Casey Anthony can't plead Fifth in deposition, says lawyer for defamation plaintiff
Casey Anthony won’t be able to plead the Fifth Amendment when she testifies in a deposition in a defamation lawsuit, according to the lawyer for the plaintiff.
Lawyer Matt Morgan represents Zenaida Gonzalez, who claims Anthony defamed her when she blamed a nanny named Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez for the disappearance of Anthony’s daughter, Caylee. Morgan tells the Orlando Sentinel that Anthony’s appeals have been resolved and the deposition is scheduled for Oct. 9.
“We look forward to getting answers to the questions we have had for a very long time,” Morgan told the newspaper.
Previous coverage by the Orlando Sentinel indicates the appeals concerned Anthony’s four misdemeanor counts for lying to detectives. An appeals court ruled in January that Anthony made four false statements, and repeated two of the lies in a separate interview. As a result, she could be convicted on two counts, the court said. Morgan said Anthony had claimed she could harm her criminal appeal by testifying in the defamation case, and resolution of the issue means “she will be compelled to testify at trial.”
Anthony was acquitted in her daughter’s death in 2011.
