Prosecutors Ask For Hearing On How Baez Is Getting Paid

Of interest......
http://www.sunethics.com/al_1_8.htm

A snippet......

Literary Rights

An agreement by which a lawyer acquires literary or media rights concerning the conduct of the representation creates a conflict between the interests of the client and the personal interests of the lawyer. Measures suitable in the representation of the client may detract from the publication value of an account of the representation. Paragraph (d) does not prohibit a lawyer representing a client in a transaction concerning literary property from agreeing that the lawyer's fee shall consist of a share in ownership in the property, if the arrangement conforms to Rule 1.5 and paragraph (j).


This relates to Alabama law but I find it very interesting as the author is JB's ethics attorney.
 
To expand on my above post.....while unethical to obtain rights to KC's "story"......it seems permisible to have own a percentage of all paid media rights in order to pay for the defense.
 
To expand on my above post.....while unethical to obtain rights to KC's "story"......it seems permisible to have own a percentage of all paid media rights in order to pay for the defense.


:waitasec: so although it isn't unethical for Baez to do, KC can use this very same point to receive a new trial?? Then why is the SA pushing for answers as to how KC's defense is being funded?

:slap: please so that this will make sense.
 
:waitasec: so although it isn't unethical for Baez to do, KC can use this very same point to receive a new trial?? Then why is the SA pushing for answers as to how KC's defense is being funded?

:slap: please so that this will make sense.

It is a fine line........so yes...I believe that the SA wanted to thwart an appeal based on the payment issue.
 
Of interest......
http://www.sunethics.com/al_1_8.htm

A snippet......

Literary Rights

An agreement by which a lawyer acquires literary or media rights concerning the conduct of the representation creates a conflict between the interests of the client and the personal interests of the lawyer. Measures suitable in the representation of the client may detract from the publication value of an account of the representation. Paragraph (d) does not prohibit a lawyer representing a client in a transaction concerning literary property from agreeing that the lawyer's fee shall consist of a share in ownership in the property, if the arrangement conforms to Rule 1.5 and paragraph (j).


This relates to Alabama law but I find it very interesting as the author is JB's ethics attorney.

Wonder if he passed the class...
 
It is a fine line........so yes...I believe that the SA wanted to thwart an appeal based on the payment issue.



Then who determines what the line is? Is it Baez, the Florida Bar, the SA's office or is it a subjective definition?

Maybe I just need another slap.....

(sarcasm isn't directed toward you)

NS
 
From that article:

Many have been asking how Casey is paying for all of her attorneys and experts.. And even if there is a hearing on this issue, it might be behind closed doors. So even if prosecutors and the judge find out, the public may not.


No fair!!!

~~~~~
We all want to know!
CW, OT but so good to see ya again, long time no see..
 
So there has been speculation about who put this defense into play. I find it very interesting that given the disucssion about a CT family wanting to help........that KC's friend Holly is / was married to Kenneth W G........whose father lives in CT. Given the fact that Holly has constantly been interviewed by media and seems to have very lucrative cameos...I wonder if this is the connection......
 
I am looking forward to the witness list due out next month to see if the experts are on there. Perhaps not if they have not been paid.
The cost of defending Casey Anthony could be in the millions, and taxpayers could foot some of the bill.




Orlando criminal defense lawyer Richard Hornsby said this is the only way attorney Jose Baez will be able to hire the experts necessary to defend Anthony in what will be an expensive death penalty case.

"I think the taxpayers are going to get stuck with paying for his costs," Hornsby said.

Hornsby said Baez has a legal right to argue the state should pay for a chunk of Anthony's defense fees.

Florida's Justice Administrative Commission has a set expert witness fee schedule. Defense experts would have to accept a set fee, do it for free or leave the so-called dream team that Baez has been assembling.

For this to happen, the court would have to declare Anthony indigent. Baez would have to disclose his current funding sources and sign a 20-page contract agreeing to the commission's guidelines.
* NBC-WESH: Could State Help Pay For Anthony's Defense?
http://www.richardhornsby.com/video/tv/casey-anthony/20090416-NBC.html
 
I am looking forward to the witness list due out next month to see if the experts are on there. Perhaps not if they have not been paid.
The cost of defending Casey Anthony could be in the millions, and taxpayers could foot some of the bill.




Orlando criminal defense lawyer Richard Hornsby said this is the only way attorney Jose Baez will be able to hire the experts necessary to defend Anthony in what will be an expensive death penalty case.

"I think the taxpayers are going to get stuck with paying for his costs," Hornsby said.

Hornsby said Baez has a legal right to argue the state should pay for a chunk of Anthony's defense fees.

Florida's Justice Administrative Commission has a set expert witness fee schedule. Defense experts would have to accept a set fee, do it for free or leave the so-called dream team that Baez has been assembling.

For this to happen, the court would have to declare Anthony indigent. Baez would have to disclose his current funding sources and sign a 20-page contract agreeing to the commission's guidelines.
* NBC-WESH: Could State Help Pay For Anthony's Defense?
http://www.richardhornsby.com/video/tv/casey-anthony/20090416-NBC.html

Great Post TWA..This was before ICA was declared Indigent
 
http://blog.richardhornsby.com/2009/12/28/attorney-of-record-in-record-time/

*And while by no means exhaustive, you can exclude this possibility by conducting a search on the Orange County Clerk’s website for all cases that Jose Baez handled from September 22, 2005 (his date of admission) to July 18, 2008 (the day after Casey Anthony’s arrest).*

http://myclerk.myorangeclerk.com/default.aspx
does anyone know how to do this?......i would like to search what other cases JB was doing.....:)

Hornsby's blog post about Baez..Attorney of Record in Record of Time..is a good read.

http://blog.richardhornsby.com/2009/12/attorney-of-record-in-record-time/
 
This is what I have been waiting for, the finances to be truly examined!!!
Richard Horsby was calling for a thorough investigation from jump! I am glad the judge is holding a hearing, at least on the experts and the money!! Here is what Mr. Hornsby opined many, many months ago!

------------------------------------------------------------

Richard Hornsby: "Let me correct you Steph, the media has reported that Jose Baez will be paid 15K by the state. He will not.Regarding her being declared indigent for costs. Jose Baez will not be paid ANY MONEY, he is not court appointed. A private, retained attorney that tries to have his client declared indigent does not get paid for representation. The state will pick up costs for expenses such as investigations, expert witnesses, things other than attorney fees."

Host: What about the money that has already been paid out, over a hundred thousand?

RH: "There are two Affidavits have to be filled out to request your client be declared indigent, an affidavit for status of finances right now, second is an affidavit regarding the lawyer to say how much they have been paid and where that money came from.

If Baez has a financial conflict of interest, if he was somehow deceptive, if he made a profit off of the money and brokered all these deals, and meanwhile has pinched pennies on handling her expenses, if he somehow was deceptive about how he handled her money,it is a problem. He could absolutely be disbarred.It is very clear how he drafted the affidavit he had Casey sign was CLEARLY prepared to protect himself and protect the third party. Baez did not want to declare her indigent because it would have let the cat out of the bag, of who had paid that money. If Baez has mismanaged her money,if there is a conflict of interest, that is the real issue. Jose Baez may have to step down in this case."
__________________

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RH "Andrea Lyon knows that she cannot properly defend Casey while they are pinching pennies, so she likely forced his hand to declare her indigent."

"Jose has brokered all the deals and that creates a conflict of interest. He wasn't let in by the Florida bar for several years because he couldn't manage his money". He makes a profit off of how much he doesn't spend on other people, and if you notice he had all these people on the case pro bono,that is more he can keep for himself, it just seems so blatant! If this information comes to light, it could be a big problem. Understand, the only person who can complain about this is Casey Anthony, unless it comes out in the hearing.

RH" The concern is Casey will bring up this money mismanagement on appeal, for sure , she will say he pinched pennies, he tried to save money for himself, he delayed my trial, he did a bad job,because he was trying to cover his own butt."
Host : You lose a lot of business when you have a high profile client?

RH: " If Jose Baez would have handled this case right, it could have been the most lucrative case for him. When it first came out I had clients s coming to me, because he was quoting them astronomical fees. This could have been a gold mine for him. What has hurt him is he has become a clown, legal clown. He can't even get the margins right on his documents."


__________________

RH: "He could be disbarred, if he wasn't using this money in Casey's best interest, if he didn't have her money in a trust account, if he was co-mingling the money, if he brokered these deals and managed her money yes, he absolutely could be disbarred."


RH " You cannot sell your clients rights, you cannot sell even yours, you cannot sell her media publication rights. It would be a conflict of interest. He cannot broker the deal and then manage the money. The only way it would have been anywhere close to ethical and within the rules would be if he got a sep. lawyer to come in and broker the deal and manage her money."

Host " The grandparents could get paid and then give the money to the defense, right?"

RH " That did not happen. The grandparents did not get paid these amounts. They have been deposed. They have been asked under oath how Jose Baez is being paid. They said they do not know. They denied it under oath. It was Casey Anthony or Jose Baez. If he brokered these deals it is unethical, it is against the rules.

The March 25th hearing was sealed. SOME MEDIA OUTLET NEEDS FILE A MOTION TO REQUEST THAT BE UNSEALED BECAUSE NOW THAT THE STATE IS GOING TO PAY, THE PUBLIC HAS THE RIGHT TO KNOW. (Mr. Hornsby is speaking of the time they all went into a side room with the judge for five minutes where Casey and Baez explained the source of the money.) That was sealed because they didn't want to disclose to the public how he was being paid.

Jose Baez hasn't spent money doing many depositions or anything else in the case. He has totally mismanaged this case from day one. Nothing at all was getting done until Andrea Lyon came into the case, nothing. Think about it, the less money he spends, the more money he makes."

RH "She was only in three places, jail ,home confinement and his office, so it had to happen on his watch. We do not have to speculate.



THE J A C , they manage all the state funds, they attend all the hearings, are going to look into this in a perfunctory way, as usual, normally they appear by phone .They are not going to know the background of this case. So, unless someone brings them up to speed, they are not going to be well informed about these issues, they wont know that Baez had a secret hearing that was sealed. They aren't going to know Jose Baez has all of these financial problems. Unless Judge Strickland wants to take the bull by its horn and bust this open for them, all they will see is the paperwork and maybe it will get past them."

RH "As a taxpayer it really makes me mad."
 
------------------------------------------------------------


RH: " If Jose Baez would have handled this case right, it could have been the most lucrative case for him. When it first came out I had clients s coming to me, because he was quoting them astronomical fees. This could have been a gold mine for him. What has hurt him is he has become a clown, legal clown. He can't even get the margins right on his documents."

Bolded and snipped by me.

Hmmmmmmmmmmm There are 5 letters between B and H. Did these folks just pick a random name from the attorney listings after calling JB....or were they referred by someone from the Baez firm? That would explain the hop skip and jump over 5 spaces in the alphabet

None, of the MANY lawyers I know, quote a complete breakdown of fees by phone. They may offer their standard hourly rate, but that does not take into consideration the fees for calls, copies, postage, etc.

Did these individuals meet JB for a free consultation prior to deciding that his fees were too high??
 
Respectfully snipped from The World According ~ post #433:

""RH: "He could be disbarred, if he wasn't using this money in Casey's best interest, if he didn't have her money in a trust account, if he was co-mingling the money, if he brokered these deals and managed her money yes, he absolutely could be disbarred.""
~~~~~~~~

So, if the JAC were to do their digging, or, should any of this come out in the next hearing on Monday, is it possible that they {JAC or The Bar Assiciation} would immediatly set in motion to have Baez removed, or, at this late date, would they let him run his course?

Lord, I would hate for this trial to be delayed any longer than it already has been.

I do remember this interview with Richard Hornsby, and his article that he had on his website.
Thanks for bringing it up and posting it for us World ~
What really stood out for me in the interview that he did, was the statement that
Sleuther on the Side pointed out in regards to the numerous phone calls that Baez was recieving inquiring about fees, etc, that were sky high.

I don't think it was a matter of so much as going through the phone book, as it was that Baez was on every news media outlet there was.
People may not have known or realized the scope of his devious and low level morals, just that he was "out there", so, they tried him having high hopes for their cases.
When they recieved the outragous high quotes, with no doubt an equally high retainer fee, they skipped on to Hornsby, because he also has been in the media commenting on the case.
They just went with Baez first cause he was the one standing out with the most exposure, IMO, as far as this goes with potential clients.
 
Remember this little exchange, with Baez under oath?
ADA George: "We had a meeting in chambers and an amount of money the defense had was dicussed. How much money was that?
JB: That information is under seal.
ADA George: You are under oath now.
Judge Stickland: Yes, you can answer. It believe it needs to be on the record, the amount and frankly the source too.
ADA George: What was that amount of money discussed?
Baez: Two hundred thousand dollars.
ADA George, loud and clear for the reporters in the back row to hear, asked Two hundred thousand dollars?
JB: Yes.
What was the source of that money?
JB: Can you repeat the question?
ADA George, loud enough to be mistaken for a politician giving a speech at a podium asking for votes: Where did the money come from?
JB: "American Broadcast Company" he said under his breath.
ADA George: "Who?"
JB: "ABC".
Although he already knew the answer, ADA George adding emphasis: "ABC News?"
JB, after swallowing hard: "Yes"

It was Linda Kenney Baden's demeanor in this hearing that made me say to myself that was her goodbye scene. That is the biggest and possibly the only time I have even seen her so warm and smiling. She is doing something I had never seen her do, playing to the camera. Andrea seemed to be saying goodbye to Casey as well, even then.

Losing these two on the defense team was HUGE, imo!

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnkhUbRbwBU[/ame]
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaZnZ50R5m0[/ame]
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brCKA_FTB6g[/ame]

Thttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVxt_F_-V78
This was the first hearing of Mason on the case. He started showing off before the hearing even began by being quite rude to the folks who were court personnell , basically ordering them around about what HE wants done regarding the microphone needing to be removed, iho, right damn now, from the defense table. Good for the gentleman, he showed him no mind at all about it. Funny.

He called the Judge's staff member, Kathy, "Doll".
Mason literally called Jeff Ashton "Ignorant" on the record, in open court.

He was very patronizing to Judge Strickland with his "I bet you'll trust ME" mantra, and saying he had experts lining up to work for free, that indeed Henry Lee had worked for a crate of oranges once".

After the hearing he emerged with his it's going to be fun nonsense.


Here is the hearing. A must see

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54JbOxl30U0[/ame]
The person video taping chimes in briefly as she looks up who is this man, full of hubris, on the internet. Funny.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzy83OX_t3A[/ame]
Here we go they are back from their little pow wow (the defense). This is where Baez testifies ( best ever)

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-HhNWPqINI[/ame]
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kYb9DfPq6E[/ame]
Here Baez admits to receiving 70K from Todd, and the Judge literally asked him, if Todd paid contingent upon him joining the defense team.
ADA George: "Besides Mrs. Lyon and Mrs. Badem, are there other lawyers involved in this case?"
"Other attorneys have consulted, none have been paid."
ADA George:" How about experts?"
JB: "Some have been paid"
ADA George: "Any promise of future payment?"
JB: "None."
ADA George, " Who has been paid?"

wait for it....
Cheney:" I am going to object to disclosing names, it invades the privileldge in preparation of our trial strategy."
Judge Strickland "I will sustain the objection as to their names, the amounts we need".
ADA George: "Can you give us the amounts?"
JB: "I would be guessing".
Judge Strickland "I will sustain the objection as to their names, the amounts we need".
ADA George: "How many experts are there that have been paid so far?"
Stutering JB: " Umm, umm, I didn't bring that with me. I would be guessing."
Baez offered to bring that to the court, he did not bring those things with him but he could supply them to the court. THe judge agreed to that.

Me: What the hell? How do you come to a hearing about how you spent the money, and not bring your file?

ADA George: "What about investigators?"
ADA:" How much have they been paid this far?"
JB: "They have been paid through the clinic. ( Andrea's clinic ) I have paid them , the amount would be um,very little".
Me: Richard Hornsby sure called that one. Baez had been pinching pennies rather than , getting the work done. For example we recently learned that Jeremy Lyons has billed the taxpayers eight thousand dollars for talking to TES searchers. Those TES documents had been sitting, available, for so long and Baez chose not to begin work on them. Now with the state paying, suddenly it is getting done.
go to the four minute mark
ADA George: What about Mrs. Baden. Is she being paid?"
JB: "She is not being paid. Correcting himself it seemed, he added, "She has been paid nothing."
Mrs. Baden does she have a promise of future payment?

After a long pause, JB: "You know.... I haven't read that document in awhile. I wouldn't be able to testify to any degree of certainty".
ADA George: "In March, in our in camera meeting with the judge, Mrs. Baden was to bring that document to the court. Do you have any idea why it hasn't been filed?"
JB: "It has been dropped off to the court."

ADA George asks the judge if that is true, and he answers he isn't sure, "It may be here, it may not be here,I have no idea".
Immediately after this, Mrs. Baden stands up to interrupt. Baden claims she tore up her retainer contract. In the words of The Church Lady on Saturday Night Live,
"Well isn't that special?"
She did manage to get in a little bit about her self tauting her work , pro bono with The Innocence Project, how she donated her services then too. She explained that she rescinded her agreement with Casey Anthony since she had never been paid and there clearly was no expectation of future payment.
Me: Loose translation....NO THE COURT WAS NEVER GIVEN TO THE COURT. THAT'S MY GUESS!
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC0Xtr917ZY[/ame]
Cheney tried to chime in that the JAC would need to pay for travel expenses. No one responded. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_12H80h6wL4[/ame]
Mason was very rude saying Linda and Jeffrey approach the bench with me. Mrs. Drane-Burdick said "We have last names".
2:09 mark is where it seemed to me Andrea was telling Casey goodbye. I thought this because all of the lawyers would have went to the bench normally, and Andrea and Linda did not.
The lady recording the video briefly opines.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpjZ1bL1eIg[/ame]

They had a ora tenis motion heard at the bench, Baez wanted more time to read all the jailhouse letters. The judge agreed, but told the defense whatever objections they file they must notice the media.


I believe, iirc, that this indeed is the time they went in camera after the hearing and let Judge Strickland know they were filing notice asking him to step aside.
If they haven't been kicking themselves already, bet when they see the difference between Judge Strickland letting them promise to drop stuff off to him later, and how Judge Perry is going to demand to see the documents for payment, now, not on their honor......they are going to see asking to swich judges was very, very misguided.
In the words of Mark Nejame, "I am being overly generous in my characterization!"
 
Remember this little exchange, with Baez under oath?
ADA George: "We had a meeting in chambers and an amount of money the defense had was dicussed. How much money was that?
JB: That information is under seal.
ADA George: You are under oath now.
Judge Stickland: Yes, you can answer. It believe it needs to be on the record, the amount and frankly the source too.
ADA George: What was that amount of money discussed?
Baez: Two hundred thousand dollars.
ADA George, loud and clear for the reporters in the back row to hear, asked Two hundred thousand dollars?
JB: Yes.
What was the source of that money?
JB: Can you repeat the question?
ADA George, loud enough to be mistaken for a politician giving a speech at a podium asking for votes: Where did the money come from?
JB: "American Broadcast Company" he said under his breath.
ADA George: "Who?"
JB: "ABC".
Although he already knew the answer, ADA George adding emphasis: "ABC News?"
JB, after swallowing hard: "Yes"
most respectfully snipped
This remains my favorite court room moment so far.
It was like finally seeing that wily little mouse caught in the trap after months of trying.
 
Really!! Baez met with the judge on this. This should be very interesting. I remember the $89,000 that Baez agreed to. I didn't pay much mind to any of Casey's claims of debt 'cause I knew it was all BS. But, I'm glad that RH brought it all up.
 

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