ORLANDO, Fla. -- A judge on Tuesday delayed ruling on a wide-ranging gag order in the case of Casey Anthony, who is charged with killing her 3-year-old daughter, Caylee.

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A state attorney has requested that Circuit Judge Stan Strickland limit statements by prosecutors, defense attorneys, Orange County investigators and the family of defendant Casey Anthony in the case.

Anthony, 22, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and other charges and faces life in prison if convicted of killing Caylee Anthony. The Orlando toddler was last seen on June 16, but her mother did not report her missing until July. More than 1,000 searchers spent a weekend earlier this month looking for the toddler's body, but it has not been recovered.

Lawyers for both sides agreed that any gag order should be more narrowly tailored and the judge said he hoped to rule by Wednesday.

Orange County Assistant State's attorney Jeff Ashton said at Tuesday's hearing that the girl's grandparents, Cindy and George Anthony, should be able to discuss their belief that Caylee is alive and their efforts to find her.

Defense attorney Jose Baez said the state has leaked much more information. But Ashton detailed several national television appearances Baez made that he said were designed to influence jurors.

Ashton said that to let it continue would "make it virtually impossible for us to find an impartial jury in the state of Florida, much less Orlando."

"There's a lot of hot air, but not a whole lot of law," Baez said of Ashton's presentation.

Baez said the First Amendment prohibits the government from ordering people what to say except in the case of "clear and present danger."

In his rebuttal, Ashton cited a Florida Supreme Court ruling that says a judge could impose the order for good cause, not just danger.

"If I go out in front of the cameras right now and say Caylee Anthony is dead, that would be grievous," Ashton said. "That's not my job."

An attorney for a local television station said a gag order now would be moot because there has been so much media coverage giving both guilty and not guilty views.

Strickland also quashed defense subpoenas for several television reporters.

Prosecution and defense attorneys' arguments sometimes grew heated, causing Strickland to admonish both benches.

"This in enough," Strickland said, exasperated. "Someone's facing life imprisonment. Let's act like we're supposed to."

Anthony told authorities she had left her daughter with a baby sitter in June and the two were gone when she returned from work. She said she spent the next month trying to find her daughter and didn't call authorities because she was scared. Investigators say they have poked several holes in her story.

Caylee Sighting Revisited

Meanwhile, Cindy Anthony implored investigators to look into a recent possible sighting of the missing girl.

Cindy Anthony spoke at a press conference on Tuesday, saying that she doesn't know if a photo taken of a girl resembling 3-year-old Caylee is her granddaughter, but wants it investigated.

"We're working to bring Caylee Marie back home. I made that statement early on. The last breath that I take, I'm going to continue to look for her, and I feel very confident every day that we are getting closer and closer to finding her," Cindy Anthony said.

A detective hired by the family who appeared at the press conference said the photo was taken at the Florida Mall in November and that investigators aren't willing to study the statement of the woman who took the picture.

Another picture of the girl at the mall in the possible Caylee sighting was released but offered few new details. It showed the same girl in question from a further distance than the other pictures.

FBI Videos Irk George, Cindy Anthony

George and Cindy Anthony spoke for the first time since their interviews with the FBI were released, saying they felt like they have been ambushed.

George and Cindy Anthony spoke after a prayer vigil was held Sunday night for Caylee, saying they did not know they were being videotaped and had no idea the FBI interviews were being released until they watched local TV news.

The Anthonys said this proves that investigators are not searching for Caylee but instead are continuing to build a case against Casey Anthony.

"That distinct odor, that's something you don't forget," George Anthony said in the FBI interview. "I believe something was placed in the back of that trunk. I don't want to believe it was my granddaughter."

George Anthony also said in the interview that his daughter had lied.

"Is my daughter not telling the truth? Yeah," George Anthony said. "She knows a lot more than what's going on. Has she just completely blanked this out or is she just trying to cover up something that might have went wrong? That's possible."

No Leads In Possible Sighting

The Anthonys said no one has come forward since a picture of a girl involved in a possible Caylee sighting was released on Friday.

The photo was taken inside the Florida Mall, but the person who took the picture has not been identified.

"We want to continue to get it out there. If she belongs to someone else, we want to know so we can rule it out," Anthony family spokeswoman Michelle Bart said.

Bounty Hunter Search

Celebrity bounty hunter Leonard Padilla said he will return to Orlando in January to search for Caylee's remains. Padilla said he has been given $50,000 from someone who wants him to continue the search. Padilla said he will continue searching Blanchard Park in Orlando, where he believes Casey Anthony dumped her daughter's body.

Attorneys Talk Trial Options

Local 6 News reporter Tony Pipitone continues his investigation into the case, discussing its merits with a former prosecutor and a prominent defense attorney.

Anthony's trial is scheduled to begin in January.

Caylee's body has not been found, inviting the question: How can the state prove she is dead, much less that her mother killed her?

Pipitone said that after prosecutors finish presenting their case, the defense will likely ask the judge to throw it out, seeking a judgment of acquittal, which means even giving the state every benefit of the doubt, there's no way a jury could properly find guilt.

"How do you prove this child is dead just because her mother won't say where she has been or is, if she knows? You can't prove she's dead," defense attorney Cheney Mason said. "If you can't prove she's dead, you can't prove cause of death. If you can't prove cause of death, you have a hard time proving who's behind it, how it happened."

Former prosecutor Elizabeth Rahter said a circumstantial case could be solid enough to at least get to a jury.

"Is it reasonable for a mother never to report her missing child? Is it reasonable for a mother to be quiet? Is it reasonable for a mother to never call the police? Is it reasonable for there to be a hair in the trunk? Well, how often does her daughter hang out in the trunk of her car?" Rahter said.

Anthony's car reeked of death, and scientists may be allowed to testify that it contained the remains of a decomposing human body, Pipitone said.

If the case did get to a jury, Pipitone asked Mason if he thought her attorneys would put her on the stand.

"Knowing what I know at this time, there's not a snowball's chance you know where I put her on the witness stand," Mason said.

"Why is that?" Pipitone said.

"Well, because there's so much to cross-examine her about," Mason said.

"Do you just say, 'The defense rests.' Don't even put on a defense?" Pipitone asked.

"There's a good chance that would be the case," Mason said.

If that was to happen, a jury would decide Anthony's fate on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter and four counts of lying to authorities, although juries sometimes are given a chance to compromise on what are called lesser-included offenses.

"It doesn't have to be murder. It could be something lesser," Pipitone said.

"It could be murder first-degree, second-degree, manslaughter," Mason said.

Either side could request that the choices be given to the jury, Pipitone said.

"Most likely, the defense is going to say, 'We just want what's charged and nothing less,'" Rahter said.

If the case against Anthony is as weak as Mason claims, she and her defense team may choose to roll the dice.

"The defense would risk all or nothing?" Pipitone asked.

"Some defense attorneys have done that. You come back with murder-one or you have to acquit," Mason said.

If Anthony was found guilty of premeditated murder or murder in the commission of aggravated child abuse, the question would then turn to a sentence of life or death -- if the state even seeks the death penalty, Pipitone said.

To get the death penalty, the state has to show death was heinous, atrocious or cruel.

"How can you prove the death was heinous, atrocious and cruel if you can't prove the cause of death because you don't have a body?" Mason said.

"There's a dead child. How more heinous, atrocious and cruel can you get?" Pipitone said.

"Well, because people die by accident, of natural causes, any number of ways. No way. No possibility of proving heinous, atrocious and cruel without the body," Mason said.

There also are other so-called aggravators, Pipitone said.

"Is that cold, calculated and premeditated?" Pipitone asked.

"I think you could definitely argue the cold and calculated," Rahter said.

"How do you prove cold, calculated or premeditated, again, without knowing when or how or why?" Mason said.

Other aggravators include a child victim being killed by a caregiver supports a death penalty.

"But on this question, both our defense and prosecutorial sides have some agreement," Pipitone said.

"As it stands now, you can't get there," Mason said.

"So no way you'd see a death penalty in this case?" Pipitone said.

"No, based on what we know now," Mason said.

"I don't think the state would go through with it if they don't have a body," Rahter said.

"That wouldn't ever go to the death penalty, would never even seek it without a body," Pipitone said.

If Anthony is found not guilty on all counts, Pipitone asked the experts if justice will have been served.

"If you believe in the Constitution of the United States, if you believe in the jury system, you must necessarily conclude that that was justice," Mason said.

Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.