Poor Casey Anthony

Well, it's finally happened. The defense is now claiming that Casey Anthony can't afford her defense expenses.

WKMG is reporting about this long-awaited catastrophe.

Bold is mine:

Defense attorneys for Casey Anthony have filed a motion requesting that the court declare her indigent and have the taxpayers shoulder some of the cost of her defense.

Jose Baez filed the paperwork at 5 p.m. Friday. He is asking Judge Stan Strickland to declare Anthony indigent for costs, meaning she does not have the money to fund her defense.

Anthony is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her daughter, Caylee.

Anthony has already paid Baez and death penalty expert Andrea Lyon $111,954, but Baez said that is not enough to give Anthony the defense she needs, and taxpayers should make up the difference.

Nearly $90,000 of the amount was used for Baez's fees, the remainder covered Lyon's costs. She is working on the case for free.

Baez said Anthony, 23, was willing to pay for her defense until the state put the death penalty back on the table, making her unable to cover the expense.

The motion asks the state to cover the cost of depositions, transcripts, investigators, legal research, expert witness fees, medical or mental examinations, travel expenses and other costs the defense has or will incur.

Legal experts said defending a complex death penalty murder case like Anthony's can easily run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, especially when potential witnesses and experts are dispersed around the country.

Baez estimated the total cost of defending Anthony will amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

If Strickland signs the order, Florida taxpayers will pick up the bill for the defense costs, but not the defense fees.

Now, I have to ask... If Baez is claiming that the defense has spent $111,954 for the defense so far, and about $21,954 was for Andrea Lyon's expenses and the rest for Baez's fees, has the defense ever paid anyone else for their services?

Is the State of Florida to pay Dominic Casey the $90,000 he claims is owed to him? How many other "unpaid experts" have not had their expenses covered? It would seem so from what the article had to say.

Of course, Baez blames the reinstatement of the death penalty for the problem. However, the death penalty was reinstated April 13, 2009!

What Baez is saying here is that for the past 10+ months, the defense expense fund has been running on empty, with the exception of his fees and Andrea Lyon's expenses.

As an attorney, Baez should have had Casey declared indigent from day one of this case. Casey had even filled out the form prior to hiring Baez!

There has always been a great deal of speculation as to how the defense was being funded. A hearing held March 25, 2009 was instigated by a motion by the state to investigate the funding of the defense and the possible conflict of interest for the defense attorney. Read HERE for what that motion entailed. The judge was apparently satisfied that everything was okay after an in camera session with the defense.

I also find this new development fascinating because the motion apparently does not include Mr. Baez's fees.

When the issue first came up, it was pointed out that if Casey were to be declared indigent, the defense would have to open up the books to prove their case.

I have a few questions and hope you all have some ideas!

Will Baez have to produce his books to get the expenses?

Will he have to justify his $90,000 in fees?

Will he be able to withhold his fees from the case for indigence?

I am so looking forward to actually seeing this motion and I hope that Mr. Hornsby or Mr. Sheafer will fill in some of the blanks.

WFTV EXCLUSIVE! Casey Anthony to take plea

Update!


WFTV is now reporting that Casey Anthony may take a plea Monday and take her chances with the judge. According to the article, the defense and the State may not agree about adjudication.

The article ends by saying:

The expected plea is not etched in stone. Anytime between now and Monday afternoon, Casey could change her mind.

"As Yogi Berra said, 'It ain't over 'til it's over,'" Sheaffer said.

If Casey decides to go to trial, it might start Monday, even though the defense has not yet questioned alleged victim Amy Huizenga under oath. The judge has said in court that her check case would be resolved either with a plea or trial on January 25.

Bill Sheaffer analysis from WFTV:

1/20 Analysis 1/19 Analysis

I don't know about all of you, but it seems a long way until Monday!

Check back here for updates!



Let's see what happens on Monday, January 25. In an exclusive, WFTV is reporting that Casey Anthony will take a plea in the fraud case. According to the article,

A plea deal in the check fraud case certainly could explain why the defense has not yet deposed the alleged victim, Amy Huizenga, and it explains why the judge is not demanding that the trial start first thing Monday morning. He was adamant about the case going on January 25, no matter what, and even mentioned a plea as a possibility in court during one of the last hearings.

In the article, WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer explained that the judge could possibly accept the plea, but withold adjudication:

...the judge's ruling on whether to adjudicate or convict Casey of a crime, or withhold adjudication, would directly affect the defense's decision as to whether Casey would take the stand in her murder trial. If she were to have a conviction on her record, prosecutors could ask her about it and it would immediately affect her credibility in the eyes of the jurors.

For full details, go to the WFTV article.

The Case Against Casey Anthony: Motions and Commotions

Since I last reported on the Case Against Casey, all heck has broken loose. I watched it all go by. Every time I was ready to report, something new happened and so on and so on. I've had a few days to digest the news and put together some thoughts for you all and a summary of the action with plenty of links.

The first hint that something was up came with a November 18 report on WESH.

The Anthonys' attorney said Kronk's personal life and the circumstances of discovering the remains are different things. George and Cindy Anthony's attorney said all they want is the truth from Kronk and not dirt about his past.

"They have been vilified unfairly. They know what it's like to be under a microscope unfairly and they don't want that to happen to someone who found their granddaughter," attorney Brad Conway said.

Now, I had just finished reading the e-mails between PI Dominic Casey and Cindy Anthony, starting on page 48 of the PDF, which were replete with comments about Kronk and information about his past. Something just wasn't right here!

Sure enough, the very next day, November 19, Clickorlando reported that the defense had taken on a new member, Mort Smith "a Chicago-based private investigator who teaches at DePaul University, the same school where fellow defense team member Andrea Lyon teaches." Mr. Smith had taken on the task of digging into Roy Kronks's past.

This was reported as Mr. Kronk was being deposed by the defense. When he left the deposition at the end of the day,

Kronk said. “He was very nice to me. And it was a very nice mood in there, so, it wasn't a bad day at all.”

Immediately after the deposition, the defense lawyers managed to file this motion and Memorandum of Law:

DEFENDANT'S MOTION IN LIMINE TO INTRODUCE PRIOR BAD ACTS AND OTHER CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE PERTAINING TO ROY M. KRONK

MEMORANDUM OF LAW

According to an article at News13,

In a motion filed late Thursday afternoon, the defense said:

• they have evidence Kronk has a possible history of inappropriate behavior with young girls
• that he has used duct tape to restrain women
• that he has a history of abusing and restraining women

Kronk's attorney, David Evans, released a fairly lengthily statement which concluded:

It is the nature of criminal defense to attempt to find someone to blame for a crime other than the person charged. Mr. Kronk has understood from the beginning that the defense might attempt to cast suspicions in his direction--because that's what defense attorneys do. In their zeal to defend Casey Anthony, defense counsel has filed papers with the Court that are filled with allegations that have no basis in fact and falsely accuse Mr. Kronk of various types of bad behavior.

Included with the motion were videos of portions of the interviews with Mort Smith:

Crystal Sparks (ex-wife)
Jill Kerley (ex-wife)
Brandon Sparks (estranged son)
April Applegate Hensley (daughter of late girlfriend)

Ms. Kerley's interview was the one which was the most inflammatory. She accused Kronk of beating her and binding her hands (once, twice?) with 100-mile-an hour duct tape. When asked what she thought of when she heard about his finding the remains, she said "that he had done it."

Crystal Sparks was mentioned in the D. Casey and C. Anthony e-mails. One comment that stands out in my mind is when it is mentioned that Ms. Sparks had posted last year on various websites, praising Kronk for his actions.

The son was no kinder than the ex-wives. Notable in his statement is that he claimed his father called him in November to tell him about his discovery and how he would be in the news.

Once this news hit, the lawyers who report for the local stations began a rather heated debate over the value of this motion.

WFTV analyst Bill Sheaffer came out first with a raw interview with the station. He blasted the defense royally for the motion, stating, "This is beyond a pathetic attempt, this is a despicable act on the part of the defense in this case," If you haven't heard it before, it is worth a listen.

Raw Video

He also posted an article on his blog November 20.

Does Casey’s Defense Have No Sense Of Decency?

He begins by stating that:

Filing and publicizing the latest so-called ”Motion in Limine” by the Anthony defense team, which would now seem to include Brad Conway, lawyer for George and Cindy Anthony, is an all-time low on a grand scale, even for this crew. This so-called defense tactic, designed to shift the focus of blame away from their client Casey Anthony, is neither new nor unusual in this case. It seems to have begun with allegations against Zenaida Gonzales, then, Jesse Grund, a former Casey boyfriend, to now a very vicious and public attack on an innocent citizen, former Orange County employee, Roy Kronk, the poor soul who had the misfortune to discover Casey Anthony’s handiwork of her little girl’s body dumped like garbage in the woods.

Again, this is a must-read if you haven't already seen it.

The following day, November 21, WKMG was reporting that the Anthony family had no idea this blast against Kronk was coming.

London wanted to know what George and Cindy Anthony, Casey's parents, had to say about the defense team's latest move. "I called Brad Conway, their attorney," Pipitone said. "He says they had no idea this was coming until they saw media reports. He says that they now just want to wait and see how this develops. ... They say what's important to them is to just know the truth."

Link

I find it hard to believe this statement. It sets off my BS meter when Conway had previously stated that the Anthony's did NOT want to see Kronk maligned. I agree with Mr. Sheaffer when he indicates that Conway was involved. Oh, and let's not forget Cindy's involvement with hunting up the dirt on Kronk!

Next, attorney Richard Hornsby joined the fray full-force. On WESH-Channel 2, legal analyst Richard Hornsby said, "This is the first significant and credible shot the defense has taken against the state. I think it has a high likelihood of success."

Source

November 22, Hornsby expanded on his comments on his blog in an article entitled. In Defense of the Casey Anthony Defense. In it, he explains a lot about the law and also takes time to blast Sheaffer in a rather startling manner, it is also worth some time.

Sheaffer responded through halboedeker's blog in the Orlando Sentinel.

"I have been asked for, and strive to, consistently deliver sound legal analysis of this case, based upon my knowledge and experience gained from 30 years as a criminal defense attorney and my time as a prosecutor. I am honored to share my insights with the viewers of WFTV Eyewitness News and enjoy the free exchange of ideas that result. It is, of course, always easier to criticize than to create, and it is easier to denigrate than to develop one's own well-reasoned discourse on a topic. There will always be those who prefer to take that easier route. I think the public, the judicial system and the memory of Caylee are better served if the focus of the discussion remains on the facts of the case and the workings of our judicial system and not those who opine on these matters."

What really matters to me is that we now have two blogs by two Florida attorneys with differing ideas. Let's hope that both these gentlemen contine to post as the trial goes on. We who aren't attorneys and follow the case can use as much legal information as possible.

Now, back to the Kronk motion!

Immediately after filing the motion, the defense went on a major media blitz which covered both locally and nationally. I've posted two of the links at the end of the article . What strikes me most is the fact that this motion is clearly saying that Kronk needs to be considered a person of interest in the case, the information given relates to long-ago events in his life. Who better than ex-wives and estranged children to make all sorts of statements, apparently NOT under sworn oath. The motion and memorandum point out many differences in Kronk's reports. They even say, at the very end of page 31 of the Memorandum that:

The evidence she sees to introduce at trial is crucial to her ability to undermine Mr. Kronk's credibility before the jury. Because its impeachment value has already been demonstrated by the contrast with Mr. Kronk's answers at his November 19, 2009 desposition, this evidence should be admitted at trial.

There's a bit of a problem here! If one turns to page 32 of the Memorandum, one will see that it was signed by Jose Baez and Andrea Lyon on November 18, 2009!

Finally, there is one more motion that hasn't be mentioned too much. It's the MOTION TO TAKE DEPOSITION TO PERPETUATE TESTIMONY OF JILL KERLEY . The motion was signed by Baez and Lyon on November 18, so we can assume it was filed the 19th along with the other Kronk motion. This motion is asking for Ms. Kerley to be deposed so that she can attest to the following under oath:

Ms. Kerley is the former wife of Roy Kronk, and was married to him for approximately four months. Her testimony is material in this case to the matter of introduction of evidence regarding third-party guilt, namely that Mr. Kronk shoud be a suspect in this case....

I would really love to know more about the former Mrs. Kronk of four months. I would love to know how long ago they were married. I would love to know if she knows that Kronk abducted Caylee Anthony. And there lies the rub. There is absolutely no evidence that Kronk had any connections to Casey Anthony. There is no evidence to show any connection between Caylee's death and Mr. Kronk. I sure hope Mr. Kronk has a terrific alibi, like he was at work or playing computer games online at the time!

I hope Judge Strickland rules against the original motion and I'm looking forward to your opinions!

Links to Defense Media Blitz:

Today show
WESH
WKMG 1
WKMG 2
WKMG Full Interview