Forensic Botanist Takes Stand In Casey Anthony Trial

ORLANDO (CBS4) – Jurors in the murder trial of Casey Anthony listened to more forensic evidence when the trial resumed Tuesday morning after nearly a day's recess.

On Monday Chief Judge Belvin Perry called a halt to the proceedings just before 11 a.m. after a half-hour argument by attorneys about evidence disclosure.

Attorneys for both sides argued over what prosecutors say was a failure by defense lawyers to disclose all the material an upcoming witness,  DNA expert Richard Eikelenboom, intended to testify to. The defense said the state was engaging in legal maneuvering. Perry lectured them for wasting the court's time.

On Tuesday Perry ruled that Eikelenboom would not be permitted to testify about decomposition evidence found in the trunk of Anthony's car until a hearing was held. The judge said the defense violated his pretrial order that all expert witnesses present detailed reports about what they planned to testify to. Perry agreed with the prosecution's argument that the report he provided was only a summary.

"That should give each side ample opportunity to do what they need to do," Perry said. "And it is a remedy short of exclusion."

The judge, however, did accept Eikelenboom as an expert in general DNA analysis.

Anthony is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her 2-year-old daughter Caylee.

The defense said the girl drowned in her grandparents' swimming pool. The prosecution contends that Caylee was suffocated by duct tape placed over her nose and mouth, her body then dumped in a wooded area near the Anthony's family home.

The first defense witness to take the stand was Orange County Sheriff's Office CSI Jennifer Welch.

Welch has testified before in the case.

Welch told the jury the area where they found Caylee's remains was cleared of leaf litter between December 12th and 14th, 2008. Welch also testified that the remains were untouched when the litter was removed.

The next witness called to the stand was forensic botanist Dr. Jane Bock who has also testified previously.

Bock disputed the prosecution's timeline about the length of time Caylee's remains were in wooded location.

She testified that Caylee Anthony's remains could have been in the woods for as little as two weeks before they were discovered in December 2008, a much shorter time period than prosecutors allege.

Bock told jurors  she believed the roots could have grown through the bones, skull and a laundry bag in two weeks. Prosecutors have said Caylee's remains had been in the woods since the summer of 2008.  Bock said she based her estimate "because of the pattern of leaf litter" she observed on photos of the scene in the woods where the remains were found. But Bock said she couldn't tell just by looking at the photos how long the plants in the area had been there.

Prosecutor Jeff Ashton seized on that uncertainty in his cross-examination and noted that photos Bock relied on to make her assessment weren't taken until February 2009, more than seven weeks after the area was cleared of vegetation. He also showed Bock photos taken at the time of recovery and challenged her with more questions.

"Clearly some of those leaves have been off the trees for longer than two weeks, were they not?" Ashton said.

Bock replied it was possible, but also said they could have been there longer.

Anthony, who has pleaded not guilty, faces a possible death sentence if convicted.