Casey Anthony's lawyers argue she was wrongly convicted of lying

Jan. 8, 2013, 3:28 PM UTC

By Barbara Liston, Reuters

Lawyers for Casey Anthony -- the Florida mother found not guilty in the murder of her 2-year-old daughter -- argued to a state appeals court on Tuesday that Anthony should not have been convicted of lying to police because she had not been advised of her right to remain silent.

Anthony, 26, was acquitted of major charges in 2011 in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee Marie Anthony, who disappeared in 2008 and whose body was found months later in the woods near the Anthony home in the Orlando area.

Though she was acquitted of the murder charge, Casey Anthony was convicted of four counts of lying to police and had been sentenced to a maximum of four years in prison.

Anthony was convicted of lying to a detective when she said she left Caylee on or about June 9, 2008, with a nanny named Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez at the Sawgrass Apartments in Orlando. She was also convicted of lying when she claimed she was employed at Universal Studios, had told Universal co-workers that Caylee was missing, and later received a phone call from Caylee.

Anthony was nowhere to be seen Tuesday, when her lawyers entered a Daytona Beach, Fla. court for the afternoon hearing before the Fifth District Court of Appeal, NBC affiliate WESH of Orlando reported.

A three-judge appellate panel did not rule Tuesday and didn't specify when a decision would come down, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

Lawyers for Anthony argue the four lies should be considered one offense, since the statements were made during extended interrogation by detectives, Reuters reported. They also argue that jurors shouldn't have heard Anthony's statements to detectives during the initial investigation, according to Reuters. Her lawyers say that's because her lawyers had not been advised of her right to remain silent.

In August, Anthony completed one year of probation at a secret location for a check fraud charge.