Judge seals jailhouse video of Casey Anthony

Casey Anthony with lawyer Jose Baez in court. (Photo source unknown)

Hmm, looks like she got away with it...for now, at least.

A judge ruled Wednesday to seal the jailhouse video of Casey Anthony on the day she learned a child's remains were found near her house, WFTV reported.

The video shows Anthony reportedly doubling over and hyperventilating on Dec 11 after learning her daughter's remains were found as she watched Channel 9.

"Her hands started to sweat. She started rubbing them profusely. She was in waist chains and handcuffs and she kept saying, 'The waist chains are getting tighter and tighter on me, please loosen them,'" Jail Lt. Tammy Unser told Detective Philip Graves during an interview on the afternoon of Dec 11.

Judge Stan Strickland issued a three-page order to seal the video. "While the Court is loathe to shield any public record, an argument can certainly be made that the contents of the video are highly inflammatory," he wrote in his order.

"Considering the matter and penalty at hand, it does seem too great a restraint to limit access to the video in question. Therefore, the defendant's Motion to Seal the videotape is granted, and it must not be released for viewing by the general public or media, until further order of the court," he said.

The Orlando Sentinel, however, filed a motion to intervene, which Judge Strickland granted Wednesday.

Casey's defense team argues their client's rights were violated when she was videotaped and that releasing the surveillance video would violate Anthony's right to privacy since it was filmed while she was in a medical office at the Orange County Jail, seeking medical treatment.

The attorneys also allege that her jailers worked with the Orange County Sheriff's Office to have the TV news on in the medical office so Anthony's reaction could be recorded. The Sheriff's Office denies such claims.

Sources: WFTV/Channel 9, Fla.
Copyright © 2009

Obama nominates Hispanic woman to Supreme Court

President Barack Obama looks on as his Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday May 26, 2009. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais )

President Obama Tuesday nominated a federal appellate judge who could become the first Hispanic U.S. Supreme Court justice and the third woman to serve on the high court.

If confirmed by the Democratic-controlled Senate, judge Sonia Sotomayor, 54, would replace Justice David H. Souter to become the second woman on the court and the third female justice in the history of the Supreme Court, according to media reports. She also would be the first Hispanic justice to serve on the Supreme Court.

Sotomayor, who is on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, was named a U.S. District Court judge by President George H. Bush in 1992 and was elevated to her current seat by President Bill Clinton, CNN reported.

From the projects to the Ivy League

Sotomayor reportedly grew up at a housing project in the South Bronx, raised by her mother after her father died when she was 9 years old.

She went on to graduate from Princeton University summa cum laude in 1976 and and attend Yale Law School, where she was an editor of the Yale Law Journal, the New York Times reported. She spent five years as a prosecutor with the Manhattan district attorney’s office before entering private practice.

Sotomayor's parents left Puerto Rico decades ago to settle in New York. Her father, a factory worker, was from the Santurce area of San Juan. Her mother, a nurse, was from Lajas, AP reported. She has a younger brother.

The GOP has a cow

Conservative groups blasted Obama's choice.

Whoa, I didn't see that coming...

Liberal.

Woman.

Hispanic.

Need anyone say more?

I wonder what trash Republicans will dig up from pre-historic times to use as an excuse to reject this nomination, given that they can't utter their true objections, at least not in public. It will be interesting to watch how this situation develops during upcoming months.

Meanwhile, Rush Limbaugh, who must be frrreaking out, will continue to freak out...maybe even fall off the wagon if he's not careful. You need to pace yourself, Rush. Obama is just getting started.

Sources: CNN, The New York Times, The Associated Press
Copyright © 2009