ATLANTA (Court TV) — Can you name the judge who presided over O.J. Simpson’s murder trial? Of course you can! Judges rarely become the breakout stars of the cases they preside over, and there’s a reason for that. Their role, by design, requires them to remain neutral and low-profile so as to keep the spotlight firmly on defendants, witnesses and attorneys.
Judge Beverly Cannone listens as Timothy Nuttall, from the Canton Fire Department, testifies during Karen Read’s murder trial, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. Read, 44, of Mansfield, faces several charges including second degree murder in the death of her Boston Police officer boyfriend John O’Keefe, 46, in 2022. (Nancy Lane/The Boston Herald via AP, Pool)
On rare occasions, judges do take center stage, and whether she likes it or not, Judge Beverly Cannone is one of the breakout stars of the Karen Read Murder Retrial. While she’s certainly not seeking the spotlight, the world is watching. Someone who knows that feeling all too well is Judge Belvin Perry, who presided over Casey Anthony’s murder trial in 2011.
Judge Perry, who has since retired from his post as chief judge of Florida’s 9th Judicial Circuit, joined “Vinnie Politan Investigates” earlier this month to talk about sitting on the bench when all eyes are on you.
‘Living in a Fishbowl’
“The best way to describe that is like a conductor of a symphony orchestra,” Judge Perry told Vinnie. “You have various parts. You have the legal parts that you make rulings on instantaneously. That’s gonna be scrutinized and talked about by commentators, reporters, legal analysts, but you also have to deal with the other moving parts of that symphony. You have to deal with the litigants, the lawyers, the jurors, security, the audience. It’s just so many different moving parts that people think you’re only dealing with the lawyers and listening and making rulings. It’s more than that in a high-profile case. And it doesn’t end there, your life changes totally. Once you leave that courtroom, you can’t go anywhere. It’s just a different world. It’s living in a fishbowl.”
Vinnie took a moment to commend Judge Cannone’s ability to make important legal decisions quickly and thoughtfully, considering everything she has on her plate.
“This case has been heavily litigated by both sides,” Vinnie explained. “You’ve got an attorney from out of state who’s leading the defense. You had all that drama with the jury first time around. So, there’s been a lot on the judge’s plate, and you have to—whether you like her decisions or disagree with her decisions—you have to concede that she has controlled that courtroom, she has preserved the decorum in that courtroom, and has really kept this case moving along.”
Vinnie and Judge Perry spoke about what it’s like to make crucial decisions while people around the world are not only watching you, but they’re critiquing your work.
Judge Belvin Perry is pictured presiding over the Casey Anthony trial in 2011 at the Orange County Regional Courthouse in Orlando, Fla. (Court TV)
“Do you feel any extra pressure?” asked Vinnie, “because I always look at the judge as that’s who’s in charge of all of this.”
“Yes, there is extra pressure because you know the world’s watching you,” said Judge Perry. “You know that you’re gonna be critiqued and judged by legal analysts all over the world. So yes, there is pressure, but what you have to do is tune that out and focus in on what your job is.”
In Our TikTok Era
In the pre-social media days of 1995’s O.J. Simpson trial, the closest thing to viral video was the Dancing Itos on the “Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and other late-night television segments. Now that we’re firmly ensconced in our TikTok Era, there’s no shortage of short-form videos parodying “Aunt Bev.”
Social media was by no means in its infancy when Judge Perry oversaw the Casey Anthony trial, but it was still young (It’s safe to say social media was in its adolescence in 2011—remember #totmom?). Judge Perry gave his take on how social media reaction impacts a judge, saying:
“Well, number one, you’re going to have those paradigms. You’re going to have people second-guessing judges, and you’re gonna actually have people poking fun in the days of this social media. But my advice to any judge is, don’t watch television. During the Casey Anthony trial, when I was presiding, I did not watch any news accounts. Because if you watch them, then you may get caught up in certain things. You may change what you need to do in court. If there’s any critiquing, you would probably get that from some of your colleagues, who unfortunately will watch and tell you those things.”
L to R: Judge Beverly Cannone with her black Stanley tumbler, Judge Beverly Cannone with her green Stanley tumbler. (Court TV)
Like Judge Perry before her, Judge Cannone is presiding over one of the biggest cases in the country. She may be living under a microscope for the time being; she may have to contend with sketch comedy spoofs of her Boston accent and Redditors speculating about what’s in her Stanley Tumbler, but Judge Cannone is there to facilitate the trial, not dominate it.
(That doesn’t mean we haven’t noticed that you switch between a seafoam green Stanley tumbler and a black Stanley tumbler, Aunt Bev!)
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