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Judge Restricts Defense's Use Of Slain Tot's Photos

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The Associated Press

Published: January 8, 2009

ORLANDO - A judge agreed today to some restrictions on how autopsy photos and X-rays of a toddler's remains can be viewed by the defense team for her mother, who is charged with killing her.

Orange County Circuit Judge Stan Strickland agreed with prosecutors' arguments that some restrictions are needed so three discs of digital images from toddler Caylee Anthony's autopsy do not find their way to the media.

In a compromise, the judge approved setting up a secure Web site that mother Casey Anthony's attorneys and defense experts can use to view the images, which are in the hands of the local medical examiner and the prosecutor. The defense attorneys and experts would agree not to make copies.

"When I turn on the TV at night, it doesn't exactly engender any confidence in the ability to keep things quiet or private in this matter," Strickland said of the high-profile case.

Casey Anthony, 22, appeared in the courtroom midway through the hearing, her first public appearance since she was indicted on charges including first-degree murder in October.

She had waived her right to appear, but the judge summoned her from the Orange County Jail to make sure she did not want to be there. Casey Anthony walked into the courtroom handcuffed and shackled, dressed in a navy prison jumpsuit. She responded to the judge's questions with monosyllabic answers of "yes" and "no.

Caylee was 2 when she disappeared in June. Her remains were not found until December. She had not been seen for about a month before her mother reported her missing in July. Police say Casey Anthony told them she left the toddler with a babysitter.

Assistant State Attorney Linda Drane Burdick said some of the images show how the toddler's skull was found in woods near the house where she lived with her mother and grandparents.

"They're not necessarily gruesome, but they're disturbing," Burdick said.

The prosecutor originally had asked the judge to prohibit the images from being sent out of the Orlando area by mail, carrier service or the Internet. Defense attorney Jose Baez argued the restriction would be burdensome because he had hired forensic experts who live in New York, Washington, Colorado, Michigan and North Carolina.

"These are experts in their field who I do not believe will jeopardize their reputations by selling photos to the National Enquirer," Baez said.

In a separate hearing today, another judge ruled that Casey Anthony will not have to testify from jail in a civil defamation lawsuit.

Circuit Judge Jose Rodriguez ruled that Casey Anthony can answer written questions from jail rather than face a videotaped deposition behind bars.

The lawsuit was filed by Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez, who claims Casey Anthony defamed her when she told police Caylee had been left with a nanny named Zenaida Gonzalez.

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