Casey Anthony Prosecutor: Linda Drane Burdick applies for judge job

ORLANDO SENTINEL:  Lead Casey Anthony prosecutor Linda Drane Burdick is one of 23 applicants seeking the judicial seat left open by the ouster of former Orange-Osceola Judge James Turner, the chair of the Ninth Circuit Judicial NominatingCommission confirmed today.

The Commission plans to conduct applicant interviews and send a list of three to six names to the governor in early March, said Patrick T. Christiansen, chair of the nominating panel.

Linda Drane Burdick, who rarely comments outside of the courtroom, declined discussing her interest in the judicial post today.

Burdick has remained largely outside the public eye since the Casey Anthony trial ended last July, but she remains one of the top and most seasoned prosecutors working for Orange-Osceola State Attorney Lawson Lamar.

The Florida Supreme Court removed Turner from his job in November after he violated several judicial canons. His behavior included hugging and kissing a clerk so often that she began hiding from him at the Osceola County Courthouse. Turner explained that he hugged the woman a few times and that she never told him to stop.

NEWS SOURCE:  ARTICLE BY By ANTHONY COLAROSSI, Orlando Sentinel5:54 PM EST, February 13, 2012