Judge Chastises Lawyers In Casey Anthony Jury Selection
CLEARWATER (CBS4) - Attorneys involved in the trial of an Orlando woman accused of killing her two-year old daughter were chastised by the judge on Thursday for taking three hours to question a single potential juror.
Thursday was the fourth day of jury selection in Clearwater for the trial of Casey Anthony.
More than 60 prospective panelists were asked whether they could impose a death sentence and just how much they had heard about the case from pretrial publicity. Jury selection is being held outside Orlando because of intense pretrial publicity.
After attorneys for both sides took up the first three hours questioning one prospect, Judge Belvin Perry dismissed court for lunch. But not before admonishing both sides.
"Jury selection was not and never was designed to pre-try a case," said Perry, chief judge for the circuit that includes Orlando.
Anthony, 25, is charged with first-degree murder for killing daughter Caylee in 2008. The first three days of jury selection were spent narrowing down a pool of 200 possible jurors. Those who weren't dismissed because of personal conflicts or hardships have advanced to this round.
Perry hopes to have a jury in place to begin trial in Orlando on Tuesday.
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