Orlando Florida is about as far away from Hollywood as you can get, and those Southern defense attorney’s with all their bluster are likewise as far from this Hollywood defense attorney as you can possibly get, but…this trial was important for several profound reasons and I decided to break my silence on the Casey Anthony trial and weigh in.
I’m not going to talk about the facts surrounding the case or whether or not justice was served. It didn’t drop into my lap, I didn’t try it, and a jury already made their decision and rendered their verdict. Besides, I’m not Alan Dershowitz.
What I wanted to discuss is how that case was tried both in and out of the courtroom. It seems that all of America followed the case buzz on nighttime news opinion shows or courtroom analysis programs. No one but the people involved in the case and the jury were there the entire time. Very few of us have any idea of what it was like to sit in that jury box amidst the confusion and obfuscation that generally accompany high profile murder trials. We don’t know the inner turmoil that goes through each and every juror as they are instructed by the judge of their duty to the mandates of justice: “presumption of innocence”, “burden of proof”, and the dreaded “reasonable doubt”.
Gut feelings have no room in a capital case. You can’t sentence someone to the electric chair because you feel in your gut they did it. You have to weigh the evidence against a reasonable doubt.
As I watch Nancy Grace and other personalities have a field day with the verdict, as I witnessed the anger directed not just at Casey Anthony but at the jurors I am saddened a bit by the fact that in all the hysteria surrounding this case two very important things have been lost: Caylie Anthony and reason.
No child deserves to die and be abandoned in an unmarked grave, nor should a community wish to go through such a traumatic experience as that. However, nothing is improved by hysteria, second-guessing people that were there helps nothing, and violent threats neither brings Caylie Anthony back to life or serves justice.
Look, I’m just your average old Hollywood Defense attorney, located far, far away from the city of Orlando. I didn’t represent anyone in the case, and to be honest I didn’t watch much of it, either. I just know what justice looks like and what I’ve seen in the aftermath of the trial looks a far cry from that. Justice brings balance and restoration. It brings healing. If America wants real justice to come from the death of Caylie Anthony then America needs to create an environment where every child is valued, treasured, and feels important. If everyone who was following that case turned to their own children and gave them a hug it would do more to bring peace and closure to the brief life of Caylie Anthony than a million death threats to the jury.
I’m now going to get off my soap box and continue fighting for justice one possession charge at a time because that’s what this Los Angeles defense lawyer does.
