Casey Anthony fatigue

Oh, the Casey Anthony case is a clusterf**k. A circus. A sham. The kind of case that makes me want to rip my hair out, throw remotes across the room, and scream. And I'm not even talking about the evidence or guilt vs. innocence. I'm just talking about the process this case has gone through to get to this point, however many days deep we now are into the defense presentation of evidence.

The media storm has from day one made a mockery of Casey's right to a fair trial. Some television personalities have practically made a cottage industry out of this case. (Regular readers should know how I feel about the most prominent personality who has held this case in her mouth like a dog would a bone.) I've never had much faith in Casey's defense team, because I've always worried about their interest in media attention. There probably is a time and a place for using the media as part of a criminal defense strategy, but when in doubt, stay away. A defense attorney should definitely not speak to the media unless and until s/he has figured out the case, settled on a strategy, and has thought about how talking could help the case and how it could hurt. So, we've got my mistrust of the defense and then we have the judge getting so fed up with attorneys on both sides that he called a recess. I've seen plenty of heated exchanges between a prosecutor and a defense attorney but I've never seen one like that.

Now we've got the attorney for George and Cindy Anthony making inflammatory (and improper or even unethical?) statements about what his clients think of their daughter's innocence. I just saw him on Anderson Cooper trying to correct that problem. (And, no, there apparently is no news one can watch without seeing this case.)

I have no emotional investment in this case. I haven't much studied the evidence. I have no opinion. (Except, of course, that I don't want her to get the death penalty if convicted of murder because I never want anyone to get the death penalty.)

But someday, when I run law school, this case will be exhibit A on how not to conduct a criminal case. I might also encourage journalism schools to point to this case as the prime example of how not to cover a criminal case. For now, all I want is for this case to go away. I fear it can never be fixed or really fair because too much damage has been done. But it can go away and leave me to watch my Anderson Cooper in peace.  Ooh, and as a bonus, maybe when this case does finally, mercifully, go away, the vacuum it leaves behind will suck Nancy Grace up.