New Anthony judge seen as no-nonsense jurist

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Orange-Osceola Chief Judge Belvin Perry, Jr. can pick and choose what cases he will preside over. On Tuesday, he had nothing on his docket, but a judicial assistant said he was declining to comment on a case he has only had for less than 24 hours.

Circuit Judge Stan Strickland on Monday granted a motion filed last week by Casey Anthony's attorneys , asking that he recuse himself. As a result of Judge Strickland's recusal, Chief Judge Perry has taken over the case.

Anthony's defense attorneys had argued that comments the judge made to a blogger recently showed he was prejudiced against Anthony. Judge Strickland denied doing anything wrong, but said he removed himself from the case because Anthony's attorneys likely would allege bias each time he ruled against their motions.

Florida A&M University Law School Dean Leroy Pernell said he believes Chief Judge Perry will likely set a status hearing and bring the prosecutors and the defense teams to court to see where things stand.

"What are the issues, what are the priority issues and work out a manner for addressing those," said Pernell.

Chief Judge Perry is somewhat familiar with the case, having presided over the Grand Jury which indicted Casey Anthony on first degree murder charges in October or 2008.

He has heard testimony from six of the State's key witnesses, including a lab technician with the Federal Bureau of Investigations, a computer specialist, lead investigators and every Casey's father, George.

Also on Chief Judge Perry's docket is Jason Rodriguez, the man accused of opening fire at the Gateway Center in Downtown Orlando last fall.

Chief Judge Perry is a proponent of the death penalty. There are at least three men on death row right now, all sentenced in Perry's courtroom.

Prominent Orlando attorney Mark NeJame once represented Casey's parents. He now represents Texas Equusearch, the group which coordinated volunteer search efforts for little Caylee Anthony in the weeks following her disappearance.

NeJame said this is a bad move for the defense.

"I think that Judge Strickland, a wonderful judge and a brilliant jurist, allowed them latitude," said and I think that Judge Perry will be very strict according to guidelines and won't put up with any nonsense"