Cost to Fund Casey Anthony Jury Might Jeopardize Trial, According to County Clerk

March 18, 2010 — -- The high-profile trial of accused child-killer Casey Anthony is at risk of being suspended or canceled because of the hundreds of thousands of dollars it will cost to sequester a jury for the Florida case, according to a county official.

Lydia Gardner, the Orange County clerk of circuit courts, said in a statement that without more funding, the court might not be able to afford Anthony's May trial.

Because of the media attention, a jury will be brought in from an undetermined location outside Orange County and will therefore have to be accommodated.

The estimated cost to support 20 jurors for eight weeks is more than $360,000, Ninth Judicial Circuit Court spokeswoman Karen Levey said.

"Judge [Belvin] Perry was trying to get a handle on the cost associated with the jury sequestering, and the price includes the estimated cost of lodging, meals and transportation for the jury," Levey said.

But Gardner said that unless the state Senate allocates more money to the court, the trial, which she calls one of the states "most notorious murder cases," will be in jeopardy.

"What is in question is whether or not this trial will be suspended or canceled if the clerk is not able to meet her statutory responsibility to pay the jurors for their service," Gardner said. "As you are aware, this trial in particular has garnered not only local attention, but also national and even worldwide attention.

"The Florida Senate has proposed a 5 percent cut to our budget in the [fiscal-year] fourth quarter, just as the Anthony trial is scheduled to begin," she said. "If the Senate proposal goes through, the trial is in jeopardy of being canceled or suspended."

But the judge set to preside over the case, Chief Judge Belvin Perry Jr., has said that no such suspension or cancellation will occur.

"Judge Perry is going forward with the case on May 9," Levey said. "He has no plans to cancel or discontinue this case. This is going forward."

Anthony, 24, is accused of killing her daughter, Caylee Anthony, who was 2 when she disappeared in June 2008. Anthony has pleaded not guilty.