Caylee/Casey Anthony Case: Will Expert Witness Order Reveal Jose Baez Defense Strategy?
Disclaimer–
“I quite frankly don’t know why we are here..– Jose Baez”
In a rare 5 P.M. Friday afternoon court appearance, after attempting to gain compliance from Jose Baez, State’s Attorney Jeff Ashton successfully convinced The Honorable Belvin Perry that the defense team for Casey Anthony has been holding out. While unavailable at the time of this articles publication, the new order in essence says Jose Baez’s proffer of an entomologist “will be talking about bugs”, is not going to fly. Pun Intended.
Chief Judge Perry, after reminding the parties that discovery has been ongoing for over 2 years and the May 2011 trial date is rapidly approaching, verbally dictated a new order on the record.
As a specific example of the defense’s non-compliance, Ashton references Dr. Michael Freeman, a forensic epidemiologist who intends to charge the state $575/hr to depose him, when the application of his area of expertise to the case against Casey Anthony for murdering her daughter Caylee is questionable at best.
Or Is It?
Epidemiology is “the study of the distribution and determinants of health related states or events in populations, and the application of this study to control health problems”. It is the basic science for public health.
Admittedly, Dr. Freeman’s addition to the defense expert witness list has been on my mind for over a week. His curriculum vitae, as impressive as it is, is heavy with publications about neck injuries following various impact ratio vehicle accidents, vertebrae -spinal cord compression and roller coaster whiplash.
What is he going to testify to? Was THE BAEZ LAW FIRM really going to go with the nanny was in a car accident with Caylee and Casey was following her and they accidentally smothered her with duct tape which was meant to act as some sort of neck brace? Maddening, yes. Plausible, No.
After examining the email’s included in Ashton’s motion for the umpteenth time, I finally realized what was bugging me more than the absence of what was already ordered by the court in it’s content, or the juvenile response from the lead counsel in a murder defense and sworn officer of the court.
It was the fact that in both email’s from Jose Baez to Jeff Ashton there was only one expert witness whose name was not bolded and seemed to be sandwiched in, almost as if to demonstrate it’s lack of importance. Moreover, Jose Baez suggests to Ashton that the state depose him last, as his reports are incomplete.
$575 an hour rate to tell the court at trial what the statistical and probable likelihood is of a public outbreak of unemployed, Caucasian, Target-loving party girls suddenly murdering their toddlers is?
Methinks the nut is under Freeman’s shell, but how is that possible?
Chiari Malformation Type I
Almost conveniently, Chiari 1 complications contributing to the sudden death of a child, was profiled in an episode of Dr. G Medical Examiner. Jan Garavaligia, MD who performed the autopsy on Caylee Anthony is the Medical Examiner in District 9, Orange County, Florida and an expert witness listed by the prosecution in this case. Garion Barber is an 8 year old Orlando boy who passed away in his sleep in March 2008 with only a minor history with seizures. Dr. G’s office investigated his death for over 4 months before she was able to conclude Garion died from an un diagnosed Chiari 1 malformation/sleep apnea. Dr . G also had the benefit of reaching her findings on a recently deceased child, unlike 34 month old Caylee, whose remains were tossed in a swamp off Suburban Drive and were completely skeletonized at the time of their discovery two years ago today.