ORLANDO, Fla. -- Casey Anthony defense attorney Ann Finnel filed a motion for mistrial Monday morning based on a recent opinion from a Florida judge.
The motion asked that a new jury be seated in the case that is not death penalty qualified.
A judge in Miami ruled one week ago that a man's death sentence for a 1991 murder, and Florida's Capital Sentencing Statute, violate a Supreme Court ruling and the Sixth Amendment.
Paul E. Evans was convicted of killing a man in exchange for a stereo, a camcorder and some insurance money, according to court documents. The judge ruled that because the death penalty is an "enhanced" sentence under Florida law, it contrasts with the Supreme Court's ruling on Ring vs. Arizona, which found that the Sixth Amendment
requires that a jury find "enumerated aggravating factors" for enhanced sentencing.
Judge Jose Martinez, in his ruling on the Miami case, argued that
the defendant has no way of knowing whether the jury found the same aggravating factors as the judge -- who ultimately decides whether any of those circumstances constitute death -- because the findings are not explicit.
Aggravating circumstances, under Florida law, include disrupting law enforcement, felony murder, a great risk to many people, a victim less than 12 years of age, and anything that is perceived by the court as heinous, atrocious or cruel.
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The judge's decision in the murder-for-hire case only affects that particular trial.
WESH 2 legal analyst Judge O.H. Eaton said that if the ruling has any effect on Florida's death penalty statute, it would not be immediate.
Anthony's murder trial returned to court Monday morning after an abrupt recess Saturday.
Finnel's appearance in court Monday was her first since the conclusion of jury selection in Pinellas County. Finnel was not expected to appear at the trial unless Anthony was found guilty. She is a death penalty attorney from Jacksonville.
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