The Defense That Should Have Been

It has been such an interesting week in the Casey Anthony Trial. This has gotten to be such good television that it is easy to forget a child is dead and her mother maybe executed.

I have been very hard on Jose Baez in these pages while at the same time calling for a fair trial for Casey because I fully believe when the Casey’s of the world can have a true and fair day in court we all can.

In my opinion if I had a dime for every mistake the defense has made in this case I could buy a new home cash.

I have constantly said if handled right this would have been a winnable case.

Let me make it very clear I am not an attorney, I have no legal education, and most of the time I fall asleep before Jack McCoy’s cross when watching Law & Order but I’d like to give you my take on how Casey should have been defended.

To begin with Jose Baez gave much to much away in his opening statement. He has painted himself into a corner that he’s now stuck in and he can’t get out without getting filthy if he can get out at all. The inference of Casey lying because she was molested is absurd and it was seen as the lie it was by anyone with a brain.

His opening statement should have been nothing more than, “A great deal of guess work and rumor has been floating around about this case and my client for three years now and both Casey and myself welcome the chance for not just this jury but the world to finally know what really happened on the day her daughter died and we are sure you will agree that while sad and tragic nothing sinister occurred the day Caylee Anthony died. Instead of doing what you or I would have done after finding a dead child in the pool Casey did what her family has taught her by example all her life. She lied and she hid. She placed her daughter’s body in the trunk of car and kept her there for three days while she devolved the story of a fake kidnapping. When Casey finally laid Caylee to rest she duct taped her mouth and nose to stage a kidnapping and did something that proves her stunted mentality. She placed a heart sticker over her daughter's mouth as her way of saying I love you, I'll miss you and good bye. Every bit of the states evidence will prove this to you.

He should have told a story of a young girl who grew in a home in which lying is not the exception but the norm. A young girl whose maturity level does not match her years and dealt with the tragedy of her daughters drowning by doing what she always did. By abusing her drug of choice for the past year, chloroform and living the lie she created for herself.

That would have left him the opportunity to go anywhere.

He should have stipulated Casey lied to the police and not even questioned the officers. She will be convicted of the four charges of lying to police. No way around it.

By admitting she was abusing chloroform you take away the states power to use it as a murder weapon. At that point all the states evidence of such high levels of what they call a chemical but you call her drug of choice are not just explainable but work in your favor.

As for the examination of the medical examiner I have covered that in another blog but there is line of questioning that should have been followed:

Dr. what is the accepted scientific method for testing if duct tape was applied before or after death?

Dr. did you do any test do see if the tape was applied before or after death?

So Dr. if there is no test to tell if duct tape was applied before or after death is it fair to say no matter how strong your feelings are that it is evidence of murder it is really nothing more than your own personal opinion that has no basis in scientific fact. Is that correct?

As someone who has forgotten more about computers than most people will ever know I can tell you the computer forensics could have been impeached by this simple fact, when you talk about how hard disks store data and operating systems write to a hard disk and how that effects how your browser cache determines the data written in binary code most people’s eyes glaze over and it verbal equivalent of watching paint dry. You could have completely confused the issue by talking about software revisions and known bugs in the software as well as processing speed and the amount of ram in the testing system. Did most of you understand that? Either would most people on a jury.

As to the crime scene you have already admitted this where she placed Caylee to rest and other testimony is moot.

The only question that should been asked of the FBI experts was “Is it fair to say the FBI crime lab is among the best forensic crime labs in the world if not the best”? “What evidence of murder did you find”?

Jose Baez was given a gift from god himself this week that is if he uses it properly, and that is the perjury of Cindy Anthony. This can prove his case in closing.

His closing should be very simple. I have told Casey comes from a family of liars and her mother proved that you when she sat before you and the world and knowingly and deliberately committed perjury. If you want know why Casey could lie to anyone and everyone for 31 days you need look no further than her mother. When it comes to lying Casey learned from the best.

The state has shown you great deal of evidence in these proceedings and if you look at what that evidence actually says as opposed to what the state wants it to say you will see it’s clear that states own evidence supports the defense’s account of how Caylee Anthony truly died.

I took this case because I believe in justice and because I believe in justice I will stand here and tell as Casey’s own counsel she should be punished for what she did. Casey Anthony lied to police and she is guilty of improper disposal of a body, and because I believe in justice I stand before you with a straight face and a clear conscience and ask you not punish her for she did not do. God has already punished her enough for daughter’s accident.

Would this work? It's a lot better than what we've see so far.

Let's Burn Her At The Stake!!!!!

Casey Anthony may be one of the most hated people on the planet second only to Hitler or maybe the guy who said yes Mr. President Obama care is a great idea.

I have spoken to so many people on this case who feel she should have just been locked away and not even waste the time it would take for a court to convict her. This disturbs me greatly, not because I have any great love for Casey Anthony or think she’s innocent but because when you have this many who publicly want to supersede the Justice System we have a complete breakdown of one of the fundamental principles of our country. The right to have our day in court and face our accusers.

Have you ever been accused of something you didn’t do. It can be as simple as drinking the last bottle of water or eating the last apple. Now take that a step further and say a co-worker you have had friction with ends up missing and is found dead. Now let’s say it’s public knowledge you had friction with this person and you end up as a suspect based on that alone. Sound far fetched. Death Row’s in every state have people who were sent there for a lot less. I’m including a link here Linda Kenny Baden was kind enough to send me.

http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/Paul_House_Fully_Cleared_in_1986_TN_Death_Row_Conviction_Case_is_a_profound_reminder_that_our_system_of_justice_must_give_people_every_reasonable_opportunity_to_prove_their_innocence.php

This is just one example. The history of our courts is filled with cases like this.

Please do not mistake what I about to say as my proclaiming Casey Anthony’s innocence I am not. I firmly believe she is 100 percent guilty, but I couldn’t tell you just what she is guilty of and the state of Florida appears to have no idea either. They have presented supposition disguised as facts and have played up the hate factor to this jury.

The testimony of Dr. Vass is a great example. I’ll stipulate there may no one who is more expert in human decomposition than Dr. Vass but his air sampling of the trunk of Casey’s car should have never been admitted into evidence not because it isn’t a good test but because no other independent scientific body has been able to confirm or refute the validity of findings using this method. Why is that so important? Because when you or someone you love is sitting in a court room fighting for your life you do not want the prosecutor offing up some unproven method of testing as evidence against you and yours.

So far I see the state’s case as we know Casey Anthony did something very bad. We don’t what she did, or how she did it or even where and when she did it, but she is the only person who could have done it. We have a theory we’d like you to buy but all we have is that theory.

I’m sorry but it isn’t supposed to work that way here in America. When we bring someone to trail in this country the state is supposed to have real evidence that can answer more questions than it creates.

Why is it so important that this be followed for Casey? Because if the most hated woman in America can her day in court without a malignant prosecution, than there is hope for you or I in the same situation.

If Mr. Baez and his team had simply made the 12 people sitting in the jury box aware of these facts instead of talking about molestation and family dynamics this would have been a winnable case.

So doesn’t that mean Casey who we all know is guilty of something would walk free.? Yes it does. Better a thousand Casey’s should walk free than one innocent person be sent to death row. That is the beauty and the tragedy of our justice system.

King Of Dreams

If he weren’t holding a woman’s life in his hands I’d almost feel sorry for Jose Baez. He is as qualified to try a death penalty case as I am to remove a brain tumor. He is a man in the deepest of waters with no idea how to swim.

I understand he is a business man. Any attorney with their own practice is as much a business person as someone who owns a shoe store or a shop that installs tires. I can tell you as an independent business person myself that in this economy you take any work that comes your way and thank the gods of commerce for sending it to you, that is unless your job is to keep someone from being executed at the hands of the state. At that point you should have the professional ethics to say this is job beyond my scope of knowledge and experience and pass that client on to someone who does.

I’ll use myself as an example. When I have someone bring a laptop to me for repair that requires it to taken apart I tell that client that I’m very good at taking laptops apart but I’m not very good at putting them back together and I refer them to a guy who owns a shop down the street from me who does quality work.

I think even Mr. Baez knows he’s in over his head. You can hear it in his voice and you can see it on his face when he’s examining a witness. The prosecution has turned every one of his own witnesses against him and just plain made him look foolish.

He is playing Russian with his client’s life and why is that important? Because he has done such a poor job that if Casey is convicted she will be granted an immediate appeal based on what’s called ineffective assistance of council. For the layperson that means your lawyer did such a poor job representing you that you didn’t get a fair trial and the whole thing has to be done again from the beginning.

I have no idea what the estimated cost of this trial will be to the citizens of Orange County but thanks to Mr. Baez you can double it. Whatever agony Casey’s parents are in everyday you can double it. However long justice has been delayed thus far you can double that too.

I don’t envy Jose Baez having Casey Anthony as a client. This case would be a handful for even the most experienced criminal attorney and that’s who should be handling it.

The Big Show

The Casey Anthony trial is a great example of how our justice system has spun horribly off it’s axis.

I wanted Casey to get a fair trial and even be acquitted if the prosecution couldn’t prove its case not because I believe she’s innocent but because no matter whom the defendant is or what they are accused of the prosecution must meet its burden to keep an innocent person from being convicted.

However to be a fair trial both sides have to play fair. The job of a defense attorney used to be to provide vigorous representation for their client within the bounds of the law; at least it used to be. Now that job has been reduced to placing as close to 12 morons in a jury box as you can and convincing as many of them as possible that what could never happen in this or any other world just isn't just possible but probable.

Defense experts say whatever their paid to say and the truth be dammed. If you watched Dr. Spitz testify this week it was pretty clear even he didn’t believe his own testimony, but only in the paycheck he received and the chance to call himself defense expert on the Casey Anthony trial. A reference he’ll be using long after we have all forgotten about Casey herself.

What should be about finally finding out why and how a small child ended up as a bag of bones in a pet cemetery has become an attraction that has people fist fighting in the public square to catch a brief glimpse of our latest disposable celebrity. Ever since the Simpson trial defendants have become celebrities instead of defendants, and we tune in to see their lawyers do the legal equivalent of a dog jumping through a flaming hoop. It’s all a fabulous show that gets us no closer to an answer.

Today HLN ran a piece about the clothes Casey has been wearing during the trial. What’s next the Casey diet? You can only eat the same things she buys from the jail commissary.

I long for the days when court officers had integrity and the only goal was justice be it a conviction or acquittal.

If Casey walks from these charges we can all look forward to Casey the Lifetime movie , the perfume, the clothing line and of course the reality show, and we'll all try to forget that little bag of bones.

It's Your Fault

It seems to me the main focus of our justice system has become who is to blame for the things I do and nothing exemplifies this principal more than the Casey Anthony case.

It seems everyone is to blame for the death of Caylee Anthony but her mother.

Cindy Anthony was domineering, George and Lee touched her, Roy Kronk was out to become rich and famous, the police were lazy and never looked at anyone else, the FBI Crime Lab is incompetent and everyone just wants a piece of poor Casey. To use her words she is just as big a victim as her daughter.

Do you feel sorry for her yet? Either do I.

I feel sorry for a judicial system that permits this type of legal Three Card Monty to proliferate in court rooms across America day after day.

The Casey Anthony case would have been entirely winnable had she done one simple thing. Stopped all the lying and finally took personable responsibility for her own actions.

I can promise you 12 decent people would want to believe her daughter’s death was a tragic accident that she was too immature to know how to deal with and covered it up as opposed to a cold blooded murder. She could have walked away with lying to police and possibly neglect and walked out of the county jail with time severed

Instead Jose Baez decided to play the blame game. The truth of the matter is I have no idea if George Anthony ever molested Casey, but I do know women that have been molested and grow up to kill always kill their abuser and not their child.

Everybody in the world has a weird family dynamic of some sort. That’s why the Brady Bunch was so popular. Everybody doesn’t kill and blame the action on their family dynamic.

Instead of acknowledging that the FBI Crime Lab is the best in the world and if even they couldn’t find one bit of forensic evidence that directly ties Casey to the crime scene it should be pretty clear that there isn’t any evidence to find. Instead what we hear is about George Anthony molesting his daughter.

The cross examination of Dr. Garavaglia should be taught in law schools as an example of what not to do with an expert witness. How it should have been handled is the defense should have played up her expertise and than asked these simple questions:

1) Dr. did Caylee Anthony die of an allergic reaction?
2) Dr. did Caylee Anthony die of a previously unknown heart or brain defect?
3) Dr. did Caylee Anthony drown?
4) Dr. did Caylee Anthony choke to death?
5) Dr. did Caylee Anthony die from accidentally ingesting cleaning supplies?

The only answer she could honestly give would be I don’t know and if a physician of her knowledge and experience doesn’t know there is truly no evidence of murder.

Instead we have a circus that is designed to insult the intelligence of the jurors, and is just another blight on our justice system

If the defense had followed this simple truth of personal responsibility Casey Anthony would be back on the stripper pole before you could say hot body contest.

I should tell you if you disagree with I have to say in this blog I tried calling my mother today and the phone went to voice mail because she was napping and my father couldn’t meet me for coffee because his car was in the shop. So if you disagree with me please blame them.