The Verdict - Casey Anthony

 Now that the outrage over Casey Anthony's acquittal has subsided a bit, I've had time to reflect on the verdict, the outrage and our criminal justice system. As a civil trial lawyer who hasn't tried a criminal case in many years, I found myself initially stunned at the verdict, but dismayed as well. Not dismayed at the verdict, but at the reaction of what seemed like the entire country, and even my very knowledgeable colleagues. I personally can't say either way that the Anthony jury got it wrong or right. And I find that most people's reaction to the verdict to be arrogant, based upon little or no information and driven by the media. https://askcompetentlawyer.com/Everyone who was outraged by this "travesty of justice" did all of their research on the case through their local and evening news. In a criminal case, do you realize how little information that is and that you receive the information in the format and from the perspective of the news station delivering the news? And with that, people are satisfied that they have enough information to decide whether a person is guilty of murder? Wow, what a scary society we live in.

This does not take away from the terrible death of Caylee. The idea of a two-year old being murdered, or even just dying at such a young age, shakes my very foundation. If anything happened to any of my children, the devastation would be unbearable. However, regardless of whether the jury got it right or wrong, they heard all of the testimony, saw all of the evidence and based their decision on 100% of the evidence, unlike many people who came to their decision via CNN. In a criminal trial, the verdict must be unanimous. All 12 members of the jury must agree on a verdict. All 12 members on the Anthony jury were able to put all of the media hyperbole and other distractions to the side, focus solely on the evidence and decide that the government did not prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. While I'm hopeful that I will never be on the receiving end of a criminal trial, if I am, I want a fair and impartial jury like this one that will not be driven by forces outside the evidence presented in the courtroom or pure emotion. The pressure that these jurors felt being empanelled on such a high profile, national case, must have been overwhelming. However, in the face of such pressure to convict this obviously terrible parent, who made some very bad decisions, the jury still chose to express their doubt. If this jury had doubt, we need to accept that and truly believe that our criminal justice system worked. May Caylee Anthony rest in peace.