Judge suspends Casey Anthony jury selection until Thursday, no explanation
(CBS/WKMG/AP) CLEARWATER, Fla. - Judge Belvin Perry abruptly adjourned day 9 of jury selection in the Casey Anthony murder case without providing a reason for the suspension.
Pictures: Casey and Caylee Anthony, Personal Photos
Judge Perry returned from lunch recess and asked defense attorney Cheney Mason, "Have you had a chance to discuss the matter with (defendant Casey Anthony)?,"reports CBS affiliate WKMG.
After Mason said that he had, Perry placed the court in recess until 8:30 a.m. Thursday.
No explanation about the decision or the "matter" was provided, reports the station. Lead defense attorney Jose Baez was not in the courtroom after the lunch break, reports the station.
Neither side offered a comment when leaving the courthouse.
At the start of Wednesday's jury selection, Perry denied a defense motion objecting to the jury selection process, saying the defense wanted to question the entire pool of more than 200 available juror prospects, according to the station.
Perry also made it clear that Anthony's murder trial would start at 9 a.m. on Monday, although it's not known if that's still the start time he is aiming for after the abrupt suspension.
Perry wants to swear in 12 jurors at once so the attorneys can no longer use back-strikes to get rid of those jurors, and then alternate jurors would be selected, the station reports.
Rather than looking at them as two separate groups, Anthony's lawyers want to be able to choose the 12-member jury and the alternates at the same time, giving them more options.
Jury selection is taking place outside Orlando in the Tampa area because of intense media coverage near where the alleged murder of 2-year old Caylee Anthony occurred.
Casey Anthony could face the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder in her daughter's 2008 death. She is also charged with aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter of a child and providing false information to law enforcement. She has pleaded not guilty and maintains a babysitter kidnapped Caylee.
The Casey Anthony case was recently reported on by "48 Hours Mystery."