Warren Jeffs Sentenced to Life Plus 20 Years

UPDATE: Texas released Jeffs prison photo after his head was shaved.














Warren Jeffs booking photo, undated, AP





It is a relief to the T&T team that polygamy sect leader Warren Jeffs will most likely spend the rest of his natural life behind bars. Jeffs was convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a 12-year-old "spiritual bride" and sexual assault of a 14-year-old "spiritual bride". (Some MSM reports have described her as 15-years-old; this specific victim bore a child by Jeffs at age 15.) Jeffs was sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years.

My real life responsibilities got in the way of researching this case, but I followed Jeffs molestation trial when I could through In Session's Beth Karas' reports on TV, and through her Facebook page. On August 3rd, my jaw dropped when Beth posted this on Facebook:

I just witnessed some of the most disturbing evidence I've ever seen (or heard) in a courtroom. It was a 20-minute audio recording of a 50 year old Warren Jeffs and a 12 year old child allegedly having sex in the presence, and with assistance, of several other wives of Jeffs. It allegedly occurred on August 7, 2006 on the FLDS's ranch outside Eldorado, Texas. The recording was the final evidence presented by the State. Jeffs says he wants to call witnesses. Court is in a recess right now.

That's right. Jeffs, tape recorded his rape of a 12-year-old. The tape recording was recovered after a raid on the Texas compound in 2008. Can you imagine sitting in the gallery, much less the jury box and listening to this evidence? One has to wonder why Jeffs tape recorded these rapes. Could it have been for Jeffs to 'relive' the experience, much like serial killers and rapists do when they take a trophy from their victims?

Once Jeffs was convicted, Beth reported on air that even more outrageous, damaging testimony would be heard in the penalty phase. At the time, I wondered, 'What could be worse than listening to a tape recorded rape of a 12-year-old?' Here's what Beth report on her Facebook page:

Among the punishment evidence to be heard by the jury (starting tomorrow): Jeffs's 78 unlawful "marriages," 24 of which were to girls under 17; that he presided over, or was a witness to, 67 other "marriages" to underage girls; that he presided over, or was witness to, more than 500 bigamist "marriages;" that he broke up more than 300 families by expelling husbands and reassigning wives and children to other men; and proof of 6 other alleged illegal sex acts (presumably with children).


The punishment phase of Warren Jeffs's sexual assault trial is winding down. Jurors heard an audio recording allegedly made in August 2004at the FLDS's Texas ranch. Jeffs can be heard instructing 5 wives that it is important to sexually pleasure each other in order to pleasure him.

Beth was right. The information in the penalty phase of the case was just as damming if not more so.

In Sessions had a video interview with Jeffs nephew, who claims Warren raped him when he was 5-years-0ld in a bathroom.

There are still thousands of people who follow the FDLS (Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) way of life. Putting Jeffs behind bars doesn't end the abuse that many more children will experience living under the repressive beliefs and subjugation of this religious sect. What will happen to this sect now that Jeffs is behind bars? There are MSM reports that an associate of Jeffs, Willie E. Jessop will lead the sect but others state that Jeffs brother Lyle will now take over. There are also reports that Jeffs will still try to lead from prison.

CNN coverage of Jeffs trial.

© COPYRIGHT ©

Due to recent events, I feel I need to address some issues concerning ownership of T&T's content. I apologize that I have to write this entry.

There are some people who don't understand the concept of intellectual property and copyright law. Maybe they have the misconception that it is just words on the Internet and therefore it must be free. But that's far from the truth.

In T&T's "footer" that appears on every page of the blog (and just added recently to the top right corner) is our copyright © statement. It clearly states:

All rights reserved, do not reproduce in whole or in part without the express written consent of Trials & Tribulations.

"..written consent.." That's pretty clear, right? I mean, even a fifth grader could understand that. Before you use T&T's content, you need to write and ask for permission, first.

What is copyright, represented by this symbol © specifically? Here is an excerpt, from Black's Law Dictionary, 8th Edition:

Quote:
Copyright: The right to copy; specif. A property right in an original work of authorship…fixed in any tangible medium of expression, giving the holder the exclusive right to reproduce, adapt, distribute, perform and display the work.
Copyright infringement: The act of violating any of a copyright owner’s exclusive rights granted by the federal Copyright Act, 17 USCA §§ 106, 602. A copyright holder has several exclusive rights in copyrighted works, including the rights (1) to reproduce the work; (2) to prepare derivative works based on the work; (3) to distribute copies of the work; (4) for certain kinds of works, to perform the work publicly; (5) for certain kinds of work, to display the work publicly; (6) for sound recording, to perform the work publicly; and (7) to import into the United States copies acquired elsewhere.
Criminal infringement: The statutory criminal offense of either (1) willfully infringing on a copyright to obtain a commercial advantage or financial gain (17 USCA § 2319)…
Direct infringement: … 3. Copyright. The unauthorized copying, distributing, or displaying of — or the adapting of a derivative work from — a copyrighted work.
Intellectual property: 1. A category of intangible rights protecting commercial valuable products of the human intellect. • The category comprises primarily trademark, copyright and patent rights, but also includes trade-secret rights, publicity rights, moral rights, and rights under unfair competition.

T&T is a different type of criminal justice blog. We don't just read stories about horrific crimes in the mainstream media (MSM) and regurgitate them. We create our own content. We perform research on crime stories. We either watch a complete trial online or in my case and CaliGirl9's, personally attend a trial and report on it.

All of us at T&T have a deep interest in the criminal justice system. That's where our passion lies. Our participation in various crime forums goes back almost nine years. For myself, I'm well known in that community for my trial attendance and reporting. Although T&T is not affiliated with any MSM, the Los Angeles County Superior Court's Public Information Office has now recognized me as a member of the media. This is a huge honor for myself and T&T.

In all my years of following crime stories, attending trials and reporting on them, I've never experienced blatant copyright violation. Never. That is, I never experienced it until I reported on the Dr. Conrad Murray preliminary hearing. In the crime forum community, there are strict, understood rules about taking MSM and blog content and posting it. For MSM stories, you are allowed to post a "fair use" snippet from the story and then post the link where individuals can read the full story. For crime blogs, unless it is an accredited source, usually you are not even allowed to post the link, much less the gist of the story. Because of T&T's hard earned reputation, the big crime forums like WebSleuths and In Session now recognize T&T as an accredited crime reporting source and links to T&T can be posted there.

T&T is not a Michael Jackson Fan web site. T&T writers are not fans of the decedent. I did not attended the Dr. Conrad Murray prelim because of who the decedent was. I attended because of the whole concept of someone hiring a doctor to put them to sleep~~something so reckless, so beyond what a normal, thinking rational person would ever do. I did not attend this prelim for the specific benefit of Michael Jackson's fans.

To track how well we are doing, T&T has a visible stat counter. To date, T&T has over 1.4 million viewers. Behind the scenes, T&T can see where the the links are coming from. After the second day of covering the Dr. Conrad Murray prelim, imagine our surprise to see our web hits noticeably increased. When I went to these web sites and twitter accounts, a troubling picture emerged. My entire Dr. Conrad Murray prelim content was being re posted, without obtaining written consent; essentially violating the copyright. The unpaid time, energy and personal sacrifice I put into my trial coverage was being copied in its entirety without my permission. I went to many of these twitter accounts and web sites. I even took the time to translate foreign language sites to see what they said. Everyone should note that near the bottom of the right column, right above the LABELS listing, there already is a language translator link on T&T.

On January 5th and 6th, I did receive some written requests to use T&T's content. I responded to every single person who took the time to comply with the copyright. I also posted an entry, directed to the readers of the Dr. Conrad Murray prelim coverage. The instructions in that post are very clear about link-backs and unedited draft entries. However, there is nothing in that post that states you can build an entire web site dedicated to T&T's content, present it as your own and not even give credit on the front page of that web site to T&T or me, Betsy A. Ross, aka "Sprocket." Although I write under a moniker, I've not been "anonymous" since the first Phil Spector trial in 2007, when the late Dominick Dunne mentioned my real name in one of his Vanity Fair articles. In fact, my real name is clearly posted on my blogger profile page. I would never send someone my content and remain anonymous. I remind readers again, that there already is a translator link on T&T.

Any web site or twitter type account that posted T&T's content without contacting T&T first violated T&T's copyright. Any web site or twitter account that posted T&T's content without the correct link-backs to specific entries violated T&T's copyright. Any web site or twitter account that posted T&T's content in draft form without the exact wording of the unedited draft entry statement at the top violated T&T's copyright. In our book, that's criminal infringement. That's theft.

In Session's Beth Karas Interviews Rachel Wade

In Session's Beth Karas had a rare opportunity to interview Rachel Wade on Tuesday, August 31st, 2010, three days before her sentencing hearing. Rachel Wade was convicted of second degree murder in the death of a romantic rival, Sarah Lundemann, 17, over Joshua Camacho, a young man who was dating both women at the same time. The full interview will be shown on In Session next Tuesday, September 7th, 2010. You can read about Beth's exclusive interview at the In Session blog.

Short, In Session promo video at Facebook.

Casey Anthony: June 1 Hearing, Cliff Notes Version

Yesterday was not a good day for me and for the defense! My problems started when heavy thunderstorms popped in after the first 30 minutes of the hearing. At that point (having already having fried one computer), I shut down and settled in to watch what I could on InSession. The storms continued on throughout the rest of the hearing including the time when InSession went off and reruns came on.

Once the storms had passed, my computer totally crashed and at the current time is under total reconstruction from my hard-working husband. For the time being, I'm borrowing his computer. I have no bookmarks, no e-mail, and am stuck using an aged track-ball mouse which is next to impossible for me to operate. So, you are getting my Cliff Note's version of the hearing!

The rest of the problems were for the defense side.

It was rather ominous when Judge Perry was late to the bench by about two minutes. Lawyers were seen going in and out of the courtroom. The courtroom itself was so silent, I thought there was something wrong with the feed!

Once Judge Belvin Perry took the bench, we learned that Casey Anthony had waived her appearance for the hearing. We later heard that she had tripped and fallen on the elevator on the way to the courtroom and needed medical attention. It is interesting that in one of her letters to her jail "buddy", Robyn Adams, she mentioned that she was a "klutz" and had nearly fallen in the courtroom on the way to her seat.

Once court was in session, Cheney Mason led the defense in the arguments over the sealing of the visitor logs. If you recall, at the JAC hearing on May 11, there was an extended side-bar between the defense and the judge concerning one type of expert they did not wish to name. In their motion to seal the records, Mason pointed out that this was the same expert whose name (or names) he did not wish to appear on the jail visitor logs. His remedy for this was to either have the logs sealed or the name(s) redacted.

Orlando County attorney Tamara Gappen spoke to the motion as we have heard her do before. The main issue is that there is an issue with the Judicial Branch's inability to impinge on the Executive Branch, which runs the jail.

After a few more arguments, Judge Perry told the attorneys that he had already done extensive research on the issue both within the State of Florida and nationwide and had yet to find case law that would apply. He is obviously concerned that he not step over the line. In order for him to find for the defense will be to find case law which confronts the issue of the Judicial Branch and Casey Anthony's constitutional rights to due process and representation.

Perry indicated he would do some more searching this touchy issue and have a decision next week.

Personally, I don't think he will find anything new, but we'll leave a little glimmer of hope out there for the defense.

Defense ? State 0

The next motion was to unseal the surreptitious tape made by searcher Joseph Jordan. Mason claimed that the information about Jordan came from "incomplete" documents from TES.

I thought they came from Ms. Laura Buchanan.

Mason stated that when Jordan met with defense PI Mort Smith and his attorney Kelly Sims, Jordan stated that when he searched the area and found no remains and that the area was dry. This information would open a "huge door of reasonable doubt" as to whether or not Casey Anthony placed the body in that location since she was incarcerated at the time of this search.

Mason, unlike Todd Macaluso, indicated that this did not rule out the possibility that Casey killed Caylee. In July, Macaluso stated that it proved her innocence!

Mason also stated that in statements to LE, Jordan had changed his story. He also worded his comments to indicate that LE had somehow influenced him to change his story. According to Mason, one version was the truth, and the other was a lie.

In reading the interviews with Jordan, it seemed to me that Jordan changed his mind as to exactly where he searched. When he spoke with Smith, Jordan was under the impression that the remains were found near where he and others had located a cooler and a blanket. When taken to the site, Jordan realized he had been in error.

I will admit that if I were the defense, I would jump on this information as well. However, it would seem that a deposition of Mr. Jordan might be in order so that he could explain the situation in his own words.

Judge Perry asked Mason if he felt that the original ruling by Judge Strickland was tainted (by his "bias" for which the defense asked him to be recused) or for a "second bite of the apple".

Cheney had no way to answer this and chuckled. Had he answered to either, he would have a major problem.

Cheney indicated to the Court that due to the circumstances of the meeting, there was no expectation of privacy and that the tape could be unsealed. He also cited one case, Incieranno, where the VICTIM of the crime turned on a tape during the commission of the crime. I would have loved to hear how Cheney could explain how this exception to the rule related to a meeting with a PI and an attorney! Unfortunately, Cheney couldn't find the case and the hearing moved on.

Judge Perry mentioned the Atkins case in which there is an absolute prohibition for the use of the tape. Mason pointed out to the judge that Judge Strickland had left the motion open for a "second bite" and in the end, Perry denied the motion, but left the door open for the defense to argue it again, AT TRIAL.

Defense ? State 1

Next up was George Anthony's Grand Jury testimony. The State had requested and received the transcript last fall so that they could check for any inconsistencies between George's testimony October 14, 2008 and his deposition in August of 2009.

Mason began by indicating that the defense strongly believed that they had a right to the testimony simply because the State had gotten it. He erroneously stated that the State wanted to compare his Grand Jury testimony to his infamous Morgan & Morgan deposition given because "someone" had filed a civil suit. He corrected himself at the end.

Jeff Ashton spoke briefly, reminding the court that the target of his investigation was NOT the Morgan & Morgan deposition. He also pointed out that he had filed a report with the Court stating he had found no inconsistencies and would not be using the still sealed testimony.

He indicated that the defense should file a motion with appropriate legal grounds, in camera, for the judge to reconsider.

After a few more brief arguments, the judge denied the motion stating that Grand Jury testimony is sacrosanct.

Defense ? State 2

When the issues of aggravating factors came up, Mason pointed out that the State had not backed up their list of aggravating factors with the facts of the case to back them up.

Ashton replied that the trial was a year away and things could change between now and then. He also stated that the defense was upset with the "may" was not "will" as far as the application of these factors.

I got that one right!

Judge Perry read the law on this situation and indicated to the defense that the State had given what was required by his Order and that the State was not required to do any more than that. In addition, aggravating factors can be added and taken off the table even during the trial.

Did anyone else notice the bit of a twinkle in Judge Perry's eyes when he mentioned that the State had listed only the statute numbers?

Motion denied.

Defense ? State 3

Next, we were up to the infamous tips. I think we all remember the drama back in 2008 and early 2009, when Jose Baez asked for all those tips? He came before the court to complain that he had been "ripped off" because there were mainly psychic tips? Well, Linda Drane Burdick certainly mentioned it when she spoke!

Baez indicated that the defense had spent $1500 to obtain tips and Drane Burdick indicated that the Sheriff's Office indicated that there was $1500 due to them for the tips. I have a sneaking suspicion that the defense never bothered to pick them up. Drane Burdick indicated that she understood that the defense had sent someone to the Sheriff's Office to inspect the tips, but had abandoned the project. Baez indicated that they had finished the job.

So, I'm wondering why they need these tips now? In fact, the only "tips" that Baez mentioned were those by Roy Kronk and the e-mail from Joseph Jordan.

As I recall, the Sheriff's Office was required to produce all tips that were not still under investigation. Since Roy Kronk later discovered the remains in December 2008, his "tips" were more than likely still under investigation.

Well, when push comes to shove, the judge didn't even bother with ruling on this motion. He indicated to Jose Baez that he could go down to the Sheriff's office and pay the outstanding $1500 and get the tips. Baez claimed that Casey was indigent and couldn't afford them. The judge then reminded him that he allocated funds for public records requests and allowed him up to $2000 for the tips and he'd better be able to justify the expense if he wanted more funds from the JAC. I'm betting that he sends someone down to finish going over the tips and pays for the Roy Kronk tips.

As for the infamous e-mail, the defense already has it and, as Drane Burdick pointed out, was not a tip!

I'd like to give the defense a "win" on this one, but they only are getting what they already had. They just have to pay for them. Since they have funds available, we won't get to hear any more motions on this issue!

Defense ?? State 3

The last motion up for discussion was the defense motion for additional discovery. There was an interesting exchange at the beginning of this portion of the hearing. Jeff Ashton objected early on and indicated that he had not received Baez' Excel spreadsheet presentation until two days ago.

Baez told Ashton he'd like to argue his motion in his own way! There then followed and rambling discussion about scientific research, Dr. Arpad Vass, etc. etc. There was mention of novel science, etc. etc. There was mention of a wire article about the search for bodies in the Manson case which was done a while back.

Judge Perry made a rather strong mention asking if this wire article was from a learned treatise or scholarly book. Nope! An article...

Perry also asked Baez why the defense was asking for this information prior to deposing Dr. Vass. He indicated that this information should be brought up at a Frye hearing.

Baez basically said in more than so many words that he wanted the information prior to the deposition, scheduled for July, so that the defense could ask intelligent questions.

Perry explained that the State had yet to state which documents they intended to use at trial. He used an example from the DEA, where the state was not in constructive possession and did not have a "compact" with the DEA to obtain the documents. In addition, the information that the defense wants is proprietary information and cited a case which deals with breatholizer codes. He asked Baez what authority he could state where he could make the State produce these documents which might be produced in civil litigation (I'm assuming where the information is the focus of the case). He also said that if there were some "quackery" involved in the information which could cause a conviction to be overturned!

This motion was also denied. The defense will have to find its way around all the problems in their own way, obviously!

Defense ?? State 4

It's obvious Judge Perry is annoyed with the pace of the trial. In his opinion, the case should be 98% complete at this point. Ever the diplomat, he indicated to both the defense and the prosecution that they needed to obey the deadlines in the case, and not for the first time. We know that this particular comment was aimed at the defense!

Watch the hearing here:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Interesting Fact:

Listening to the discussion on InSession this morning, I learned a little about grand jury witnesses.

The laws vary from state-to-state concerning whether or not a grand jury witness may discuss his/her testimony.

Florida is a state where a witness may NOT discuss their testimony with anyone. That explains why George Anthony's testimony is so important to the defense. They can ask him, but he can't answer!

Also, there's something interesting at the end of the hearing. Jose Baez was complaining about all the witnesses the state was adding. Judge Perry indicated that the deadline is August 31. We're at June 1 now!

Oh, and Linda Drane Burdick has even a bigger problem! She has virtually NO witness list! Two years in, and the defense has only submitted a limited list of about 3 experts. Otherwise, it mirrors the State witness list.

Casey Anthony Murder Trial: Hearing Date Set

Late last week, Judge Belvin Perry announced a hearing date for June 1, 2010. The hearing will take place at 2:30 P.M. Judge Perry has set aside two hours for this hearing.

There will be two motions discussed at the hearing.

The first one is the Motion To Seal Jail Visitation Logs, filed by the defense on April 29, 2010 was supposed to be heard at the hearing on May 10. I find it curious that a seasoned attorney such as Cheney Mason would forget to notice the target of the motion, Orange County, the entity which administers the county correctional facilities. In fact the Certificate of Service at the end of his motion says:

I HEREBY CERTIFY that a true and correct copy of the foregoing has been furnished by U.S. Mail and/or hand delivery to the Office of the State Attorney, 415 N. Orange Avenue, Orlando, Florida 32801 and to Tamara Gapen (sic), Esq, at the Orange County Jail, Post Office Box 4970, Orlando, Florida 32802-4970 this 29th day of April, 2010.

Yet, in the Orange County's Response To Defendant's Motion To Seal, filed by Tamara L. Gappen on May 5, 2010, she states:

8. ...Counsel for the defense has again failed to provide proper notice to Orange County in this Motion. This failure to provide proper notice is in violation of this Court's Order Requiring Proper Notice to Orange County entered on October 22, 2009.

Clearly, proper notice goes to the county, not to the jail.

According to the defense, the jail logs need to be sealed because

2. The inability to maintain confidentiality of visitors to the Defendant prohibits the defense from being able to properly prepare her case for trial in that the mere identity of some expert witnesses that the defense desires to visit with Miss Anthony, if revealed, will cause unfounded speculation, as well as investigation and "google" inquiries about said visitor, thus, severely hampering the Defendant's preparation for trial and her entitlement to due process, equal protection of law, and effective assistance of counsel.

During the April 30 hearing, most of the expert witnesses were publicly acknowledged. There was one expert that was discussed at sidebar. I have to wonder if this is the one the defense doesn't want us to identify and investigate. The mention of Google makes me think that this is another blast at us nasty, threatening, evil bloggers!

To bolster his argument, Mason indicates in paragraph 5 that the prosecution is taking no position on this matter! That's nothing new! Every time the topic arises, the State's Attorneys have taken the exact same position. With the exception of the video of Casey in the infirmary at the time of the discovery of the remains, Judge Strickland ruled that he had no authority to tell the jail to violate their standard policies which are governed by the Sunshine Laws.

Indeed, in her response, Gappen states that

7. A criminal Defendant's desire to "maintain confidentiality of visitors" in high profile case does not fall into any category of lawful exemption. In fact, Defendant does not provide andy statutory exemption or legal authority for this court to legally "seal" public records that are open for public inspection pursuant to F.S. 119.07, and Article 1, Section 24 of the Florida Constitution.

Oh my, we HAVE heard this before!

The second motion is the defense Motion To Reconsider Certain Prior Rulings by Judge Stan Strickland, is more complex in nature. I discussed many aspects of this motion HERE.

What we are waiting for now are possible replies from TES attorney Mark NeJame and the State.

If they are filed and become available prior to the hearing, I will post about them.

Lacking that, stay tuned for the hearing. Since InSession ends at 3 P.M. and the hearing begins at 2:30 P.M., check out the local feeds for coverage.

I am looking forward to hearing Judge Perry on the TES issue.

Thanks to Muzikman for links to the visitation motions!

UPDATE!

No sooner had I posted this article, the Orlando Sentinel has reported that:

Earlier, Orange-Osceola Chief Judge Belvin Perry set a hearing for June 1 to hear arguments on the defense's requests to seal jail-visitation logs and to have Perry reconsidered earlier rulings by the initial judge on the case.

One of those items to be discussed involves documents belonging to EquuSearch, the group that helped organize large volunteer searches for Casey Anthony's daughter Caylee, before the toddler's remains were found.

NeJame stated that Casey Anthony's defense team scheduled the hearing without coordinating with him, and he had a pre-planned family holiday that day.

NeJame stated his office is coordinating a new hearing date with Casey Anthony's defense, and that he was filing the conflict notice simply to assure his portion of the hearing be cancelled and rescheduled.

Check back at Trials and Tribulations for further information as it becomes available.

Casey Anthony: January 30 Hearing

Update!

Judge Stan Strickland has ruled against the defense's motion to obtain material from TES. In the one page decision, stated that

The Court does not have jurisdiction to order a subpoena duces tecum as requested. The defense must avail itself of the Uniform Law to Secure the Attendance of Witnesses from Within or Without a State in Criminal Proceedings to accomplish the this task. This would require the defense to show that the witness is material, and that has not been done in the instant pleading...

Judge Strickland also stated that the defense provided insufficient information to show that TES acted as an agent of the state.


The hearing today was short and to the point! To quote Ron Kuby, who kindly re-broadcast portions of the the hearing on InSession, Judge Strickland "cut through the BS." In just under an hour, he listened to the motions and either postponed rulings or ruled quickly with a minimum of argument.

Casey Anthony appeared in court in what I would call her "paralegal look." Jean Casarez was sitting just behind her and described her as wearing a blue jacket over her jail scrub pants. I noted that her hair was freshly washed and tied back on her head. She spent the majority of the time taking notes on a legal pad and at one point, beamed one of her famous smiles at her attorney, Jose Baez. She also chatted with Linda Kenney-Baden who was also present for the hearing.

The first motion to be addressed was Motion to Inspect the Crime Scene. Baez stated that he had attempted to contact the owner of the property to no avail. The owner's mother had called him, denying him access. The judge granted the motion, permitting the defense experts to examine the scene.

Jose Baez spoke briefly on the matter of information they want from Texas Equusearch. I couldn't quite follow his argument, but my friend donchais remarked that he was basically asking for information from the searchers as to "what they found AND didn't find...made my head spin."

Mark NeJame, representing TES put forward the same arguments he mentioned in his motion. He said that the motion was not made in the proper way. He explained that TES was not a material witness in the case and therefore there was no subpoena to send to Texas. He also stated that it, "baffles logic that those going out to find the remains would NOT report finding a child." He ended his comments by stating to Baez that, "your request is flawed."

Baez responded by stating that TES had been working with authorities and was paid by the authorities who were at the various search locations. He pointed out that NeJame's motion didn't address that particular issue. I noticed that Baez mentioned they were "paid." That pay was a mere $5000, a donation, actually. He didn't mention that the search has literally broken TES financially!

Baez requested that the judge issue a subpoena and that he would take it to Texas. He also pointed out that TES had opened an office in Orlando and was doing business in Texas.

Judge Strickland indicated that he would take the arguments under advisement and that both sides could submit further case law to him before he made a decision on the motion. He stated that he will rule on it later today. The judge also mentioned that Baez' term "doing business" may not be appropriate.

NeJame then addressed the fact that Baez hadn't mentioned that his contention that TES is an "arm" of the state of FL is not even in the pleadings. He then went on to mention the financial provisions in his motions as well as the chilling effect the granting of this motion would have on the volunteer searchers.

Baez' response was that NeJame had been following the case and was aware that TES "could" be an agent of the state. He then indicated that he has a bill stating that some of the tips were not in conformity with what the defense had asked for.

The judge reiterated that he will rule on the motion today.

Mark NeJame commented that the defense was aware that he was representing TES and sidestepped contacting him in the matter and went to TES directly.

The judge said that he was off topic and that he will rule on the motion today.

Baez next brought up the fact that Mark NeJame had represented the Anthonys and the judge told him to "file a motion" about it. Baez indicated he wouldn't do that.

The judgesaid he would rule on the motion today.

The motion to strike the defense witness list was moot since they have submitted a new one. It will be interesting to see it when it is released to the public.

Linda Kenney-Baden was next up at bat. She argued the defense motion to recuse the prosecution attorneys. She spoke at her usual fast pace, summarizing her motion to the judge. She mentioned a Mr. Chinais, who is Baez' attorney in this matter and listed his bona fides, among which was the fact that he, at one time, chaired the Florida Bar Ethics Committee. She indicated that he spoke to a Mr. Marvin who confirmed for her that "someone" from the State's Attorney's office had sent the complaint.

She informed Judge Strickland that it was his responsibility to launch his own investigation into the issue.

Next, she read the quote from Jose Baez's press conference after the infamous Todd Black press release which attacked Lawson Lamar. She pointed out that Baez had said, "I'm not going to throw out any accusations... it wasn't me that said..."

She again informed Judge Strickland that he needs to investigate this for himself and find out what the person's motivation was.

At that point, the judge gave her 30 seconds to finish!

State's Attorney Linda Drane Burdick requested that the judge strike the motion, telling him that the assertions from the media are double, triple, hearsay. She pointed out that Ms. Baden's arguments mention a person not mentioned in the pleadings. In addition, the motion did not address HOW the State of Florida, through the filing, had harmed Ms. Anthony.

Drane Burdick said that if it's inconvenient to Mr. Baez, embarrassing, he can get a lawyer.

She summed up the prosecution position by stating that if some person in the office filed a complaint, it wasn't any member of the prosecution team and that the motion had no factual or legal support.

Baden spoke again briefly, saying that the judge has to find that out for himself.

Judge Strickland ended the debate by denying the motion. He indicated that, based on what he has heard, is a Florida Bar matter and that the factual base is thin.

Clarifying the matter, Jean Casarez mention on In Session that she had checked with the Bar Association and learned that no complaint had been filed. Someone from the State's Attorney's Office had merely faxed the articles to them and they opened their own investigation.

The remainder of the hearing concerned schedueling a trial date. The defense mentioned that there was a "mountain" of discovery that he needed to go through. The prosecution stated that it was likely the trial would not take place until later in the year.

Judge Strickland said he would set another hearing within the next 60-90 days. He also mentioned that a motion for change of venue had not been filed. Drane Burdick pointed out one may not be needed if the trial doesn't begin until later in the year. The judge said that Baez could file papers in the meantime if he so desired.

As a finale to the hearing, Bradley Conway, the Anthony family attorney waived the Anthonys' privilege in order to expedite the discovery process. He said that they love Casey and wants things to move along.

The Case Against Casey Anthony: Pre-Trial Hearing Tomorrow

Just a reminder that tomorrow is the long-awaited day for the pretrial hearing for Casey Anthony. InSession on TruTV will broadcast it live with Beth Karas doing the coverage. It should also be live-streamed by CNN and local stations. It will be interesting to see what happens!

If I am able, I will post a summary.

Mid-Week Summary

This week has been a virtual tornado of Baez and Anthony spin. Sunday evening, the Anthony family announced a temporary cessation of vigils for Caylee until the New Year.

At the same time, Cindy opined about the decision of the prosecution not to seek the death penalty:

"I don't think they have much of a case at all," said Cindy following a candlelight vigil for Caylee at the Eastside Baptist Church in Orlando. "I don't think they have a death penalty case at all, so I wasn't surprised."

She added that the whole notion of raising a death penalty case against her daughter was ridiculous. "I think we should be out there looking for Caylee and not focused on a few lies Casey told to the Sheriff's Office. The evidence will speak for itself."

It's interesting that Cindy refers to her daughter's "few lies" when those following the case know that virtually everything Casey said was a lie!

Monday morning, Jose Baez appeared on the Today Show. The broadcast began with the coverage of the extensive pretrial publicity and the difficulty of finding an impartial jury. Apparently, asking for a change of venue would cause a delay in the trial, something the defense does not seem to want. Baez still is doing media research to make a decision on the change of venue issue.

In his interview, Jose Baez contended that

"We believe that Caylee is alive, and what we want to do, as her attorney I have a responsibility to Casey, and that is to do the best job possible, so it's not an issue of rushing to get a trial just because we expect a body to be found,"

Apparently, he believes a speedy trial is necessary to absolve Casey of guilt and get her out of jail as soon as possible. I also noticed that Mr. Baez is now using the royal "we" nowadays.

Baez also indicated that he believes the "leaks" from law enforcement were put out in the public well before they should have been. He also stated the jailhouse videos released last week show an emotional Casey who is crying all the time. Cindy Anthony had also applauded the release of the tapes saying that:

"I said from the very beginning, if they would have shown those tapes people would have seen that she does have emotions," Cindy Anthony said. "She's not a cold, calloused person like everybody wants to paint her out to be. She's a desperate, loving mother."

Did Cindy actually view the videos, or is she doing this from memory? I haven't heard ONE expert say that's how Casey came off in those tapes. Pathological liar, deceptive body language, severe family dysfunction: That's what I observed and what was reported in the news by any number of experts.

Baez also claimed the public only has a "fraction" of the story. My goodness! All the thousands of pages of information released under the Florida Sunshine Laws are only a fraction! Does that mean Casey has much more to say? If she does, she'll have to take the stand at the trial. According to the defense witness list, there are only three scientific experts listed. There don't seem to be any witnesses to buttress Casey's lies and swear to her veracity.

Also on Monday, Jose Baez petitioned the court for an Application For Subpoena Duces Tecum for the release of various security tapes, including those from the infamous "Caylee sighting" at the Florida Mall. Apparently, the Anthony family can't get them for themselves without one. According to George Anthony, there is a 50-50 chance the little girl is Caylee.

Hello? How did he come up with that? OK, I get it, it's Caylee or it isn't! I suppose that the same logic would apply to almost any little brown-haired girl with bangs and a pony-tail? If there is a math wizard out there anywhere, please explain George's math to me!

The last news reported Monday of any value was the fact that Jose Baez still hasn't picked up the DVD's with the rest of the tips he's been begging for. According to WFTV:

Baez's spokesman said the sheriff's office has misled them in the past, implying the abandoned discs don't contain tips of Caylee sightings. He said that despite the defense having not looked at them yet. He also said that Baez "could maybe already know what's on those discs."

I personally believe he knows they won't find anything of value on them and he doesn't want to pony up the money he already owes the court for the last batch of tips. Also, his staff of 40 that he alluded to at the hearing last week just doesn't want to go down to the courthouse to sort them out for free.

Tuesday's news was replete with announcements about Cindy and George's journey to California on Wednesday to appear live on the Larry King Show. Of course, that trip is secondary to another hunt for Caylee. This time, they plan to visit a restaurant in Newport Beach where there was yet another Caylee "sighting."

On Nancy Grace, Leonard Padilla chimed in with yet another of his opinions:

Everybody knows when she died, and the 30 days is not a secret anymore ... Don't be surprised if Orange County or the FBI don't drop it on us here that they've got the body somewhere," Padilla said.

So, folks, it seems as though tonight is the night for the Larry King interview. It will be interesting to hear questions from the viewers. If you want, you can e-mail your questions here!

Tune in Friday! The Casey Anthony Case will be covered on Dateline NBC!

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Tune in for Coverage of the Case Against Casey Anthony on TruTV!

I've received word that Beth Karas will be on In Session on Monday, December 8 doing three one-hour specials on the case. They will be broadcast from 10-11, 12-1, and 2-3 ET. Beth will also be covering the hearing live on December 11.

The Case Against Casey Anthony: The Week in Review

After a busy weekend of poring over the latest document dump and the new information released the previous week, the Anthony camp fired back. Cindy Anthony announced on Monday, December 1, that her Yahoo e-mail account had been hacked.

According to Kathy Belich of WFTV, she received four suspicious e-mails from Cindy. She notified her by text message and then forwarded them to the FBI for further investigation.

The FBI asked Eyewitness News not to reveal the details of emails because of their investigation. They include exchanges between Cindy Anthony and her spokesman, her private investigator, and even the PR person for Kid Finders, angry with Eyewitness News after exposing their founder has a criminal background.

There has been talk all over the internet about this, needless to say. Some believe she was hacked, others think Cindy may have accidentally sent out those e-mails. Either way, I am amazed that she kept sensitive e-mails on a Yahoo account. There are also rumors that some of the information is sensitive to the defense case. Unfortunately, if a third party such as Cindy is privy to such information, it is no longer covered by attorney-client privilege. It will be interesting to see if anything comes out of the FBI investigation.

The Anthony family maintains there is a possibility that the "hackers" have ties to Ocala and possibly some of the protesters. According to Dominic Casey, Anthony's' private investigator:

"It would be a connection between Ocala and Orlando or several protesters that we did run background checks on throughout that period. As to me saying it would be attributed to them, not what I'm saying, but possibly an Ocala to Orlando," said Dominic Casey, Anthonys' private investigator.

Later Monday night, Dr. Lawrence Kobilinski reported on Nancy Grace that it was probable that the defense might have to ask for a delay in the trial as he had not yet had the opportunity to examine the evidence.

Dr. Koblinski is one of the three scientific experts to comprise the entire witness list for the defense. The evidence he needs to examine is the hair root showing decomposition. At present, the hair is housed at the FBI labs in Quantico, VA. At the hearing last week, Judge Strickland ruled he could make arrangements with the lab to examine the evidence. I should hope that Mr. Baez is working hard to make that happen. At the hearing, the prosecuting attorney stated that more testing could happen and the hair needed to stay in Virginia. Shipping the evidence to Orlando for examination and shipping it back and forth posed a danger to the chain of custody.

Dr. Kobilinski is based in New York City. If I recall correctly, it is about a five hour drive or train ride to Quantico. Mr. Baez would be to an advantage cost-wise to send Dr. Kobilinski to Virginia instead of Orlando, FBI willing.

Tuesday began with an announcement by Leonard Padilla that he intends to return to Blanchard Park on Christmas Day with Jesse Grund's father, Richard for a vigil for Caylee. He also announced that he had already raised $50,000 from private donors to continue the search he began in November.

The Anthony family returned the ball by making an announcement that they had "big" news!

First, "...members of Kid Finders said they've had a third witness come forward to tell them they also saw a little girl who looked like Caylee in an Orlando mall last month.

Then, "Caylee's grandparents, George and Cindy Anthony, said a big development in the case is on the way. George Anthony wouldn't elaborate much further, but said a team of private investigators are working on a new lead that could lead to the discovery of the girl. "

According to George,

"There is just a lot of positive things that are still happening. A lot more people are coming forward because they can see some progress of bringing Caylee home and it's pretty awesome stuff. I can't be too specific with you but we believe we're close," he said. "

Apparently, any brown-haired, 3-year-old little girl is fair game for the Anthony family. As for me, I'm still waiting to see the photograph of Casey, Caylee, and "Zanny" that they have been hunting for somewhere out there.

Also on Tuesday, it was reported on WFTV that the family had still not reported the alleged hacking incident to police despite the assertion by Dominic Casey that "they are outraged and planned to report the intrusion to the Marion County Sheriff's Office."

After a break on Wednesday with no publicity about the case, Thursday thundered in with the release of 7 DVD's by the OCSO jail. They show the visits between Casey and her parents and her brother, Lee. These visits occurred in July and August during her first incarceration on felony child abuse charges and before she was bailed out by Leonard Padilla. Since her arrest on murder charges, Casey has had no visits from her family. Viewing the videos clearly explains why!

Casey shows her control over the entire situation. Her parents tip-toe around her, possibly to avoid angering her and shutting her down. In the long run, they learn nothing new and those of us watching learn about how Casey operates. Listening to Casey talk to her brother Lee is like listening to a foreign language. I'm going to have to learn Anthoneese!

I'm looking forward to seeing the analysis of some of these tapes when they are hashed out on In Session Monday!

The week closed out on Friday with the announcement that the State will not seek the death penalty in the case.

Prosecutors last month told WESH 2 News they were not sure they had enough aggravating circumstances to convince a jury to recommend the death penalty. In its notice to the court on Friday, the state attorney’s office simply wrote that “it is not in the best interest of the people of the State of Florida to pursue the death penalty.”

The Anthony family fired back with a statement through their representative.

"In response to the state's intent not to seek the death penalty came as no surprise to us this afternoon," the statement said. "Our family believes Caylee Marie is still alive and our efforts have not lost focus to the objective of bringing her home. Today's announcement only supports our theory that our granddaughter is still with us, and we will continue investigating all tips and leads that support our position despite what the authorities continue to say."

Hello? She's still facing life without parole! The only difference I can find is that Jose Baez will probably continue as her lead attorney. In addition, George and Cindy Anthony, as well as their spokesperson Michelle Bart are rapidly losing credibility with their constant "exciting news" press releases. It's hard to believe them anymore. They've gone to that particular well too many times.

The final news of the week came when it was announced that prosecution had added to their witness list. The new total is 144 witnesses. The revised list has not been published yet. It should be interesting to see what names have been added.

WFTV

WESH

CNN Find Caylee Blog