The Case Against Casey Anthony: Motions Hearing Update, KidFinders Controversy

The motions hearing is on for tomorrow afternoon in the Casey Anthony case. Let's hope Jose Baez has his calendar straight this time! There's good news for Jose. According to Eyewitness News, the jail has had a sudden change of policy and he will be allowed to bring his laptop to jail.

There will be the usual motions for discovery as well.

The biggest issue in the hearing will be the gag order requested by the State's Attorney. The order would apply to both the prosecution and defense team. However, the gag order is aimed directly at the Anthony family and Jose Baez.

An attorney for Casey Anthony will fight a gag order in his client's case, saying it's in his client's best interest to be able to fight "false leads" being issued by the state and the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

Jose Baez said he will fight the gag order at a hearing on Tuesday, and he issued subpoenas to several media members, including Local 6 News reporter Adam Longo, to testify about the publicity in the case.

Casey Anthony, 22, remains jailed on first-degree murder charges in the disappearance of her 3-year-old daughter Caylee, who was last seen in mid-June. Baez said it it his right to respond to any leak.

If we're not able to respond to false, misleading leads that are thrown out there, it would hurt our client's case," Baez said. "That's, quite frankly, the reason."

Baez has repeatedly stated that there have been leaks from the OCSO and the State's Attorney's office. I've followed this case since day 32 and the only information I have learned about the case has come from official reports from the OCSO, mainly from their spokesman, Carlos Padilla. All the rest has come from documents released to the press under the rather expansive Florida Sunshine Law. I have yet to read an article that quotes unnamed sources within any official organization. I have to wonder if Baez feels that this legally disseminated information qualifies as leaks.

I'm still trying to figure out what the misleading leads are. Quite frankly, it sounds as though Mr. Baez has spent too much time hanging out with the Anthony clan. If anyone who reads this can give me ONE example of a "misleading lead" in this case that was "leaked" to the press, please let me know!

Kid Finders???

It's been well known that George and Cindy Anthony have aligned themselves with Kid Finders Network. George has traveled around Orlando with a huge billboard featuring Caylee's picture and contact information donated by the organization. They have also sold T-shirts and bracelets in a tent. The Anthony's are very close to the founders of the organization, Dennis and Sherri Milstead.

According to George Anthony, "It's unconditional love I have for them,” Anthony said. “They know it I have said it publicly at vigils. I have said it anyway I can. I can't stress enough they have done for me."

However, things have turned ugly between the press and Kid Finders. On November 17th, intrepid WFTV reporter Kathy Belich confronted the Milsteads at their headquarters in Orlando.

When Eyewitness News confronted Milstead about his criminal past, he got very quiet and then he grabbed WFTV reporter Kathi Belich's microphone and pushed the camera while WFTV photographer Adam Liberatore was holding on to it

Watch the video HERE.

On the 19th, WPBF TV, the local Palm Beach station which covers the area where the Milsteads reside had the following article on their site.

Dennis Milstead, president of the Kid Finders Network, has dropped out of sight after reports surfaced that he was arrested on charges of impersonating a police officer and that his organization has never found a missing child. Milstead, who was spearheading the search to find missing Orlando toddler Caylee Anthony, has been taking donations for his Kid Finders Network, but his method of getting donations and what he does with the money has been in question for some time.

According to court documents, the president of the board of the local Crime Stoppers got a restraining order against Milstead after he said Milstead began showing up at his home, blocking him in the driveway, following him and acting generally threatening. He said Milstead was trying to collect money that Crime Stoppers believed Milstead had obtained through questionable procedures.

A source close to the investigation told WPBF News 25 that Milstead got donors to his Kid Finders Network to make checks out to Crime Stoppers and then demanded 90 percent of the money.

WPBF News 25's Terri Parker spoke exclusively Wednesday to the victim in his 2002 police impersonation arrest. "I noticed that his car said video surveillance, and then when he pulled me over with the flashing lights, I had a bad feeling it was not a policeman and I called 911," Kristi Posvar said in a telephone interview. "But it still shook me up, and he followed me into my gated community and really, you know, it was frightening."

Although the Milsteads have recently been spotted at their tent in Orlando selling T-shirts and collecting donations, one has to wonder if the Anthony's have ever heard of the old saying,

"You are known by the company you keep."



Local 6.com
WFTV
MyFoxOrlando
CNN Find Caylee Blog