Looking Forward To Another Hearing: Casey Anthony To Attend

October is one of my favorite months. Gone is the heat of summer and the clear, crisp days let me work in my garden for hours on end. Those chilly, drizzly days are perfect for naps on the sofa wrapped in my favorite Betsy Ross panne/fleece blanket. The past weeks have been pure bliss. Oh, I surf the computer early in the morning and late at night to keep up with the latest in the Casey Anthony murder trial. Fortunately, there was a bit of a slow time and I've been able to indulge myself. However, it's almost "Pumpkin Time" and I've had to abandon them for now.

The Motions

We have a hearing on Friday, October 29 at 1:30 PM. Originally slated to be a status hearing, which is always quite an experience, we will also be hearing two motions. Ms. Anthony will be in attendance for that reason.

One motion to be discussed is one filed by Ann Finnell, Casey's newest death penalty attorney. In her Motion To determine Reasonable Budget For Due Process Costs In A Capital Case And Motion To Incur Certain Specified Costs , Finnell sets out her budget for the mitigation phase should Casey be found guilty of murder. On October 12, Bradley Bischoff, attorney for the JAC filed his reply.

For a complete analysis of the documents, I highly recommend the analysis published in the Orlando Sentinel.

After reading the motion and the JAC reply, I went back and read my entry for the original JAC hearing on May 6, 2010. It will be interesting to see how much of what Judge Perry said at that hearing will be repeated or acted upon in this hearing.

One of the most interesting items in Finnell's motion concerns mitigation specialist, Jeanene Barrett. In her motion, Finnell asks for 100 additional hours for the specialist.

At the hearing, Judge Perry asked Jose Baez for some information about Ms. Barrett's work.

The judge then asked how many hours she had already put in, how close to completion she was and how much she was compensated in past, He wants to know the number of times she met with Ms. Anthony.

Baez answered in a rather rambling manner, which is what he does whenever he doesn't have those pesky little details available.

Baez responded that she had traveled to Orlando twice a month for a year. She had traveled to Ohio and Ft. Myers to meet with relatives. She also met with Cindy, George, and Lee Anthony .

As for the additional 100 hours for the mitigation specialist, the JAC response notes that the court had previously approved a "cap" of 384 hours for mitigation specialist Jeanene Barrett.

"It is unclear whether that cap has been reached at this time," states the response from JAC Assistant General Counsel Bradley Bischoff.

The rate for such work is $40 per hour and the response states the court "must determine that the additional hours sought are reasonable and necessary for the defense of the case."

For the sake of brevity, I'll be quoting my entry here. In the July 6 hearing, Judge Perry asked Jose Baez to indicate a few details about Ms. Barrett's work to date.

The judge then asked how many hours she had already put in, how close to completion she was and how much she was compensated in past, He wants to know the number of times she met with Ms. Anthony.

This is highlighted because in her motion, Finnell stated that there would need to be visits to the same locations. Would this be unnecessary duplication of labor? On each visit to Orlando, Barrett had spent “multiple hours” (3 as an average) with Casey and the two had grown extremely close. He estimated that it would take about 384 hours to complete the work.

Judge Perry said, “Stop! How many hours has she put in?”.

Baez said he didn’t know, probably the same amount. He pointed out that it is an ongoing relationship. If the case were to end up in penalty phase, she'd have to have discussions with Casey that no one else can. He went on to say that Jeannene Barrett was the closest person to Ms. Anthony, that she knows Casey better than he does.. She is the most important person on the defense team. She has a relationship with the family members who have opened up to her and has gained their trust. She had even spoken to Casey’s elementary teachers.

At the hearing, Judge Perry made it abundantly clear that he wanted FACTUAL information concerning Ms. Barrett's activities in the case.

She must keep detailed records, and he wants records of people she has already spoken to. He will go over her billing with a a fine tooth comb as will JAC. It may get cut, but at this stage, she will continue

He will scrutinize hotels (mentions types at cheapest possible rate. She will have the same per diem rates as outlined in FL Statute. Car rentals (compact cars).

Judge Perry made it very clear at this hearing that to get more money from the JAC, he would have to justify every past expense and would also have to be very specific if he came back for more money. This is no surprise, the Judge is very involved with the JAC and is very money conscious. Jose Baez, on the other hand, has a problem with finances and record keeping. That's a "whole 'nother story! I'm hoping Finnell will be better at accounting for all of this.

One only has to go back to the beginning of the JAC hearing to note that. At the hearing, Perry pointed out that the defense originally had $275,000 at their disposal. Andrea Lyon was paid $22,500 for expenses. $89,454.33 was paid to Jose Baez for his representation in both the criminal and civil cases totaling $111,954.83.

As the judge figured, there was still $163,045.70 left and he stated that it looked like it went to pay for investigators, experts, and travel. He wanted to know any number of details such as whether they would be testifying and the number of hours for which they were compensated.

This huge amount of money not well accounted for would lead any fiscally responsible person to wonder "where did it all go"? Wouldn't we all like to know!

Whatever happens with Ms. Finnell's motion on Friday, I'm sure the judge and Mr. Bischoff will hold the defense's feet to the fire to justify any more money. It will be interesting to watch, especially because it will be Ms. Finnell;s first court appearance.

In an especially ironic response from the JAC, Brad Bischoff, in arguing against the payment to Finell of travel and lodging in the pursuit of her mission. Since Jose Baez brought her on board, her expenses are part of his overhead and should come out of the money he had accepted for representing Casey as a private attorney.

Personally, I can't believe the sticky wicket Baez has gotten himself into. Since Casey is now indigent, he can't get money from her through any other source than the JAC, which has its own severe budgetary situation. If Casey were to miraculously broker a deal for herself from the jail (oh, those pesky jail logs) to sell more of Caylee's memory, she would no longer be indigent!

The second motion, filed by Jose Baez on October 15, the Motion For Reconsideration opens up the topic of sealing Casey's visitor logs. Based on a recent Court of Appeal decision, Bent vs Florida, his previous motion to seal jail visiting log records be sealed. He also states that "jail commissary records, telephone and visitation logs are also not subject to public record disclosure under Chapter 119..."

As I read the motion, I notice two things. First, the court decision deals with the phone calls of minors. Second, the last page of the decision has the following statement at the bottom.

Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.

Since the decision came down on September 29, 2010, I have no idea if this decision is being appealed. If it is, it is more than likely that this ruling may not yet be final.

For more information concerning this motion, I recommend you read Richard Hornsby's excellent blog on this decision.

The Commotion

Is Jeremy Lyons?

Last Wednesday, accusations that defense PI Jeremy Lyons had been accused of witness tampering. According to WFTV,

Defense private investigator Jeremy Lyons is being accused by two EquuSearch volunteers of trying to change their testimony about searching the scene where Caylee's remains were later found. One has already been deposed by the defense and the other has given a statement to investigators.

The two complainants are Brett Reilly and Brett Churchill, both of whom had searched with TES. According to Churchill,

"He basically was asking me if what I said in my deposition was the exact story because he had others who fared differently, one of them being Brett Reilly,"

Reilly said that:

...he warned Lyons not to twist his words after seeing what the defense has done to others. He says Lyons promised not to, but then found out he did exactly that.

These accusations follow a situation with another searcher, Joseph Jordan who claimed that the defense PI, Mort Smith had tried to do much the same thing, prompting him to clandestinely record the session. The end result of that dust-up was that the illegal recording was sealed by Judge Stan Strickland and his decision was upheld by Judge Belvin Perry. Jordan is now on the State's witness list.

If these accusations are true, then it is a sad situation when the defense will go to any lengths to get someone to say that the area where Caylee's remains were found was dry and had been thoroughly searched.

Linda Kenney-Baden Leaves the Team

The latest "bombshell" occurred on Friday, when Casey Anthony's forensic specialist attorney Linda Kenney-Baden filed a Motion To Withdraw. She cited the burden of travel and expenses in making her decision. If there are any other reasons, it's purely speculation on our parts. Good luck to Dorothy Sims, who can now deal with ALL the science (with perhaps a bit of help from Casey's former lawyer.)

For more on this latest commotion, and for a good laugh, do read donchais' take on the situation at Calls For Justice.

See you all in court Friday!