ANN CURRY, co-host:
Here at home,
Casey Anthony
is fighting her court-ordered return to
Florida
to serve
probation
on a fraud charge. Her lawyers are set to make their case before a judge today. We've got
NBC
's
Jeff Rossen
now in
Orlando
with the latest on this story.
Jeff
, good morning.
JEFF ROSSEN reporting:
Hi
,
Ann
, good morning to you. Look, obviously
Casey Anthony
has no -- doesn't want to come back to
Florida
at all to serve her
probation
. Even prosecutors here in
Florida
aren't asking her to come back. Here's the letter, in fact, from the state of
Florida
,
Department of Corrections
back in January saying she completed her
probation
, saying, "Best wishes for a very successful future." But still it all sits in the hands of a judge here in
Orlando
today who could decide whether
Casey Anthony
remains in hiding or not. When
Casey Anthony
was released last month, who knew we'd be back today awaiting a new ruling that could send her right back here to
Orlando
. Here's the issue. Long before her murder trial,
Casey Anthony
plead guilty
to
check fraud
.
Ms. CASEY ANTHONY:
I'd like to sincerely apologize.
ROSSEN:
Admitting she went on shopping sprees at
Target
and
Winn-Dixie
using her best friend's account. The sentence: time served and one-year
probation
. At issue now, whether she already served that
probation
while sitting in jail waiting for her murder trial or does she need to come back?
Ms. DIANA TENNIS (Legal Analyst):
If the department of corrections was supervising her that entire year, and she as at jeopardy of violating her
probation
if she did something wrong in jail, that means she was serving that sentence and we can't have her do it twice.
ROSSEN:
But the judge in the
check fraud
case says she intended for
Casey
to serve
probation
after her release, not in jail.
Casey
's lawyers are fighting that. The original judge has since recused himself, so now this judge, the one who presided over the murder trial, could decide today.
Casey Anthony
's lead attorney,
Jose Baez
, spoke with
Matt
here on TODAY.
Mr. JOSE BAEZ:
Well, I live in the
United States of America
where if someone's accused of a crime, you have your day in court, and if a jury finds you not guilty that should be the end of it. But unfortunately in this e-lynching type day that we live in that's not possible.
Offscreen Voice:
We, the jury, find the defendant not guilty.
ROSSEN:
And don't forget, many in
Orlando
don't want
Casey Anthony
to return. Some people here screamed when the jury came back with a not guilty in the death of her two-year-old daughter
Caylee
. And now for some, that shock has morphed into anger with concerns for
Casey
's safety.
Unidentified Man:
There's a lot of hate out there right now, so she wouldn't want to be in
Orlando
right now. I'd give it some time, give it a year or a couple.
ROSSEN:
Right now,
Casey Anthony
remains in hiding. No one is completely sure where she is here in the country. She will not be here at the hearing today, that is for sure. Just her lawyers. She will only return to
Florida
, we're told, if the judge orders it. Court is set for
9 AM
Eastern, so just a couple of hours from now,
Ann.
“ ”