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Orlando (CNN) -- What had been planned as an extended weekend work day in the Casey Anthony murder trial abruptly ended Saturday morning as the judge overseeing the case ordered a recess over the sudden emergence of what one analyst said must be a major issue.
"Obviously it's big, and obviously it's troublesome and obviously it's something that can't be disclosed," HLN legal analyst Linda Kenney Baden said.
Judge Belvin Perry emerged from his chambers Saturday morning after nearly an hour of discussions with attorneys both in and out of the courtroom to announce the day's planned testimony would be canceled.
He said only that the delay was due to a legal issue unrelated to complaints prosecutors raised first thing Saturday morning about expected testimony from Kenneth Furton, a chemistry expert the defense had planned to call Saturday.
Anthony's lawyers are trying to discredit the prosecution theory that the Orlando woman rendered her 2-year-old daughter Caylee unconscious with chloroform, duct-taped her mouth and nose and stored the body in her trunk for a few days before dumping it in the woods. Anthony, 25, is charged with seven counts, including first-degree murder.
The defense says Caylee accidentally drowned in the family pool and that Anthony and her father panicked and covered it up.
In what has become a familiar strain during the trial, prosecutor Jeff Ashton complained to Perry that defense attorneys didn't disclose Furton's plans to testify about things that weren't contained in his initial report provided to prosecutors or mentioned in his formal interview with them.
Perry has previously admonished Baez for failing to disclose planned testimony to prosecutors, going so far as to say he will consider contempt proceedings against him once the trial is over.
Furton was to testify about explanations for vile odors and the presence of chloroform in the trunk of Casey Anthony's car, where prosecutors claim Anthony stored the body of 2-year-old Casey Anthony before dumping the remains in a wooded field.
Chloroform can be given off by a decomposing body, and one prosecution expert described the levels of the substance in the trunk of Anthony's white Pontiac Sunfire as "shockingly high." Several witnesses also testified for the state about odors that they said smelled like the unmistakable scent of human decomposition.
Furton did not provide specific alternative explanations for the presence of odors or chloroform in his initial report or in his interview with prosecutors, Ashton complained.
"Once again we are in the position of experts having supplemented their opinions without notifying the state," Ashton said.
Defense attorney Jose Baez disagreed, saying nothing in Furton's planned testimony differed from his previous opinions.
"Mr. Ashton can continue to make these allegations and make these allegations and then suddenly they become true in his world," Baez said. "But I do not believe they are true."
Perry indicated that he would not allow Furton to testify on Saturday, but didn't rule on the controversy before ordering the trial to recess until 8:30 a.m. Monday morning. But he did hint at his frustration.
"Obviously it's big, and obviously it's troublesome and obviously it's something that can't be disclosed," HLN legal analyst Linda Kenney Baden said.
Judge Belvin Perry emerged from his chambers Saturday morning after nearly an hour of discussions with attorneys both in and out of the courtroom to announce the day's planned testimony would be canceled.
He said only that the delay was due to a legal issue unrelated to complaints prosecutors raised first thing Saturday morning about expected testimony from Kenneth Furton, a chemistry expert the defense had planned to call Saturday.
Anthony's lawyers are trying to discredit the prosecution theory that the Orlando woman rendered her 2-year-old daughter Caylee unconscious with chloroform, duct-taped her mouth and nose and stored the body in her trunk for a few days before dumping it in the woods. Anthony, 25, is charged with seven counts, including first-degree murder.
The defense says Caylee accidentally drowned in the family pool and that Anthony and her father panicked and covered it up.
In what has become a familiar strain during the trial, prosecutor Jeff Ashton complained to Perry that defense attorneys didn't disclose Furton's plans to testify about things that weren't contained in his initial report provided to prosecutors or mentioned in his formal interview with them.
Perry has previously admonished Baez for failing to disclose planned testimony to prosecutors, going so far as to say he will consider contempt proceedings against him once the trial is over.
Furton was to testify about explanations for vile odors and the presence of chloroform in the trunk of Casey Anthony's car, where prosecutors claim Anthony stored the body of 2-year-old Casey Anthony before dumping the remains in a wooded field.
Chloroform can be given off by a decomposing body, and one prosecution expert described the levels of the substance in the trunk of Anthony's white Pontiac Sunfire as "shockingly high." Several witnesses also testified for the state about odors that they said smelled like the unmistakable scent of human decomposition.
Furton did not provide specific alternative explanations for the presence of odors or chloroform in his initial report or in his interview with prosecutors, Ashton complained.
"Once again we are in the position of experts having supplemented their opinions without notifying the state," Ashton said.
Defense attorney Jose Baez disagreed, saying nothing in Furton's planned testimony differed from his previous opinions.
"Mr. Ashton can continue to make these allegations and make these allegations and then suddenly they become true in his world," Baez said. "But I do not believe they are true."
Perry indicated that he would not allow Furton to testify on Saturday, but didn't rule on the controversy before ordering the trial to recess until 8:30 a.m. Monday morning. But he did hint at his frustration.