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ISSUES WITH JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL

Will Casey Walk?; New Lawsuit Pending Against Casey

Aired July 6, 2011 - 19:00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As to the charge of first-degree murder, verdict as to count one, we, the jury, find the defendant not guilty.

JOSE BAEZ, CASEY`S ATTORNEY: Casey did not murder Caylee. It`s that simple.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just a crying shame, an absolute crying shame, this is. They call this justice? They say the American flag flies today? It does not. It does anything but fly today. It`s been trampled on today.

JESSE GRUND, CASEY`S FORMER FIANCE: I treat the Casey that I was engaged to like she was dead. She doesn`t exist anymore.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that she could walk. I mean, look, she`s already served three years in jail.

BELVIN PERRY, JUDGE: Not guilty of the crime contained in the count.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a very dysfunctional family. She`s the only one who knows what happened to her little girl, and I guess she`ll just have to live with it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought she`d get nailed. Not guilty?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you kidding me? No, you`re kidding me, right? You`re kidding.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t think there`s anything they can do. Killers walk free.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Justice for Caylee! Justice for Caylee! Justice for Caylee!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Justice for Caylee! Justice for Caylee! Justice for Caylee!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Justice for Caylee! Justice for Caylee! Justice for Caylee!

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, you`re looking at it, mass outrage tonight over the mind-blowing verdict. Hello, everybody. I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell. I`m coming to you live from Orlando.

Public uproar, getting loud here in Orlando. The courthouse is right behind me. And it`s getting louder by the minute. Anger really emanating from every social media outlet. People are in shock. In shock. And we are counting down now to the moment when Casey Anthony may walk out of the courthouse, for the first time without handcuffs.

Her sentence will be handed down, within hours at 9 a.m. tomorrow morning. Mark it on your calendar, keep it here on HLN, because we`re all over this.

Orlando is bracing for Casey Anthony quite possibly becoming a free woman. It sure looks like that. But where could she go? It`s not like they can drop her in the middle of town in a mall or the movie theater and say, "See you." The question now becomes what is Casey`s next move.

Tonight, reports are claiming relatives of Cindy are actually offering sanctuary in an unlikely spot. Check this out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don`t know if they`re going to come here or if they`re going to go to a hotel. That`s another call tonight, that we have offered our help or assistance or a place to just get away where they won`t be followed and tracked.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You think, Dana, that Casey`s coming to Houston after she gets out of jail on Thursday?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s been discussed.

(end video clip)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, Houston, Texas. is she going to head to Houston, Texas and take up a new life there? Will she flee Florida? It actually makes sense. I mean, it does make sense that she would head out of town to a place like Houston. But as early as tomorrow right after court?

According to that rally, and bear in mind, this is an unconfirmed report. We`re going to point that out to you. Casey might be going to Houston with her mom Cindy in tow.

All of this as the jurors in the case finally come out of the woodwork and speaking. Today, juror No. 3, that 32-year-old student by the name of Jennifer Ford, spoke out. She declared there was simply not enough evidence to convict Casey, saying, quote, "I did not say she was innocent. We were sick to our stomach to get that verdict." Hmm.

And alternate juror Russell Huekler breaks his silence, as well, over what turned the jury against the prosecution. Check out what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUSSELL HUEKLER, ALTERNATE JUROR: What came out was that this was a very dysfunctional family and they did not handle things well at all. George, Casey was to me, anyway, his testimony was not believable. And just how he wanted to spar with Mr. Baez.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BAEZ: Do you recall being on "48 Hours"?

GEORGE ANTHONY, CASEY`S FATHER: Yes, sir.

BAEZ: And do you recall being paid $20,000 for that appearance?

G. ANTHONY: You know, Mr. Baez, I have been nice to you. You`re trying to take this joy of my life away from me, sir, and you can`t do it any more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Questions about George Anthony, did they lead to Casey`s acquittal? Wow, we have so much analysis of this perplexing verdict, and we`re going to bring it to you in seconds.

But first, we have got breaking news: word of a new lawsuit against Casey Anthony. HLN has revealed plans are in motion for Casey to be sued by the group that represents the thousands and thousands of people, volunteers who searched for Caylee. Check it out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIM MILLER, DIRECTOR, TEXAS EQUUSEARCH: It is only fair to our donors that support us. If we were in Florida looking for a missing child, which Jose Baez`s words were was never missing, and we spent $112,000 right now, we are looking at our options for any legal recourse. And I think at this time, our options are legally at this point that we plan on filing a lawsuit against Casey for sure, possibly the Anthonys, possibly Jose Baez.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right, now, this lawsuit isn`t even the first. Casey is also being sued by Zenaida Gonzalez, and we have Zenaida`s attorney with us here on ISSUES tonight.

Casey`s money problems continue out of control. Are you keeping track? If she is released she will now have to face the IRS. She reportedly owes $68,520.41 in back taxes from 2008. How did she earn enough in 2008, the year her daughter vanished, the year she was arrested to have nearly $70,000 in unpaid taxes? Hmm.

I want to hear from you. What are your theories? Give me a holler: 1-877-JVM-SAYS, 1-877-586-7297.

You know what? I got to go straight to Tim Miller, because that`s the breaking news of the moment. Tim Miller, you are the director of Texas EquuSearch. You say that you are planning a lawsuit against Casey Anthony? Tell us about it.

MILLER: Well, I just left my attorney`s office here, and we`re certainly, you know, looking at our options. I`m not saying that lawsuit is going to happen. But we`re certainly looking at the options. You know, I`ve spent a lot of time with them today. And I`m sure I`ll be with them again tomorrow.

And again, we feel as though the money that was spent looking for a missing girl that was not missing, again, it is only fair to our donors that support us, that we have got to try to recover this money, if there`s any way possible. So, you know, it`s, I think, a real...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: How much money did you spend -- how much money did you spend, Tim, looking for little Caylee?

MILLER: One hundred and twelve thousand dollars, plus. And, you know, the other thing we discussed that, if Jose Baez knew this four months ago and we spent all that time in the courthouse and he was going through all our records and calling in volunteers and calling members and sending private investigators, knowing that -- that Caylee never was missing, I just don`t think we have a choice but to look at these options and possibly take some action on it.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: What would be the basis of your lawsuit against Casey?

MILLER: We are an organization that searches for missing people. We got called by Cindy Anthony. We did not go over there on our own. We did not call anybody and say, "Do you need our help?" They called, asked us for our help. We went there with nothing in our minds, no motives. It was to do the best we could possibly do to find this little missing girl, that, again, in Jose Baez`s opening statements was never missing. So I was used...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right.

MILLER: Go -- go ahead, I`m sorry.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: No, you say you were used. Finish your sentence and then we`re going to go on to other lawsuits. Finish your sentence.

MILLER: Yes. I was used. We were lied to in the very beginning in the Anthony house. When -- when that juror said extremely dysfunctional family, I know firsthand after spending four days in there. And -- and here we are to help. They call us to help. I`m in the back yard. One of our members is in the house. And George Anthony walks in there and says, "Who`s this clown I`ve got to meet from Texas." I`m telling you we`re not circus clowns. We were there for one reason. This is how it all started. And so anyhow, for us it`s collecting on the money...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me -- let me jump off here. I want to go to John Morgan. John, you represent Zenaida Gonzalez. You also have news about a lawsuit that you are in the process of working against Casey Anthony. Tell us what you did in terms of hitting her with papers at the jail?

JOHN MORGAN, REPRESENTING ZENAIDA GONZALEZ: Our lawsuit`s been going on since the accusation was made. We filed it more as a defensive matter to say, because Zenaida`s life was falling apart.

What we did last night is, because like you and like everybody, we don`t know where she`s going to be. So we served her with a subpoena in our action in jail.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: You served Casey Anthony?

MORGAN: Right. With a subpoena in our action to compel her. The reason we did it so early is we worry, if she leaves town, if she goes, will we ever get her served again? And so we want to do that so that we`re not searching the world to try to get process.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let`s try to get a photo or a video of Zenaida Gonzalez up when we talk about Zenaida Gonzalez. Now, will you depose Casey Anthony? Will you ask her the questions that the prosecutor wanted to ask her on cross-examination but was unable to ask her because she didn`t take the stand?

MORGAN: Yes. We want to ask her all because -- because of the root of our case is the disappearance of the child, the loss of the child, the death of the child, and so we`re going to be asking all of those questions, because they`re very relevant to the underlying defamation.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: In the opening of the lawsuit they admitted, there was no Zanny. There was no kidnapping. If you had one question to ask Casey Anthony, when you get her in this deposition, what would that question be?

MORGAN: The question I would ask her is why did you choose this woman to destroy her life? Because that`s what you did. Remember, this woman...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Zenaida?

MORGAN: Zenaida lost her job, lost her home, was having threats to kill her children by strangers. And when I first met Zenaida, she was an absolute shell of a person. She wouldn`t even go on TV. She wouldn`t even get her picture taken.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: You`re looking at video of Zenaida Gonzalez, and of course, in their opening statements, they admitted there is no Zanny the nanny. Meanwhile, her life is destroyed. She`s suing. Tim Miller is planning, as you heard, a lawsuit against Casey Anthony. So she`s got troubles to follow.

We are taking your calls on this: 1-877-JVM-SAYS. That`s 1-877-586- 7297.

All right. The outrage, the shock, the sadness builds after Casey Anthony is found not guilty and may walk free. When we come back, I`m going to talk to Jean Casarez about what we can expect in court at 9 a.m. tomorrow morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t know if they`re watching the same thing we were. It`s just shocking.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can`t believe it. I don`t even know why I`m this emotional. I have no attachment to them at all. I just can`t believe it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m totally shocked. I mean, with everything that`s happened, it`s basically like you almost have to film and watch somebody commit a crime and have it on video for something to happen today. It`s just disturbing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRUND: There is a -- there is a plethora of evidence that says that Casey was the last person to see her alive and that Caylee`s body was disposed of in the woods. I think the problem is the prosecution never filled in the gap between these two things.

Obviously, Casey was the last person to see Caylee alive. Obviously, someone took Casey`s -- Caylee`s body and put it in the woods. And obviously, this family knows more than what they said on the stand.

I treat the Casey that I was engaged to like she is dead. She doesn`t exist any more. This person running around laughing in the courtroom while her murder trial is going on, who`s done everything she`s done, I don`t know her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I want to go straight out to Marcia Clark, who is the famous prosecutor from the O.J. Simpson case. Marcia, first of all, shocked by the verdict?

MARCIA CLARK, FORMER PROSECUTOR: Oh, yes.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: You were?

CLARK: I find this verdict much more shocking than the one in the Simpson trial. In the Simpson trial, there was a lot of foreshadowing long before we even picked the jury that things were going to go very much awry. We were warning the victims` families before -- I would say right after the preliminary hearing. I had a big meeting with the victim`s families. We told them we will not be able to secure a conviction in this case. It`s most likely that all we can hope for is a hung jury.

And so it`s not that we didn`t fight. I mean, all we wanted to do then is prove everyone wrong and say, "Oh, no. We can still do it."

But in this case there was the none of that kind of sense of doom or a possibility of division or other things intruding on the ability of the jury to reach a fair verdict. And I thought that the case was very compelling, and I thought that the evidence was all there to justify a verdict of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Not necessarily premeditated homicide, but certainly some form of homicide, maybe just manslaughter. I am very, very, very shocked at this.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: But here -- I don`t know if you heard our first block. We`ve got lawsuit after lawsuit heading to Casey. She is going to be subpoenaed, according, at least, to the attorney for Zenaida Gonzalez. He wants to ask her all the questions that the prosecutor would have asked in cross-examination in a criminal trial, had Casey testified. Isn`t that an echo of eventually what happened to O.J. Simpson? It was the civil case, the wrongful death case in O.J. Simpson`s case, that kind of did him in a little bit.

But isn`t that what happens in these cases? When somebody gets acquitted, everyone thinks they`re guilty. In the end, it`s the civil matters that -- that hang them up.

CLARK: Well, it certainly happened in the Simpson case. And I -- but I don`t think it did in any of the others. Now, I can`t remember at this time what happened with Robert Blake. He was also acquitted of the murder of his wife. I don`t remember if there was a civil...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, there was -- there was a civil, because it was kept until after the trial. I remember, yes.

And I think that -- I don`t want to misspeak, but I think that it was good for the family of Bonny Lee Bakely. Because I remember interviewing them in a celebration after that civil trial.

And -- but let me ask you this about the jurors. It`s unbelievable. TMZ is reporting, Marcia, that one of the jurors is entertaining a five- figure offer. He`s reportedly a married, college educated, 33-year-old while male with two young children. And the lawyer for this person, this juror, is reportedly telling TMZ that at least one major network has offered this juror, well, he says that he is entertaining a five-figure offer. How do you feel about that, Marcia?

CLARK: You know, this is exactly why they enacted the rule after the Simpson case that prevents jurors from selling their stories for 90 days after the verdict, because it dissuades jurors from thinking they`re going to get into a high-profile case for the purpose of later selling a story. Exactly the problem we face.

Let`s get this verdict in really fast and get a shocking verdict in, because the more shocking the verdict, the more likely it is to be a big story that will get big news, big coverage, big bucks.

And in this case where everyone was really anticipating -- I won`t say everyone, but many people and I would certainly speak for myself. I was anticipating some kind of guilty verdict. The shocker is the "not guilty" of any homicide counts. And when you have a shocker like that, everybody wants to know why, and they want to hear the juror explain what happened in that jury room and why they came back the way they did. And that`s where the big bucks are.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, my God.

CLARK: That`s exactly what happened in the O.J. Simpson case, and that`s what`s happened here.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So you`re actually saying -- yes or no, because we`re tight on time -- that you believe that jurors could actually tell their -- actually make a decision knowing that a more shocking verdict would pay off for them more. Yes or no?

CLARK: Well, they could. They could. Yes, Jane. They could. I`m not saying they did.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wow.

CLARK: But they could and that`s why we need that law.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I want to go to Jean Casarez now. Sentencing 9 a.m. tomorrow morning. What`s going to happen? Give us a play by play.

JEAN CASAREZ, CORRESPONDENT, TRUTV`S "IN SESSION": Hours away, there`s going to be argument, because prosecutors will want her to serve some time from these four misdemeanor convictions. Her attorneys will fight to be sentenced to time served. There will be a battle in the courtroom, but the reality is tomorrow night at this time, she could be out.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Is there going to be testimony?

CASAREZ: You know, they can put on witnesses, I believe, that are mitigating witnesses of all the good she`s done, never a problem in jail at all, just a model, model prisoner.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Very quickly. Her taxes, her IRS, where is that from? You`ve got 20 seconds.

CASAREZ: It`s money from a network, a client trust fund account from Jose Baez. He`s been taking care of it. Taxes weren`t paid. That`s the lien from the IRS.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wow. Unbelievable. Once again, Casey Anthony owes the IRS almost $70,000 in 2008, the year her child died. You can`t make this stuff up. It`s unbelievable.

We have more -- more really, really breaking news when we come right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There will be a book written. The only reason is for Casey to get out the story and explain what happened to her mind the day that that took place. She had a complete and total nervous breakdown.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Now that was a distant cousin to Cindy Anthony saying, essentially, that the family has a book in the works. We`ll get to all of this in a second.

But first the Orange County sheriffs already preparing for what could happen at the Anthony home after sentencing. Check this out. Incredible scene. You`re looking at mounted police, a whole army of them creating a barrier on Suburban Drive.

This is the very area, the subdivision where the Anthonys live. They live on Hope Spring Drive, and that goes right into Suburban Drive. We`re getting reports that there was -- there have been threats. There have been death threats against George and Cindy.

Now we are here with Mark Lippman, the attorney for the Anthony family.

First of all, Mark, thank you for joining us.

MARK LIPPMAN, ATTORNEY FOR ANTHONYS: Thanks for having me.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: What about these threats? Tell us.

LIPPMAN: It started about three minutes after the verdict came in. My office received a fax from a group of people that had the blog. And my clients are actually familiar with these particular people, and they do believe that, while they may not necessarily be coming down, we have to take everything seriously.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: What did they say?

LIPPMAN: That my clients deserve the same fate that Caylee had.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Really?

LIPPMAN: Yes.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: That`s what they said? Your clients deserve the same fate as Caylee?

LIPPMAN: Yes.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So that`s a death threat?

LIPPMAN: It is. We`ve received 14 of them.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wow. Fourteen death threats. That is absolutely astounding. Now, let me ask you: given that, it would certainly make a lot of sense for Casey Anthony if she is released tomorrow after sentencing, not to go home.

There are reports that she is going to go to Houston. This is a report -- I have no independent confirmation -- that a distant cousin of Cindy Anthony has decided to take her in. What do you know, Mark?

LIPPMAN: One, I wouldn`t discuss it because of security purposes anyway, but I heard from Mr. Mason, and from another media group saying that there`s a variety of different things. He may take her in. I`ve heard she may go to Mexico. I heard she may go to Puerto Rico. But honestly, I wouldn`t discuss where she`s going.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Cheney Mason may take her in?

LIPPMAN: I heard Cheney or one of his associates may also.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: She`s going to live with Cheney and his wife?

LIPPMAN: For the time being, I could see it happening, until they figure out. I mean, this is -- nobody necessarily expected this. So the - - I don`t know that arrangements were made in preparation for this verdict.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wow. Obviously, in fact the Orange County sheriff`s corrections office said they are not going to release her here at the courthouse behind me.

LIPPMAN: No, they wouldn`t do that normally.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And they`re not going to release her in the jail. They are going to put her into the community somewhere and release her. So do we know how that`s going to go down?

Normally in Orange County, once somebody is released -- let`s say the judge says time served. They would have to take her back to the jail and process her anyway. And then they -- people walk out.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me ask you. How are Cindy and George doing tonight?

LIPPMAN: They`re OK. They`re assimilating all the information. They`re trying to get used to the idea that this case is over and this chapter in their lives is over. And certainly, they need to figure out how they`re going to move on with their lives.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Are they going to reconcile with Casey?

LIPPMAN: I can`t discuss that, unfortunately. Sorry.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So we don`t know whether George is still mad at Casey?

LIPPMAN: No, we don`t know that. Can`t discuss that.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. Well, they said it was a baseless, baseless defense.

LIPPMAN: Right.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: But they`re happy that their daughter isn`t going to be put to death.

LIPPMAN: Absolutely. They never wanted her to get the death penalty. But certainly, my clients from the get-go, even prior to this trial, said George never had a thing to do with the molestation, never had anything to do with moving the body.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I hear you.

LIPPMAN: Neither did lee.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Before we...

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Casey, where`s Caylee? At least where`s her remains?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s heart breaking. A child is gone. And no one`s held accountable. It`s sad.

GEORGE ANTHONY, FATHER OF CASEY ANTHONY: It`s very hard to accept that I don`t have a granddaughter anymore.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is an absolute tragedy. I want to know -- I want to know what happened to Caylee.

LAWSON LAMAR, STATE ATTORNEY, ORANGE COUNTY, FLORIDA: For us, the case has never been about the defendant in particular. It has always been about seeking justice for Caylee and speaking on her behalf.

CINDY ANTHONY, MOTHER OF CASEY ANTHONY: What do you want me to tell Caylee?

CASEY ANTHONY, ACQUITTED OF MURDER OF DAUGHTER: That mommy loves her very much.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is disgusting. The baby -- what about her? What would you like to be her and have duct tape on your mouth?

JOSE BAEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY FOR CASEY ANTHONY: There are no winners in this case. Caylee has passed on far, far too soon.

CROWD: Justice for Caylee. Justice for Caylee. Justice for Caylee.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HLN HOST: All right, welcome back. Jane Velez- Mitchell coming to you live from outside the Casey Anthony courthouse in Orlando, Florida. At least it`s not storming today, but boy, some thunderous developments. In 13.5 hours, Casey could be a free woman. Throngs of outraged people are asking how on earth could this happen? How?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: Justice for Caylee. Justice for Caylee. Justice for Caylee. Justice for Caylee. Justice for Caylee. Justice for Caylee. Justice for Caylee.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. It`s unbelievable, people are really furious. Now we know that Casey was acquitted. But we`re trying to figure out why she was acquitted. One of the alternate jurors who did not deliberate said he thinks he knows why the prosecution lost. Check it out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUSSELL HUEKLER, ALTERNATE JUROR IN CASEY ANTHONY TRIAL: What came out was that this is a very dysfunctional family. And they did not handle things well at all. We all believe and I`m pretty sure I can say this for all 17 of us. There was some type of horrific accident. But they didn`t handle it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Meantime, you know, I was out there yesterday and we told you about how they went into the bar, TMZ, got this photo of the defense team celebrating in the bar across the street from the courthouse. I was outside during that. And I know what happened is that somebody snuck in there, took a photo from the ATM machine area and TMZ got a hold of that.

This was minutes after defense held a news conference where Jose Baez says the justice system did not dishonor Caylee`s memory with a false conviction, but that he didn`t feel joyous about this, that this was a very sad occasion -- so a little dichotomy there.

Can somebody explain how all these shocking developments are happening? I want to hear from you. Give me a call, 1-877-JVM-SAYS. Now, tomorrow, sentencing 9:00 a.m.; we`re all over it here on HLN.

I want to go to Mark Nejame, he used to represent George and Cindy; he has a lot of connections in this town, one of the top attorneys. And your sources are telling you what could happen. We`ve all heard, ok, Casey could go free, what`s the alternative?

MARK NEJAME, FORMER ATTORNEY FOR GEORGE AND CINDY: The judge decides to go ahead and give a maximum sentence; that would be called a consecutive sentence. Four misdemeanors, maximum one year each count, four years in the county jail. In light of what she`s already served, the release date is probably in April. So if the judge maxed her out it would be April.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Ok. Let me just stop you for one second.

She was convicted of the four least serious, lying to cops. The maximum on each of those four is one year. So you`ve got a potential four years, but she`s already served some time. She has already served some time because she`s been in jail for almost three years. Now, some of that got covered with the check fraud that she was convicted of.

It`s a complicated formula. It`s not so easy to say how long she would be there if the judge decides to give her the max.

Jeff Brown, what do you know?

JEFF BROWN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: No. It is this easy. Listen, all these counts are running at the same time. In September or I think it was October 28 of 2008, she has no bond on her cases. Those misdemeanors are like glasses of water. If you put a day for every drop, you could only put 365 drops in there. Each of these cases has over 997 days. So the judge can`t do anything. She`s bullet-proof.

He has to give her the credit for that and on each of these misdemeanor counts, there`s over 997 days, he could say consecutive all he wants, but she`s already done the time. She`s done the time over a year and a half ago, this is a no brainer.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So you`re saying, Jeff?

BROWN: He can`t do anything, she is bulletproof tomorrow. She has over 997 days in on each of the four misdemeanor counts, so she`s done this time. He can`t do anything about this.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. You`re saying she`s going to walk tomorrow. Now, you see her walking there in handcuffs.

BROWN: Have to.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let`s show that video again of her walking in handcuffs because she`s going to walk tomorrow, according to Jeff Brown. It`s not even a question.

BROWN: She has to. She`s done time.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: According to Jeff Brown she is going to walk tomorrow and the difference between her walking tomorrow and the way she`s walking there is she`s in handcuffs there and tomorrow she is going to walk out, if Jeff Brown is right, a free woman.

Free to do what? So we have to ask, what is next for Casey? Two people who were very close to her have completely opposing predictions. Check this out from NBC.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think Casey will end up going home, I don`t know if George will stay there, but I think Cindy will have Casey home. It`s hard to quit loving your daughter but I think Cindy she wants to get to the bottom of this and she won`t care if it takes ten days or ten years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s no way Casey goes back to that household. Cindy and Casey have had an adversarial relationship the entire time Casey has been alive.

Right now she has everything she ever wanted. She`s going to have money. She`s going to have people at her doorstep asking for her, wanting her, and she`s going to have that partying lifestyle that she so craved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Jayne Weintraub, criminal defense attorney, is she going to Houston, in your opinion? Is that a likely scenario and is she going to get rich and even more famous as some people are predicting.

JAYNE WEINTRAUB, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I don`t know if she`s going to get rich. I`m sure she`ll have many offers to do many different things. I hope that Casey finds peace somewhere and somehow. She`s got to live with the consequences of what`s happened here. She`s got to live with what`s gone on in her family; the dysfunction of her family is her reality.

What keeps us going every day for the past several weeks is her life. And so I don`t want to trade or I wouldn`t wish to trade shoes with her for anything.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: No, I wouldn`t either because she`s facing --

(CROSSTALK)

WEINTRAUB: I don`t know if she`s going to Houston. I hope she gets out of Florida.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: -- a couple of lawsuits. Zenaida Gonzalez is suing her. And we just heard here on ISSUES from Tim Miller, the founder of Texas Equusearch that there`s a likely lawsuit against Casey Anthony.

WEINTRAUB: No.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: What? What?

WEINTRAUB: No. They`re frivolous lawsuits.

Tim Miller, and Jane, Tim Miller knows this, he can`t sue Casey Anthony for that. She never had a contractual agreement with him. She has no legal obligation to him. And whether it`s right or wrong or immoral --

(CROSSTALK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Ok. Hold on. Judge Larry Seidlin, do you agree -- ok, hold on.

Judge Larry Seidlin, do you agree it`s a frivolous lawsuit?

JUDGE LARRY SEIDLIN, PRESIDED OVER ANNA NICOLE SMITH CASE: It`s small potatoes because she`s going to get big offers and have big money --

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I disagree with you 100 percent. And first of all, it`s not small potatoes because they spent more than $100,000 Texas Equusearch did looking for Caylee. They were looking because Casey Anthony said that little Caylee, her daughter, had been abducted by Zanny the nanny. Kidnapped.

I want to throw it out to --

WEINTRAUB: She told that to police, Jane.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, so what?

(CROSSTALK)

WEINTRAUB: She didn`t ask for Tim Miller to come down and search.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Well, her family didn`t say go home.

Ok, Jeff Brown.

WEINTRAUB: Jose said you can`t talk to my client.

(CROSSTALK)

BROWN: They volunteered to come down and help and maybe it`s unfortunate that they got lied to, but they volunteered this service. You can`t sue somebody and say hey, I volunteered my time, but you lied to me. There`s no contract.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right, so you`re saying that that one`s a frivolous lawsuit. We`ll see about Zenaida Gonzalez.

BROWN: Yes, Jayne`s right.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Brenda, Massachusetts -- very, very patient, Brenda - - what is your question or thought?

BRENDA, MASSACHUSETTS (via telephone): I`m sorry. What was that again?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Your question or thought Brenda.

BRENDA: My thought on it. I believe that she was guilty. She lied about her daughter being missing for 31 days, claiming that she was with -- whatever -- the nanny. I think she lied about everything. If she didn`t kill her daughter, she knows what happened to her.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. We`re going to show the horses again outside -- thank you Brenda. We`re going to show the mounted police that are outside of the neighborhood and in and around the neighborhood of the Anthonys. Look at this. I mean this is absolutely extraordinary.

Marsha Clark, you went through the O.J. Simpson case. Has this really risen to the level in terms of media attention, outrage and mounted police in the neighborhood of the parents of the defendant?

MARCIA CLARK, PROSECUTOR IN O.J. SIMPSON CASE: Not quite. I have to say, it`s big, and certainly there is a big outcry and there`s a lot of people who are feeling outrage. But I have to say, having sat in the middle of this storm last time. I think it was a little more. I know that they were preparing to have helicopters take us out of the building if there was a conviction.

So I don`t think it`s risen to quite that level here. But certainly there is concern that you`ve heard about the death threats against the family which is so troubling and upsetting to hear that people would do something as hideous as that.

I have to say also, Jane that I agree with you. I`m not so sure that Casey Anthony is going to come into a lot of money here. Remember with the outrage, this outrage is much more unifying. There`s a much more of a general feeling of anger about her.

I could see people kind of rendering their vote by refusing to buy anything that she might try to sell. And I think the publishers are going to be rather sensitive to that. And so I`m not so sure if this is a bankable commodity.

As far as the lawsuits go, whether they`re frivolous or not, she may very well be completely bullet proof, verdict proof as they say, because it`s like getting milk from a turnip. Where are you going to get the money from? So I`m not sure that this is a bankable person.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: We`ll have to see. We`ll have to see. Thank you so much, Marsha; always great to see you and talk to you.

Don`t forget, Dr. Drew is talking with Casey Anthony`s trial prosecutor Jeff Ashton about the shocking not guilty verdict tonight at 9:00 only here on HLN.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What happened to baby Caylee yesterday, I thought, was absolutely disgusting. And she also needs her voice to be heard so I will stand here and protest for her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: That woman was right behind me here at the courthouse in Orlando, Florida where Casey Anthony is going to be sentenced first thing tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m.

And I want to go out to Cheryl Arutt, she`s a forensic psychologist; obviously that woman doing something very dramatic, dressing up like the statue of liberty, covering her mouth, covering her eyes, saying basically that justice is not blind; that often minority teenagers who get into trouble for little things get sent away for a long period of time. And then this young lady, who is attractive, does something that the vast majority of people think is absolutely heinous, they think she`s guilty and she`s acquitted.

How do you deal with that kind of anger and depression that result from a verdict like this?

CHERYL ARRUTT, FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGIST: I think that people sometimes forget that juries are made up of human beings like themselves and that these people can get swayed by things that are emotional and don`t necessarily have to do with the facts of the case. Things like how likable they find one attorney over another or there can be a moment, for example, I think when the prosecutor was laughing at the very end of the defense closing argument. I think that may have really swayed the jury in a visceral, kind of emotional way.

(CROSSTALK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Cheryl, let me ask you a politically incorrect question, could it be because Casey Anthony is a good-looking young female? Is it harder to convict a good-looking young female of first-degree murder? Or any murder?

ARRUTT: You know something? I`m going to answer you. I think it`s harder to convict a good-looking young white female. I think all of those things were working in her favor.

My best advice for people who are really outraged by the verdict and feel powerless is the next time you get one of those jury duty notices and you`re thinking about how to get out of it -- you know who you are -- think twice and remind yourself about how very, very important these processes and people`s voices are. So get involved.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: You know, it`s so amazing that you said that because I was outside the restaurant where the defense team was celebrating and a woman said, "I`m from Pinellas County", which is where they selected this jury. I was given a jury notice and I squeezed out of it, I wiggled out of it. And now I regret it because I could have been on that jury and I could have changed the decision.

And there is the celebration.

This verdict perhaps the biggest blow obviously to the prosecution; you think you`re depressed, imagine how the prosecution team feels after putting their heart and soul into this case for three long years. The prosecutor Jeff Ashton spoke to NBC today. Check it out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF ASHTON, PROSECUTOR: We were feeling pretty good. We felt like we presented a really strong case. You know, we really didn`t think that a not guilty verdict in that short a period of time was realistic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right, now, to hear more from Jeff Ashton, the prosecutor, tune in to Dr. Drew tonight for an in depth, prime time exclusive interview right here on HLN at 9:00 p.m.

And then I`m going to talk to Mr. Ashton tomorrow. Boy, do I have a lot of questions. Tomorrow night here on ISSUES I`m going to talk to Jeff Ashton about what he would have done differently, for example.

Let me ask you a question Judge Seidlin. Jeff Ashton the prosecutor says he`s going to retire now. He`s only 53 years old. He`s been with the DA`s office for 30 years. Is he acting too soon? Maybe he`s depressed now, but he`ll come out of it.

SEIDLIN: He may have his 30 years in the state system and that`s why he`s probably retiring. And I think his boss the state attorney, if you want to speak to the media you`re going to walk out of this office, you`re going to have to hang it up.

And is he feeling upset? I would have liked him to wait a little bit longer before he spoke to the media.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: What are you saying? You`re saying if he`s going to speak to the media, to hang it up. Say that again. What does that mean?

SEIDLIN: If you`re a sitting judge you cannot speak to the media unless you retire.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: This isn`t a judge.

SEIDLIN: I know. But as a prosecutor he answers to the state attorney. He serves at the pleasure of the state attorney. And his boss man may have said, if you want to speak to the media, you`re going to have to retire, you`re going to have to quit this office. I am not permitting you --

VELEZ-MITCHELL: It is interesting that the top guy, Mark Nejame, the state attorney spoke at the press conference. Not Linda Drane Burdick and not Jeff Ashton.

NEJAME: And you never saw Lawson Lamar, the state attorney throughout this entire case. The reality of it is that he is the spokesperson, or they have a PI, or a public information officer. But it`s typically Lawson Lamar speaking on this.

And I really think this was done -- this wears you out a lot. I have known Jeff for 30 years. And he`s passionate. And I think he says that, this is the end of it, win or lose, he`s going to do something else.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. We`re just getting started here, so much controversy, so much to debate.

Stick with us, we`ll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUEKLER: They didn`t really show motive of why Casey would have done what she did, you know. They brought up the party girl aspect, that doesn`t make sense, because they had mom and dad willing at all times to watch, you know, Caylee.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Ok, that was an alternate juror saying basically the prosecution didn`t have the goods. Now an actual juror said, quote, "I did not say she was innocent. We were sick to our stomach to get that verdict."

I find it fascinating that every time there`s one of these shocking acquittals, the jurors all come out and say, "We didn`t want to do it." Why did you do it if you didn`t want to do it?

Jenny in Florida, your question or thought, Jenny.

JENNY, FLORIDA: I have a question. I heard, there`s a rumor going around that there could be charges brought upon Casey for not reporting her child missing within 31 days because that violated Caylee`s civil rights.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, let me say this and I want to put this to Mark Nejame. There are a lot of people, a lawyer walked up to me outside the courthouse today, and said the problem was in the indictment. Instead of charging her with just four accounts of lying to cops, they should have put obstruction of justice. That would have been easier to get. In other words he was saying, too much on the strong charges, not enough on the weak charges.

What`s your thought Mark?

NEJAME: Yes, I think that`s something that -- look, we have to move forward. She`s been found not guilty. I thought it was first-degree murder, still do. But you`ve got to move forward. You`ve got to learn your lessons.

I have seen too many times -- and I`m not saying it did in this case, but they very well could have -- overcharging. What you do is you should take good, clean -- and I hate to use the word -- killshot. You figure out what the true charges are and then you go for them.

Over the years, I can`t tell you how many cases we have won when there`s too many charges and the jury gets confused and it becomes baffling to them. And when that occurs, confusion; and as you said when confusion occurs, reasonable doubt enters. And that`s very, greatly what happened here.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I want to go to you, Judge Larry Seidlin, you covered the Anna Nicole Smith case; you`ve done a lot of these big cases. It always seems to me if they don`t get in the high profile case, the defendant, in a criminal, they get them somewhere else.

And now we have already heard the IRS has gone after Casey Anthony for $70,000 in unpaid taxes for 2008, which was money according -- that she owes. The government claims -- the government claims she owed this money because she had made this deal with the media. So she must have made somebody some money out of that; the IRS, now a lawsuit from Zenaida Gonzalez and a likely a lawsuit from Tim Miller of Texas Equusearch -- your thoughts.

SEIDLIN: I wouldn`t let Jose Baez get too far away from me. I`d keep him managing my life. She`s got to put people around her that can manage her life.

Yes, what happens is she`s been a woman in crisis. She`s created the whole family to be in crisis. She`s got to have good people around her now and start to live a good, healthy life.

It`s going to be difficult because she`s got a big A on her head like (INAUDIBLE) as in almost an adulterer here.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: But you know what? I don`t know that she can just become a different person. In 12-Step, they say, wherever you go, you take yourself with you. And she can pull the geographic, which is what they call it in 12-Step and move to Houston or move to Mars for that matter. She`s still going to be Casey Anthony.

(CROSSTALK)

SEIDLIN: She has to get out of Dodge.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Casey Anthony still has some major character defects that she`s going to have to look at. Keep it right here. Final thoughts coming right up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: What`s next for Casey Anthony? Predictions starting the attorney Mark Nejame -- quickly.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: The more things change, the more things stay the same. The reality of it is, is there`s been no mental health treatment that we know of. There`s been no discussion of it. Why is it sane to think that things are going to change? You have to believe that history repeats itself.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Judge Seidlin.

SEIDLIN: I believe in good karma and God watches out for those that live a righteous life. I hope that she can change her life and be a good human being. And if you`re not, you get punished.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. I would just say, I look to O.J. Simpson. He was acquitted and he ended up back in prison because he got in trouble again.

And so that is a pattern that Casey Anthony could repeat as well. So it`s really up to her. She had a criminal history before this whole thing for check fraud. Is she going to go back to those habits? We`ll only have to wait and see.

Thanks for joining us. Nancy Grace is up next.

END