Five Reasons Casey Anthony Should Enter a Blind Plea

Since the summer of 2008 when little Caylee Marie Anthony went missing, the world has been gripped with her accused murderer mother, Casey, and the circus that has been the upcoming trial, set to begin jury selection on Monday May 9th. As that date draws nearer, it's becoming abundantly clear that Casey Anthony and her legal team are fighting an uphill and losing battle. As more and more evidence is being allowed into trial by Judge Belvin Perry, the scales are looking tipped greatly in the State's favor.

The State isn't going to play ball with Casey at this point, and it's looking pretty doomed as far as putting on a defense against the evidence being allowed into trial. But there is something Casey can do to help herself and that would be to stop this fiasco and enter a 'blind plea.' Simply avoiding a plea bargain and a trial, and putting her fate in the judge's hands for sentencing.

Now let me preface this by saying that I have no idea if this is even a possibility in Florida. I earned my law degree from the University of Court TV under the watchful eye of Professors Bloom, Politan, Grace, Casares, and Karas. But based on general knowledge, and considering that I am probably infinitely more qualified than that storefront joke, Jose Baez, here are five reason's why I think the blind plea is Casey Anthony's best bet.

Her legal team is incompetent
What started out as a legal dream team full of experts and legal eagles has been whittled down to just Jose Baez and her death penalty qualified lawyer, Cheney Mason. This Dynamic Duo of Fail haven't really provided anything of value to Casey's defense beyond long winded arguments that put everyone to sleep, and filing a ton of worthless motions, and publicly crowing about the media causing Casey to lose her right to a fair trial. All well and good I guess, but how about something that helps? Evidence? Counter Evidence? A good argument against the state, even?

None of that has happened, and it just looks like this legal team is only good at spinning it's wheels. If they can't gain any ground in the prelims, I don't see the treads hitting the road in the trial, either.

Her legal team hasn't won a single significant motion
Not. One. Single. Motion. As of press time, they are making one last ditch effort to stall the jury selections from happening in a secret location outside of Orlando, as well as having Casey's parents George and Cindy Anthony, present during the trial. And sure, they've had a small victory here and there, but the epic failure was in all of the forensic evidence that was allowed in during hearings last week. Circumstantially, Casey's proverbial goose was cooked. Now? Consider it well done. If you can't sway one man on a bench to your side, don't expect to win over twelve jurors.

Public opinion hasn't changed, if possible it's gotten worse
While Casey has been relatively silent in the almost three years she has spent behind bars awaiting trial, her legal team and family haven't done her very many favors in the arena of public opinion. Her lawyers have criticized the main-stream media and the passionate blog culture that hangs on every piece of info relating to this trial. Cheney Mason even went so far as to call these bloggers, "idiots" as they give news from the courtroom and their opinions on the case....hey! Kinda like this article! Consider me an idiot, Mr. Cheney!

Also as more and more evidence of Casey's behavior before, during and after Caylee's disappearance became public because of the "Sunshine Law" in Florida that makes virtually all evidence public, the opinion of Casey Anthony has gone from bad to even worse. Especially as details were released back in early 2009 when Caylee's body was found and revealed to have had her mouth and nose duct taped three times, and discarded like trash. It's hard to find a sympathizer for Casey Anthony anywhere, so it will take a lot to find 12 people that can at least be neutral.

The state isn't going to offer a sweetheart deal
Once the death penalty is on the table, the State isn't going to say, "Ha-ha just kidding, here's Murder 2 and 25 years in jail, parole in 15." That's just not going to happen, especially in Florida where they love 'em a good death penalty! Maybe, just maybe, they would do something like 35 years and Casey has to serve out 85% of her sentence, but still...for as heinous as this crime seems to be revealing itself to be, highly unlikely she gets anything but Life Without Parole from the State. My take is, if you're going to gamble, bet on the horse with 3 legs, not two.


There's a better chance a judge will show more mercy on Casey than a jury with parents on it
Judges tend to be very reasonable people. They have experience with weighing evidence, without bringing their personal experiences and emotions into it. Judge Perry seems to be a rather level-headed guy, and would probably be a lot easier than a potential jury full of parents, aunts, uncles, godparents and grandparents deciding Casey's fate thinking of little Caylee like she were one of their own children. Having the judge weigh the sentencing rather than a jury sitting through a trial and sentencing, takes out that risky component. There is just no way with the evidence that has been released that a person is going to look at a woman who allegedly killed her daughter, dumped the body, didn't report her missing, partied the whole time, and then sent police on a wild goose chase for six months looking for a child that was already dead, and say, "reasonable doubt." That's just not reasonable...

Pleading guilty and throwing herself on the mercy of Judge Perry also gives Casey an instant mitigating factor to consider in her sentencing. Not only is she accepting responsibility, but she's not wasting the court's time. It also then moves the portion of her case into the mitigation phase, so she has a much easier chance of pleading her state of mind at the time and showing remorse for what she had allegedly done, rather than attempt to defend herself against the evidence.

So to me, the blind plea, if possible, would be the way for Casey Anthony to go. It just doesn't seem like a case she can win at this point. She can do the right thing by her daughter, her family, and those that have invested themselves in her case by accepting responsibility and allowing the judge to exercise the fairest shot of justice she can get.

What do you think? If you were the lead attorney on her case, how would you defend Casey Anthony? Would you have the "Vanity Trial Of The Century," beg the state for a plea deal, or have her enter a blind guilty plea and have the judge decide without having a trial?