BondJamesBond
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Continued from here: Legal Questions for Our VERIFIED Lawyers #1
Legal Questions for Our VERIFIED Lawyers #2
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Along the same line---Is it really up to the SA to determine if to cash it or not?---Thanks
nums24
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Are witnesses listed allowed to disclose they received their subpoena's to testify?
AZlawyer
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Help or hurt what? It certainly hurts JB's reputation, assuming there's anything left to hurt. Basically it says, "Please excuse JB for his behavior. He is an idiot, as you know, but I hope he will grow up one day." :loser:
Yes.
Yes.
Yes, unless the judge says no!
Ssejors
The Great And Powerful Ssej!
Hey AZ!
Can you explain in laymans term what a plea deal is? I don't understand what this means? What does it mean for a trial, for the future of the defendant, for justice? I'm a green newb. TIA!!
Can you explain in laymans term what a plea deal is? I don't understand what this means? What does it mean for a trial, for the future of the defendant, for justice? I'm a green newb. TIA!!
AZlawyer
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A plea deal means that the defendant and the State agree on which charges the defendant will plead guilty to and what the appropriate sentence will be (subject to the approval of the judge). If there were a plea deal, there would be no trial; the defendant would get whatever sentence was agreed upon.
As for justice? Justice is in the eye of the beholder.
I have a couple of questions about the Sanction. Is this something that is recorded with the Fla Bar and becomes part of his permanent record, as a disciplinary action taken, or is this simply between HHJP and JB? Will this impact his ability to renew his license? IS that why CM pleads his case with JA?
Or,is the real reason CM wrote to JA asking him to reconsider cashing the check because this also goes on his record- I saw an answer to another questioner where you said the members of a team can be held collectively responsible for not correcting the person who is at fault.
Or,is the real reason CM wrote to JA asking him to reconsider cashing the check because this also goes on his record- I saw an answer to another questioner where you said the members of a team can be held collectively responsible for not correcting the person who is at fault.
AZlawyer
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The sanction is not part of his record with the Bar, just part of the record of this one case. And unless Florida is different from most other states, he shouldn't ever have to renew his license.
CM has a "clean record" and, I think, sees sanctions as a bigger deal than JB does. JB is used to barely squeaking by.
CM was not sanctioned, so this sanction is not "on his record" even for this one case. HHJP certainly had the option of holding the entire team responsible, but he chose not to.
Sooner Fan#1
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Will the bar complaint filed by Judge S.S come in during the trial? IIRC He was concerned DC not the call police if he found the body, but to call JB instead. I would think if DC's testimony comes in, the complaint will too. The judge stated, if true, that it was deeply disturbing. It makes me wonder WHY JB would insist on that....also, it is public record.
Many Thanks to AZ and all the legal minds that contribute on this case.
Many Thanks to AZ and all the legal minds that contribute on this case.
AZlawyer
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No, the bar complaint will not come in at trial. It is not relevant to whether or not Casey committed the murder. At most, it is relevant to whether or not Casey's lawyer thinks or knows she is guilty, which the jury is definitely not permitted to consider.
Also, although I know JS said he was concerned, my understanding from talking to criminal defense lawyers is that it is widely considered appropriate and ethical for a defense attorney to know where evidence is and view it without reporting it to police, as long as he does not alter it in any way.
Sooner Fan#1
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Thank you AZ, for your quick reply. Another question, Will DC's testimony come in stating he was told by JB to not call police? Seem's we haven't heard anything else from DC. This is just annoying to me...I wanna know! :floorlaugh:
AZlawyer
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No, I don't think the part about not calling police will come in, for the same reasons as I mentioned in my last answer.
sassy_texasbelle2
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What is the difference between contempt and civil contempt? Thanks AZ for all your time on the threads!
AZlawyer
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It's been a long time since I looked at this issue, but IIRC civil contempt is a tool to get someone to comply with a court order--i.e., "I'm tossing you in jail until you decide to turn over the documents!" while criminal complaint is a crime that is prosecuted in the ordinary fashion and can't be "fixed" by complying with the order you originally violated.
ynotdivein
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Soooo... about these penalty phase witnesses.... :waitasec: Actually I have a couple of questions about them, and the whole phase itself.
1. Can these witnesses be compelled to testify in the penalty phase if they prefer not to? Is there any excuse good enough not to do so? (Too far to travel, nothing nice to say, etc.)
2. If a witness testifies during the trial, can that testimony be brought up if they are also called as a penalty phase witness?
3. Is it typical to have penalty phase testimony from correctional staff?
4. It seems to me that Rick Plesea would have been a good candidate for the defense to list as a penalty phase witness, especially if the bus is aiming at Cindy. Am I missing something?
(Thank you so very much!)
1. Can these witnesses be compelled to testify in the penalty phase if they prefer not to? Is there any excuse good enough not to do so? (Too far to travel, nothing nice to say, etc.)
2. If a witness testifies during the trial, can that testimony be brought up if they are also called as a penalty phase witness?
3. Is it typical to have penalty phase testimony from correctional staff?
4. It seems to me that Rick Plesea would have been a good candidate for the defense to list as a penalty phase witness, especially if the bus is aiming at Cindy. Am I missing something?
(Thank you so very much!)
AZlawyer
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OK, here goes:
1. Yes, the witnesses can be compelled to testify. Depending on state rules, there will probably be a number-of-miles limit, although HHJP could allow witnesses to testify via teleconference, Skype, etc., and there are ways to get a subpoena in a different state to arrange that. "Nothing nice to say" is not an excuse because they will be subpoenaed to respond to questions, not to say nice things.
2. Yes.
3. No not really. But I strongly doubt all the people on the list will actually be called to testify.
4. Rick? All he has to say about Cindy is that she's an idiot. (I'm not name-calling; that was his testimony, not mine.) Having an idiot for a mother is not a big mitigating factor, and he sure doesn't have anything to say to help Casey directly.
faefrost
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Ugh! I have a rather ugly question to ask. One that I really do hate to ask. And please note I am NOT seeking to accuse any members of the defense team of impropriety. We have no real evidence of anything like that, and I will gladly give anyone outside of the defendant herself the benefit of doubt.
But given those several weeks out on bail where the defendant spent 8-10 hours a day with her attorney and pretty much only her attorney. Given what we know of her somewhat obsessive and boy driven personality. And given that we know that the defendant has already in the past cooked up questionable stories of being molested by her brother and her father, plus who knows who else. What happens when, at some point after trial and conviction, she whips out the sexual impropriety card to use against her own attorney? Would that have any impact on any possible appeals? Or any impact on an ineffective council claim? or even could this be something that she would pull shortly before trial in an attempt to delay things further?
But given those several weeks out on bail where the defendant spent 8-10 hours a day with her attorney and pretty much only her attorney. Given what we know of her somewhat obsessive and boy driven personality. And given that we know that the defendant has already in the past cooked up questionable stories of being molested by her brother and her father, plus who knows who else. What happens when, at some point after trial and conviction, she whips out the sexual impropriety card to use against her own attorney? Would that have any impact on any possible appeals? Or any impact on an ineffective council claim? or even could this be something that she would pull shortly before trial in an attempt to delay things further?
AZlawyer
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Unless someone could show that their (alleged) relationship actually affected the judge's rulings (which it wouldn't), it shouldn't be a problem on appeal.
If there's an ineffective assistance claim, this (alleged) relationship would probably be mentioned, perhaps to explain Jose's inability to focus on doing the work necessary to defend Casey--but to actually prevail on this issue Casey would still have to show that the IAC affected her substantive rights (i.e., something different could have been done that would have helped, and none of the other defense team members did it either). IOW, just the (alleged) fact of the existence of the (alleged) relationship wouldn't be enough to win the IAC claim.
If she brought it up just to get him off the case, I'm not sure it would even delay the trial. Is there some really important work JB's been doing that no other member of the defense team could do? :waitasec:
I'm sure the Florida State Bar would be interested, though.
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