case, a heavy dose of one medication in particular knocked them for a loop. Today, at the first sign of a hiccup, I panic. No way do I ever want them again.
Interestingly, and in one of those "Whatever happened to..." moments, Jennifer Mee has resurfaced in the news, not that she ever reached an acclaim that gave us pause to wonder where she went to begin with. Today, the now 19-year-old sits in a jail cell in St. Pete, charged with first-degree murder, along with two cohorts. In a statement released late Sunday, Sgt. T. A. Skinner, of the St. Petersburg Police Department, said Mee had been arrested along with Laron Raiford, 20, and Lamont Newton, 22. All three had been taken into custody on Saturday in connection with the death of 22-year-old Shannon A. Griffin. Allegedly, Mee lured the victim to a house where the other two robbed him. When he struggled, he was shot several times. Dead. They admitted their involvement to authorities.
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Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Casey McDingles

HERE'S WHAT REAL WITNESS TAMPERING IS ALL ABOUT
There is a no-brainer running around like a chicken without its head who insists she knows what witness tampering is all about. She doesn't, and this will serve to quash any and all rumors she keeps firing into wasted Internet bandwidth. At the same time, it will explain exactly what it is. Merely interviewing someone is not. Suggesting they change the truth most assuredly is.
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Monday, October 18, 2010

As The World Burns

Brad Benson is the owner of a Hyundai car dealership in South Brunswick, NJ. In 2003, he offered Saddam Hussein a brand spanking new car if he would flee Iraq. That advertising campaign wasn't successful and he pulled the ad after it ran only two days, replacing it with an apology for any offense that may have been taken by anyone, Muslim or otherwise.
To give you a little background, in the 1980's, Benson established himself as an offensive lineman for the NY Giants, having played there for 12 seasons. Today, he is better known around the state for running his "Idiot Award" ads, where he's singled out celebrities like Roger Clemens, Mel Gibson and Lindsay Lohan.
"We don't have your typical car commercial," he said, and to be frank, they have been quite effective. Three years ago, he was selling about 60 cars each month. Today, in spite of the present economy, that number has grown to over 500 cars per month.
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Wednesday, October 06, 2010

A formidable presence

As quiet as a church mouse, Ann E. Finnell entered into the Ninth Circuit Court, a Notice of Appearance last Thursday, September 30.
ANN E. FINNELL, the undersigned attorney, hereby enters her appearance on behalf ofDEFENDANTCASEY ANTHONY, joining attorneys Jose Baez, Esq., and Cheney Mason, Esq.,inter alia as an attorney for Defendant.
Inter alia, for those not familiar, is Latin for "among other things," meaning she is joining the crowd. The more, the merrier, so to speak.
What you may not have noticed, though, are two motions rolled into one that came attached with it; something she filed on behalf of her new client, Ms. Anthony. The nerve. Judge Perry wasn't even given a chance to acknowledge her notification yet.
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Saturday, October 02, 2010

Worth losing sleep over

Last Friday evening, it rained. Of course, living in Florida, it can storm at a moment's notice, bringing with it the wrath of rumbling thunder and lightning. Anyone who reads my blog understands that I take an Internet time out from 7:00 pm to 7:30 pm Monday through Friday to watch Jeopardy. Last Friday was no different until, suddenly, in the middle of the Double Jeopardy round and without warning, an intensely brilliant white light burst through the living room window, accompanied by an immediate explosion of sound, louder than anything I'd heard before. CRACK! In that split second, it was gone, and so was our electricity. Within minutes, power returned, but no cable. After the box rebooted, the living room TV returned, but Jeopardy was over. Darn it! I missed Final Jeopardy.
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