I was asked yesterday by Hal Boedeker of the Orlando Sentinel to answer one of his frequently asked Casey Anthony questions, which was: when does Casey Anthony’s probation “legally” end.<\/p>\n
Well, contrary to what Foghorn Leghorn says, the answer is simple: July 17, 2012.<\/p>\n
When Casey Anthony was originally released from jail, which was shortly after midnight on\u00a0July 17th, 2011,\u00a0most people thought that she was no longer on probation because the\u00a0Florida Department of Corrections unilaterally decided that her probation began running while she was in jail and her\u00a0probation ended on January 24, 2011<\/a>.<\/p>\n I, on the other hand, knew they were wrong in their conclusion and explained why Casey Anthony should still be on probation (See: The Great Probation Debate<\/a>).<\/p>\n Subsequently, the Department of Corrections filed a motion for clarification and the defense moved to dismiss.<\/p>\n A hearing was later held and Judge Perry issued an order\u00a0where\u00a0he makes no judicial determination of when her probation actually started, although he does point out in his “Facts of Case” that judge Strickland stated her \u201cprobation was to start once she was released from jail.\u201d (See page 2)<\/p>\n With Judge Strickland’s sentence established in his findings of fact, he then “orders” Casey Anthony to \u201creport to DOC no later than 12:00 p.m. on August 26, 2011.\u201d (See page 12)<\/p>\n Importantly, he never issued any orders regarding when her probation started, he only ordered her to report to probation.<\/p>\n And this is for good reason, since\u00a0the Department of Corrections told Casey Anthony her probation concluded while she was in jail and gave her documentation to this effect, Judge Perry knew that a person\u2019s probation could only be violated if the person knew they were on probation. See Jenkins v. State, 963 So. 2d 311 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007)<\/a>\u00a0(“A probationer cannot be found in willful violation of probation if he does not know he was on probation.”)<\/p>\n Thus the Department of Corrections was powerless to do anything until Judge Perry issued an order putting Casey Anthony on notice that she was actually still on probation.<\/p>\n But just because they could not violate her until she was ordered to report to probation, does not mean that her probationary term had ever stopped running.<\/p>\n Thus the proper remedy for a person who was led to believe they were not on probation, but which was subsequently corrected by the Court, is to order the person to finish out the remainder of their probationary period.<\/p>\nThe Velvet Hammer sets Ms. Anthony, Jose Baez, and DOC Straight<\/h2>\n
You Can be on Probation and Not Know It<\/h2>\n
Casey Anthony has got the Probation Blues<\/h2>\n