a hair’s breath away…

It’s taking too darn long!

You know what I’m referring to, right?  I’m referring to the two big defense motions – the Miranda motion and the “Agents of the State” motion –  that were heard nearly two weeks ago in the case against Casey Anthony.

Ahhhhh! the suspense is too much!  (I can just imagine how anxious the lawyers are.)  However, the longer it takes for Judge Belvin Perry to rule on these two motions, the more we can be assured of a fair and meticulously researched decision.

But, please Judge, will you step on the gas there in Orlando, for us, please?  We are biting our collective fingernails out here!

Attorney Bill Sheaffer recently wrote an excellent blog posting with his analysis of how Judge Perry may rule.  If you haven’t yet read it, give it a look – you’ll be glad you did!  Blog Post: March Madness.

I have a feeling Judge Perry’s rulings won’t be filed until late on Friday…. oh, the torture!

State Files Response to the Defense over Post Mortem Banding

Attorney Jeff Ashton, for the Florida Assistant State Attorney’s Office, argues that the testing for decomposition apparent in the root of the single hair found in the trunk of Casey’s car, is not a novel science in most parts of the world.  However, in Florida, this testing has never been the subject of any court decisions, though it is generally very well accepted in the forensic scientific community.  Regardless, since this has not been the subject of a Florida court ruling, it would be appropriate to address the topic during the upcoming Frye hearings (March 23-25).

Interestingly, Mr. Ashton points out in the motion that the concern over the admissibility of the expert’s opinion is not the issue, as he’s provided enough case law to substantiate the acceptance of such opinions.   In a footnote, Mr. Ashton points out the following:

In this case it is interesting to note that the hair in question was examined by an expert in this area hired by the Defense who, after his examination, she declined to list as a witness.  To date no defense witness is disputing the FBI analysis opinion in this matter.

One can only assume that the expert hired by the defense came to the same conclusions of the FBI analysis.

Mr. Ashton included nearly 400 pages of peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and testimony from a case in New York with regards to testing for decomposition in hair samples.  It appears there is ample proof this science is acceptable all over the world.

I’m sure it’s just a hair’s breath away from being accepted in Orlando, Florida, too.

Here’s a link to Mr. Ashton’s motion —> Response to motion to exclude unreliable evidence (Post Mortem Banding)