Casey Anthony Fights Order to Report to Probation Officer

Aug. 1, 2011— -- A lawyer for Casey Anthony said today that he will fight a judge's order requiring her to report to a probation officer this week, saying the order is "illegal" and he will seek to have the judge booted from the case.

Attorney Jose Baez told ABC News he plans to contest the ruling by Florida Judge Stan Strickland just hours after Strickland signed the order telling Anthony to report to a probation officer in Orlando within 72 hours.

Anthony, 25, has been in hiding seen since she was acquitted last month of killing her daughter Caylee.

Strickland had ordered Anthony to serve 412 days in jail followed by a year's probation on charges that she stole checks from her friend Amy Huizenga and fraudulently cashed them. The judge's ordered was initially issued in January 2010, while Anthony was in jail awaiting trial on her murder case.

When Anthony was released from jail on July 17 following her murder acquittal, she was granted time served for the 412 days of jail time on the check fraud charges, and prison officials interpreted the judge's order to mean that her probation was also served during her time in jail.

Strickland signed an order today clarifying his ruling, that he intended her probation would be served once she was released from jail.

Baez, however, said he will file a motion to recuse Strickland from the case and to toss out the judge's order. He claims that Strickland no longer had jurisdiction in the case.

According to court documents, Strickland's order also requires that Anthony pay $348 in court costs and $20 a month for the supervision required with her probation sentence. She is also barred from any contact with Huizenga.

Huizenga was friends with Anthony while Anthony was engaged to Ricardo Morales. The two women even talked about getting a place together, but those plans never materialized. When Anthony and Morales broke up, Huizenga moved in with Morales.

Anthony is required to report to her probation officer by the fifth day of every month, and she will not be allowed to leave Orange County, Fla., without permission from her probation officer.

Anthony hasn't been seen since she left the Orange County jail following her acquittal on murder charges. Strickland's order to report to a probation officer may force her back into the spotlight. There has been speculation that Anthony could be in a series of hideaways from Florida to California.

TMZ reported today that Anthony has recognized that her behavior was wrong when her daughter died and she never reported the child missing or dead, and is seeking counseling.

Anthony was acquitted of murder, but convicted on four counts of lying to law enforcement officers for insisting that Caylee was stolen by a babysitter, claiming she had a job at Universal Studios and other lies. She was credited for time served on those counts.