MATT LAUER, co-host:
But let's begin this half-hour with the ongoing
court case
to determine if
Casey Anthony
will have to return to
Florida
to serve out
probation
.
NBC
's
Mark Potter
is in
Orlando
this morning. Hi, Mark. Good morning.
MARK POTTER reporting:
And good morning to you,
Matt.
Court
officials say the judge's ruling is expected this week, but not before Wednesday. And it will determine whether
Casey Anthony
remains in hiding or has to come out to report to a
probation
officer. After a hearing Friday, the
Casey Anthony
defense team was in no mood for reporters and all their questions.
Mr. CHENEY MASON:
You put a microphone in my face one more time, somebody's going to get hurt. Now get away.
POTTER:
The question before the court is whether
Casey Anthony
must now serve a year of
probation
after pleading guilty to a check fraud case long before she was tried and acquitted of murder charges in the death of her two-year-old daughter
Caylee
.
Ms. CASEY ANTHONY:
And I
'd like to sincerely apologize to
Amy
.
POTTER:
After stealing checks from her friend,
Amy Huizenga
,
Anthony
went on a spending spree at
Target
and
Winn-Dixie
.
Ms. LISABETH FRYER (Casey Anthony's Attorney):
May I approach? Judge BELVIN
PERRY
Jr.: Yes.
POTTER:
Her defense team argues that for
Anthony
to serve
probation
now should be double jeopardy.
Ms. FRYER:
Miss Anthony
has actually served
probation
. So the issue is moot on several grounds.
POTTER:
Her lawyer says she already served
probation
while in jail awaiting the murder charge. The
Florida Department of Corrections
sent a letter to
Anthony
saying she fulfilled her obligation.
Judge STAN STRICKLAND:
So you read this and you understand it, correct?
POTTER:
But the sentencing judge,
Stan Strickland
, says he meant for
Anthony
to begin
probation
after her release from jail.
Strickland
how now recused himself from the case. They defense accused him of making biased statements against
Anthony
after she was found not guilty of murder.
Ms. FRYER:
I would argue that Judge
Strickland
's participation in the media would suggest that this was a vindictive sentence based on his disapproval of the jury's finding.
POTTER:
The decision on what to do now falls to Judge
Belvin Perry
, who presided over the murder trial and who says the
probation
issue is a mess and not clear cut.
Judge PERRY:
It is quite evident that this is a legal morass, that -- if anything could go wrong, it went wrong here.
Ms. FRYER:
Yes, Your Honor.
POTTER:
Legal experts say the argument in favor of
probation
is that it is usually served after a jail term ends to help monitor a prisoner's return to society, although there are exceptions. At the end of the hearing, Judge
Perry
said he would have to think about it.
Judge PERRY:
I don't know what I'm going to do. I know I've got to do some reading and do some more research.
POTTER:
Now if the judge rules that
Casey Anthony
does have to serve
probation
for a year, the next question becomes where will she do that? Will it be here in
Orlando
or in some other place, perhaps even out of state, because of the security concerns.
Matt
:
LAUER:
All right.
Mark Potter
in
Orlando
this morning.
Mark
,
thank you very much
. It's 33 after the hour. Here's Ann.
“ ”