Casey Anthony has been found competent to continue trial?
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By
Calvo & Calvo, Attorneys At Law
Why is Casey Anthony being evaluated for competency issues at this late
stage of trial? Usually, competency comes up early on in a case when defense
counsel has had an opportunity to speak with the accused and realizes
that the accused may not understand all that is happening. However, there
must be a good faith basis from defense counsel to request that an evaluation
be performed on his/her client to determine competency. It is not customary
to delay trial and have an emergency evaluation of your client to determine
if she's competent to testify or continue on with her trial. Mr. Baez
I'm sure had a good faith basis, but the judge after reading the report
of the three psychologists appointed to evaluate Ms. Anthony found her
competent to proceed with trial. All of this happened over the weekend!
The defense is supposed to end their presentation of evidence later this
week. The State will then be allowed to present rebuttal witnesses to
rebut testimony and evidence presented by the defense. The State is given
this opportunity because they have the burden of proving the defendant
guilty of the alleged crime. Call Calvo & Calvo for your free consultation
on your case.
