In the first day of the trial of the State of Florida v. Casey Anthony I went through  a “Steel Magnolias” equivalent of tissues the first half, and proceeded to sharpen our Henkels in the afternoon for reasons I cannot explain.

Linda Drane Burdick, in her smart and gas-can-red suit, riveted the jurors, the public, and even the defendant, Casey Anthony.

Ms. Anthony shook her head no at all the places she does not want you to look.  Ms. Anthony cried on cue.

Very upsetting this business of your daughter’s skull in a bog where you left it, with the intention of never seeing it again, and all the nastiness that comes with such an imposition.

In a most level and calculated fashion,  Burdick took us through the timeline with resolve.  While none of us ever really wanted to get to the “end”, we did, and she is right, there is no other that had access to the evidence in this case.

Asking this jury to find a verdict of guilty is going to be like asking who wants ice cream on the way back home.

Enter famed Mayberry Attorney Barney Fife,  I mean self-proclaimed  “Juanie Cochran”  , Jose Baez after lunch with his clients proclamation that Caylee Marie Anthony died on June 16, 2008 while both Casey and George were present, by an accidental drowning in the above-ground swimming pool.

That was just the start of the delusion for public consumption.  If you did not raise your glass and look at the bottom in the light, you were not paying close enough attention.  Am I really hearing this?  Is there something in my water?

Kronk was kronked again, and accused of hiding Caylee’s remains from some unknown place, but ending up in the Suburban junkmess; and motivation for a reward as opposed to relieving himself was the reason he came upon her tiny skull.

Through her attorney, Casey Anthony did exactly what I have said she would do.  She blamed George for not reporting Caylee’s death and Cindy for leaving the ladder up to the pool , and wept while Baez told us all that Casey was sexually abused from the age of 8.

Masterfully and Mercifully,  Jeff Ashton laid down the hammer in response.  George Anthony was called as the States first witness.

We held our breath.  Could George  really lay down in his own chalk outline for the kid who just called him a perv, a pedophile?

Phew.

JoJo took the stand, and I liked him again.  I believed, as I always have, that he loves and misses his cherub Caylee more than he loves fake dignity as doled out to him by his wife and daughter, and he did right by her.

I repeat: HE DID RIGHT BY HER

Putting George Anthony on the stand first was artful, and I presume the reason the defense wanted an “order” for how the state was going to call it’s witnesses.   Mission failed.

George stated he never inappropriately touched Casey, or had been in an inappropriate sexual act in front of her.  What a disgusting tactic by his daughter and I apologize to those victims who are actual victims of such atrocity to have to hear it.

(Editors Note: You can be a hack and review George’s online activity and know his “proclivities” have nothing to do with children whatsoever.)

Jeff Ashton had about a gazillion sustained objections and an instruction to the jury about the appropriateness for attorneys to meet with a witness in advance.

Jose Baez asked a slew of questions that were ambiguous and unclear and frankly catapulted my headache.

Baez got the hook, and Mr. Anthony was excused subject to recall.

Anyone interested in reading an alternative version of today’s events can purchase:

“How To Lose Your Case and Your Clients Freedom In One Day Without Really Trying” by former litigator Jose Baez, it will be available at www.amazon.com on 00/00/never.

Or another popular favorite:

“How To Avoid A Plea Deal And Get Fat Paper Instead”  available in 8 weeks.

Blink, Editor In Chief of www.blinkoncrime.com, along with Diane Dimond, are discussing today’s events on The Dana Pretzer Show-

Tonight at 9PM.

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Tonight Dana welcomes special guests:

• Clint VanZandt – Retired FBI agent and author will be discussing the Rodney Alcala case.  The convicted serial killer that may have more victims than Ted Bundy Rodney. He will also be discussing the recent news in the Natalee Holloway case and Joran Van der Sloot’s confession.
• Robin Sax -  Former Felony Crimes DA and Larry & Cherry Simpson discussing the murder of Lacey Gaines, Lacey was Larry and Cherry’s niece.    Your help is needed in solving this crime.
• Crime blogger Blink from BLINK ON CRIME will be discussing the latest events in the Casey/Caylee Anthony case and today’s release of documents.

Orlando, FL– With the public still reeling from last weeks indigency hearing, the State Attorneys office is set to release the latest round of discovery documents this morning.

Joy Wray as captured by her web cam

Speaking on the condition of anonymity to blinkoncrime.com, a source inside the investigation has confirmed within the release is the latest interview by OCSO of Joy Wray.

Ms. Wray is said to have told investigators that she was in the woods on July 18, 2008 searching for Caylee Marie Anthony and has the photos to prove it.

When OCSO investigators requested Ms. Wray surrender her laptop computer to retrieve the original image raw files, among other source information Ms. Wray revealed, she headed to BestBuy to have the hard drive erased prior to her interview, which would reveal the dates on the photos had been added by her.

Detectives were tipped off by a savvy Geek Squadder and when Joy arrived to retrieve her blank computer and copy of it’s former contents, they were waiting for her.  Joy sniffed out the Five O, and turned on her heels out the door without the computer; only to be interviewed by Detective John Allen in her lawyers office about the incident, shortly thereafter.

Ms. Wray has been baker acted 6 times, and claims to be friends with and corresponding with former President George W Bush on the Caylee Anthony case.

The discovery is also expected to include interviews with members of Texas Equusearch, as a follow up to statements by Laura Buchanan and Joseph Jordan.

The discovery has been received and is being reviewed, check back to blinkoncrime.com for updates.

Links to Discovery transcripts here.

Orlando, FL-

HOT MESS SPOILER ALERT

Who thought this was a good idea on behalf of THE BAEZ LAW FIRM?

Who raised their hand at the weekly status update and said:

“I’m sick of this crapp-ass coffee, I make $300 bucks an hour.

I make big bucks so I should be drinking STARbucks.

Gimme a Venti. I can’t drink this swill another 3/4 hour minimum or I will surely die before the trial.

I KNOW.. how about we figure out a way to make OTHERS pay for it??

Sound ridiculous?

That is nothing compared to the caught-on-camera cluster that took place during yesterdays  hearing to declare accused murderer Casey Anthony indigent for costs.

 Andrea Lyon, lead counsel and chronic look-of-woehaver, feels approximately $70Geeze of her “charity’s” money has been spent on this case. (Edited to add, methinks she is subtracting $22Geeze, read on)

The Center For Justice In Capital Cases 

SHUT THE DOOR. This is no charity, except perhaps to Lyon as she is a paid staff member, serving as it’s director.

It is a certification study class at DePaul, run by Lyon and paid by the defense PI Morty. 

Furthermore, as the work product developed in this case supports the curriculum and subsequent GPA of it’s tuitionable students, why the hell would the expenses be allocated to the defense of the case against Casey Anthony instead of DePaul? 

There is no charity attributable to Andrea Lyon although she testifies to fund raising efforts through various charities and corporations, and that those charities are now, “in the hole.” $70Geeze, to be exact.

Is this the part where we here her use of the word charity was a charitable way to say she imposed on her budget as a professor? 

I will say, given her penchant for hardass reporting from her students, how is it possible she has no clue what her books and billable hour are?

There are 14 students working on a death penalty case that are not attorneys, and client attorney privilege would not extend to them as their is no established agency. If I were the National Enquirer I would be finding out which of those undergrads have fat student loans and what kind of access to information they have. Catch My drift?

SanDiego Sugga Daddy

Todd Macaluso, apparently so sure of Casey’s innocence he gassed up the whirlybird, packed his lucky smoking jacket and signed on to the case.  

Jose Baez testified that Todd Macaluso gifted $70 Geeze to the trust account of Casey Anthony. Operating pro hac vice (visitors pass) as representation with his own retainer agreement with Miss Anthony, Mac has violated the rules of the Florida Bar:

 As Casey had access to $275K and was not indigent 10 months ago when Todd Macaluso signed on and paid his apparent entry fee, it would be impossible to defend this “contribution” as legal under Florida law.

ABC

The Approving Bogs for Children company has paid out $200 Geeze.

ABC newsroom laid off 1/3 of it’s news staff earlier this month. Nice.

Billable Hours

Perhaps the *thud* moment for me yesterday was when Mr. Baez admitted in open court that he does not track his billable hours on this case.

THUD, AGAIN

Apparently, the reaction is sticking with me.

Under the rules of the Florida Bar, there is a very stringent set of requirements when determining reasonable fees for clients.

Short Version:

 Can you imagine the car ride home with Cheney Mason?

Role play:

“You effing stupid carpetbagging imp..

Do you even know what the eff IN CAMERA means??

It does not mean that information is sealed forever like the shalac on your hair, you moron..”

AL: Yep, I already told him that. Can I offer you some starbucks?

Baez latest attempt to un-ring the Padilla bell may as well have arrived at the clerks office on a cocktail napkin; it will be taken exactly that seriously.

There is no expectation of privilege where there is no attorney/client relationship in Florida. The question is, did Jose Baez sufficiently disclose that information to his client, Casey Anthony? Is this motion really designed to stave off the current Florida Bar complaints under investigative review?

Sources inside the investigation have confirmed to blinkoncrime.com that Baez is attempting to head the testimony of Padilla et al “off at the pass” for multiple reasons. It is expected that the backyard babblings of Casey Anthony to Tracy Mclaughlin will corroborate some of the evidence at the scene where Caylee Anthony’s remains were found. That’s not all. Baez is indirectly looking to block Leonard, Tracy, Rob and Tony from the civil case against his Client filed by Zenaida Gonzalez by blocking them from allowing their testimony as witnesses for the state in the criminal trial.

So What Would They Say?

Leonard Padilla, and occasionally Rob Dick have appeared on camera and spoken publicly about this case for the better part of a year. 

Tony Padilla agreed to appear once on Nancy Grace to clear up some inconsistencies about the Surety process at the request of his surety firm early on, but prefers not to speak about the case publicly. Tracy has never given an interview publicly, but all of them have given statements to the FBI. What possible grounds will he claim to assert privilege when they did not work for Baez, nor did Baez ever pay any of them for anything? 

None, because there aren’t any.

As far as revelations in their testimony, don’t expect any bombshells that have not been floating about already with the possibility of an exception or 50. They are:

Casey openly admitted to Rob Dick that she was forced to be following a script. He is also expected to provide some insight as to what Casey was doing in Baez’s office for 7 hours a day under the auspice of preparing for her defense. 

The defense team revealed openly they would be pointing the finger at Jesse Grund. They are in possession of a first birthday card Jesse wrote to Caylee that they plan to use as the foundation of such an allegation.

Casey made Tony Padilla dinner the evening he got there to post her bond in George and Cindy’s presence in the Anthony home. He found her demeanor to be completely inconsistent with that of a mother whose child was missing, and she never once mentioned Caylee. Outside of Casey’s presence Tony asked Cindy who Caylees’ father was. Cindy presented him an article from the May 7, 2007 fatal crash that claimed the life of Jesus Ortiz. Tony initiated meeting Casey because one of his concerns when posting bond for her, was that she might commit suicide. Following that meeting, he felt confident there was a zero percent chance that was a possibility.

Remember this line, you will hear it again, “When are you going to stop acting like a cop and start acting like a Dad!!!”.

George Anthony purchased the handgun minutes following the rumor that Casey was about to be arrested on the economic charges and her bond would be revoked. Baez told the Anthonys’ that he alerted the OCSO that if that were the case, he would agree to turn her in, and they were under the impression they would agree to that arrangement.

What Baez did not know, is that OCSO was aware of the building potential for violence between George and Casey in the Anthony home and there was a genuine concern for Tracy’s safety on behalf of Team Padilla in the Anthony home. George Anthonys’ friend from Trumball County Ohio, we will call him Trumball Jim, told George everything he needed to know about Caylee’s whereabouts was in her room down the hall, (indicating Casey in her bedroom). George had it out with Casey demanding she tell him what she knew, and Jim had to pull George and Casey apart. Tim Miller, founder of Texas Equusearch, arrived shortly thereafter and was met at the door by Jim, with that episode being recounted to him as the first interface he had with anyone in the Anthony camp in that home.

This prompted Leonard’s comments on Nancy Grace that they could revoke her bond for any reason at any time and they were considering it. The photo on the front page of this article comes from the press conference following the meeting between Leonard and Baez that ensued after Baez had previously refused to discuss the issue with Leonard until he threatened to pull out. 

Casey Anthony was scheduled to be interviewed by ABC at the Anthony home the day after she was rearrested and her bond was revoked. This was the reason that the Padillas received countless calls from Cindy and Lee begging Tony Padilla not to revoke her bond. Had they not, she could have been released within the hour as Baez stated at the time.  

Lastly, the agreement Baez presented in his motion is not the only agreement between the parties in this motion. There is at least one more variation in which Tony Padilla requested language changes specifically that he did not include in the motion.  

If your like me, you have been scratching your head since June 11th as to what standing the Anthony’s have in the first place to file such a motion. This motion was filed with the States Attorneys Office only and not even in Circuit Court. It was never served on the members of the media it refers to.

WTH? Did someone slide it under the door of Judge Strickland’s Water Closet? Paper Airplane?

In Conways motion disguised as an actual motion, George and Cindy Anthony claim to have an executed Power of Attorney over Caylee’s remains from their daughter Casey Anthony. Notice I used the word claim. In Brad Conways motion to the court, Conway references the POA, but never includes it as an exhibit, which would of course be required.

Translation: His Honor, Stan Strickland, took the Anthonys at their word, and stayed their motion.

(editors note: I am getting dangerously close to using that three letter word here: I T O. Does Strickland want to see multiple images of himself dancing on the Tonight Show?)

Read above one more time then come back.

So, you have a motion unserved to the presiding judge, unserved to the media whom the judge points out is the proper party of service, from people that claim to have “standing” as custodians of Caylee’s remains.

To my knowledge, that does not grant them any rights to her Estate or make them a Trustee to anything having to do with anything other than the guardianship of her remains. Not be crass, but in theory, they are the equivalent of a mortuary; that’s all. How many funeral homes or mortuaries are you aware of that can block the release of a Clients autopsy being released in accordance with state law?

Furthermore, the report in itself IS an EXPLANATION OF FINDINGS by the Orange County Medical Examiner Dr. Jan Garavaglia. It is the finding of fact admission to the court, whereby technically it is already interpreted. As a practical matter Conway may as well have said “The Anthonys are trying to spin public opinion as the court date gets closer and this will seriously bust their groove. We would appreciate it if you would tell the smarter than us people to nevermind and go about their business. ” 

Very Important detail here.. You know who is NOT requesting the autopsy be sealed? Her Mother. Casey Marie Anthony through her attorney is not requesting the report, reportedly 30 pages long, be sealed. This report contains a detailed summary by Dr. G that includes tests and evidence gathered since her initial findings which may allow for some conclusions as to what happened to Caylee to cause her death.

You bet it does. Casey knows that, and knows it leaves the door wide open for when she points the finger at her parents.

The precociousness of these people is stupifying.

The latitude being extended in this court and the cavernous berth they have been given makes me think I should mosey down to Orlawn do and file a motion for a summary judgement against Casey Anthony. The way this seems to be going, I’m thinking odds are in my favor I would get it.

I might suggest Jim Hoover hit the circuit with his photos of George and Cindy grieving “Ritz Style” while the very remains they are being charged with “guarding” were being recovered within spitting distance of their home, and they opted for a weekend getaway, gratis.