Hey, anyone who hears from CA, invite her to join the thread!
Casey Anthony takes Fifth 60 times in civil suit deposition
http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/01/justice/florida-casey-anthony/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
(CNN) -- Attorneys representing Casey Anthony invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination 60 times during a deposition given in a civil suit against her, according to a transcript of the proceedings.
In addition, Anthony's attorney Charles Greene asserted he would also invoke the Fifth Amendment on her behalf if questioning delved into the 2008 death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee.
Anthony, who was acquitted in July of murder charges in Caylee's death, is being sued in civil court by a woman named Zenaida Gonzalez.
When Caylee was reported missing in July 2008 -- a month after she was last seen -- Anthony maintained she had been kidnapped by her nanny, Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez.
Authorities were never able to find the nanny. But they did find Gonzalez, who claimed she never met Anthony or her daughter.
Gonzalez's attorneys claim, according to questions asked of Anthony in the October 8 deposition, that Gonzalez was questioned by the police in Caylee's disappearance, was kicked out of her apartment complex, lost her job and that she and her two daughters received death threats as a result of media attention in the case.
Anthony herself said little in the deposition, but did acknowledge she was aware she was being sued by Gonzalez.
She also said she has not spoken to her brother, Lee, in the past six months, and has not spoken to her parents, George and Cindy Anthony, since October 14, 2008.
However, Greene did not permit her to answer questions including whether she had ever met Gonzalez; whether a person named Zenaida was ever a nanny to Caylee; or whether defense attorney Jose Baez's assertion during Anthony's criminal trial, that Zenaida Gonzalez was one of Anthony's "imaginary friends," was true.
She also was not allowed to answer questions about whether she considered herself a good mother to Caylee; the last day she saw the 2-year-old alive; and whether she drowned in the Anthonys' pool in June 2008, as the defense claimed during Anthony's criminal trial.
Asked why he was invoking Anthony's right against self-incrimination, Greene said, according to the transcript, "I need not explain our factual basis other than to tell you that it could tend to incriminate and provide a link in the chain of evidence that could be used against (Anthony)."
Asked by Gonzalez's attorney John Morgan what pending criminal case that applies to, Greene said, "We made our objection and that's all I'm going to state."
Morgan told Greene he anticipates a hearing before a judge on a motion to compel Anthony to answer some of these questions. Greene said that taking it to a judge is "the best thing to do."
While Anthony was acquitted on murder charges in Caylee's death, she was convicted on four counts of lying to authorities investigating the child's disappearance. She was given credit for time already spent behind bars, however, and was released from jail July 17.
She has remained in seclusion since then, although a judge ruled she must serve a year of probation stemming from her 2010 conviction on check fraud charges. The transcript of the deposition notes that Anthony participated via videoconference from "an undisclosed location."
"I hope that you and your counsel understand that we did not ask questions that many people may have wished we did concerning your employment history then or now, where you live, where you stay," Morgan told Anthony as questioning wrapped up. "... We did this, this deposition, in pursuit of truth and not in pursuit of sensation."
Anthony has also been ordered to repay more than $217,000 to authorities for the costs of investigating Caylee's disappearance.
