[CaseyAnthony] NEWS: Casey Anthony Loses Appeal on Probation
Untamed Heart
ORLANDO, Fla. — A Florida appellate court on Tuesday denied Casey Anthony's request to have a probation order halted.
An Orlando judge earlier this month ordered Anthony to report to a Florida probation office no later than noon Friday.
Her attorneys appealed to the state Fifth District Court of Appeals in Daytona Beach, saying she already had served the one-year probation while awaiting her murder trial.
But the three-judge panel sided with the circuit judge.
Anthony was acquitted last month of murder in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, in a case unrelated to the check fraud. After her release, she vanished from public view amid threats against her and kept a low profile.
However, she returned to Florida ahead of the probation deadline.
Speaking Sunday on Fox News' "Geraldo at Large," Anthony's attorney, Jose Baez, said Anthony was in Florida and would report to a probation office to start probation if the appeal failed.
"We are going to follow the law wherever the courts follow the law and I am certain she will do what's asked of her if necessary and hopefully it won't come to that," Baez said.
Anthony had been in Ohio, Baez said, receiving therapy and spiritual guidance.
He would not specify where because of threats made against Anthony, but added: "She has been with close friends of ours that ... are somewhat spiritual advisors, people who care and are trying to help her get on with her life."
Circuit Judge Stan Strickland sentenced Anthony to a year of probation in January 2010 after she pleaded guilty to stealing checks from a friend. At the time, Strickland said Anthony should serve the probation upon her release, but those instructions never made it into a written order.
Corrections officials interpreted the sentence to mean Anthony could serve the probation while she was in jail awaiting her murder trial, where she was acquitted in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee.
Strickland clarified in an order earlier this month that Anthony must begin her probation now that she is out of jail. He then recused himself from the case and turned it over to Judge Belvin Perry, who had presided over Anthony's murder trial.
Perry upheld Strickland's order and Anthony's attorneys then filed an appeal with the Fifth District Court of Appeals in Daytona Beach.
In the appeal, Anthony's attorneys accused Strickland of bias, citing an appearance on Nancy Grace's television show in which he said he was "shocked" by the murder trial verdict. Grace has been a vocal critic of Anthony.
The attorneys also argued Strickland couldn't amend the order since the probation sentence had already been completed. The order also violates double jeopardy since Anthony would be serving the same sentence twice, they said.
Baez said he didn't think Anthony had followed the media coverage or public outrage against her since her acquittal.
"I don't think she's concentrating all that much on" it, he said. "The coverage is important to some people who have decided to make this their entertainment. It's not entertainment for her — it's her life. And that's why I don't think she's paid that much attention to the coverage of her case."
"It's time for everyone to move on and let everyone who is involved in this case move on and live their life," Baez added.
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From: Untamed Heart <underth...@gmail.com>
To: ca <CaseyA...@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 23, 2011 6:24 PM
Subject: [CaseyAnthony] NEWS: Casey Anthony Loses Appeal on Probation
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