2009.05.28 Motions Hearing

[Tiki]

Trying to haul out some of what I learned and about journalism in college,
it seems to me that JG has grounds for a libel suit against JB, esp. b/c JB knew his statement would be broadcast on TV. Have to go back and watch again - if he said JG was considered to be a suspect in this case, that is an untruthful statement.



Sorry to quote myself, but went back and listened again.

JB was talking about JG and said "Mr. Grund, for all intents and purposes, was a suspect in this case".
http://www.wftv.com/video/19590678/index.html

at about 12:30.

IDK - sure sounds like libel to me . . .

.

 

[MidAtlanticNative]

I, too, think there may have been a pow wow. I tend to think that the new DP atty. may have been more blunt about how their behavior and media tours MUST CEASE NOW....how Casey must appear more serious in court. I've been tossing it around in my head since seeing all of the Anthonys today. Everything about them was different - they appeared much more somber and beaten down. I wonder if Cindy finally got the message that things are totally out of her control this time. Something had them all looking so bleak today and it wasn't the events of the hearing. I am hoping that Andrea Lyons persuaded them that the only thing...the best thing...they could do for their daughter was to simply shut-up. I imagine that meeting with an attorney who specializes in death penalty cases was a very sobering experience. Maybe they realize the gravity of their situation now. I'm not sure that there was any talk about a plea deal though.

(bolded sections mine)
Agreed - I thought both Cindy and George looked completely broken, somber and dejected.

 

[Chezhire]

I don't think there's any question that the decision not to reveal the new lawyer's identity when she was first retained (and certainly prior to her coming to court today) was a purposeful choice by the defense team. Lyons is coming on board as nominal lead counsel and she's very experienced. She chose to go along with this, contrary to the applicable rules on filing a certification of DP qualifications and an always required motion to be admitted PHV. They did it to make a big shock and awe moment at her debut -- like, all hail the queen of all things DP. Perhaps they thought she was so important, she could act as counsel today anyway. And I'd wager she would be the one to prepare her own filings on this topic of her credentials. She could easily have made certain they were filed with the court.

Bolded by me, Chezhire.

If so, then they assumed incorrectly and the "shock an awe" moment didn't happen: instead, she didn't get to open her mouth due to their ineptitude. Judge Strickland has proven he is not the type of judge who allows random dispensation of the rules of the FL judicial system.

 

[amethyst221]

Trying to haul out some of what I learned and about journalism in college,
it seems to me that JG has grounds for a libel suit against JB, esp. b/c JB knew his statement would be broadcast on TV. Have to go back and watch again - if he said JG was considered to be a suspect in this case, that is an untruthful statement.



Sorry to quote myself, but went back and listened again.

JB was talking about JG and said "Mr. Grund, for all intents and purposes, was a suspect in this case".
http://www.wftv.com/video/19590678/index.html

at about 12:30.

IDK - sure sounds like libel to me . . .

.

This is too complicated to give a simple answer, but here goes something. There are statements that might otherwise be actionable as libel if you said them elsewhere, BUT are insulated from liability by law because of context. Statements made about relevant, material issues during a judicial proceeding are protected. This is true even if the statements are false and made in bad faith. The law does mysterious things to reconcile competing interests. So, JB in this context might be protected from a libel suit, while CA saying the same thing on national television would not be.

 

[OneLostGrl]

Respectfully snipped:


Thank God you brought this up, Cece! When Ashton broke into that infantile, ghoulish, toothy grin today, because the judge chided JB, I moaned aloud. It was asinine and unprofessional of him, especially in a death penalty case. At that moment, he looked so foolish that now I'm worried about the quality of the SAs in this case.

What do you think?

Dude's a hot-head. He should have taken himself off the case after that first run-in with JoseB. JoseB's enjoying this, pissin' this guy off, and I'm afraid he's gonna do it during trial or whatever and it'll just be the straw with this guy.

I like him- don't get me wrong!! I love a pissed off DA, it means he cares, not many do anymore but I think JoseB is pushing this guy, knowingly and with pleasure almost.

I really really dislike JoseB, every time he puts on a show it's worse than the last, this guy has strong "terrible two's" type anti-social tendencies.. he doesn't even act like a teenager would. He is very interesting to me, JoseB is.

 

[Tiki]

This is too complicated to give a simple answer, but here goes something. There are statements that might otherwise be actionable as libel if you said them elsewhere, BUT are insulated from liability by law because of context. Statements made about relevant, material issues during a judicial proceeding are protected. This is true even if the statements are false and made in bad faith. The law does mysterious things to reconcile competing interests. So, JB in this context might be protected from a libel suit, while CA saying the same thing on national television would not be.

Thanks!!

I was just going to add that very question to my post - it occurred to me that it wouldn't be considered libel if said in court. I'm sure he added that on purpose to put a question out to the public about JG being a suspect. That was really nasty.

Maybe he can sue CA, then . . . he sure has been dragged thru' the mud - no fault of his own.

.

 

[The World According]

I would not be surprised at all if Baez had lined up someone else entirely, and they already had a falling out, then he lined up the current one last minute, (out of the fifty he asked, she bit). It is very possible he could make someone regret their decision in short order.

 

[cleo612]

If you see them in person you might feel/see their grief a bit more. Their grief was pretty palpable.

Yes, they are grieving--but are they grieving more for their innocent, helpless and dependent little granddaughter, or for the monstrous murdering daughter who took that granddaughter's life?

 

[Amil]

You are correct. She absolutely did not. It was very sad. Imagine two sedated Yorkies fervently awaiting the return of their mistress and not being acknowledged.

Could it be that in her mind none of this would have happened if CA would have babysat that night and not called KC home to watch her child?
KC absolutely hates her mother for so many reasons and now blames CA for what she did to her baby.

 

[MidAtlanticNative]

Dude's a hot-head. He should have taken himself off the case after that first run-in with JoseB. JoseB's enjoying this, pissin' this guy off, and I'm afraid he's gonna do it during trial or whatever and it'll just be the straw with this guy.

I like him- don't get me wrong!! I love a pissed off DA, it means he cares, not many do anymore but I think JoseB is pushing this guy, knowingly and with pleasure almost.

I really really dislike JoseB, every time he puts on a show it's worse than the last, this guy has strong "terrible two's" type anti-social tendencies.. he doesn't even act like a teenager would. He is very interesting to me, JoseB is.

JB's comportment differs greatly from that of every single other attorney involved in this case. It's difficult to watch at times.

 

[beach]

In general about the attorney's lack of professionalism. Attorneys who practice professionalism, and who are serious about what they do, act accordingly and file the basic requisite motions to enroll (+ a whole lot more.) She could have had a newly minted attorney prepare these motions to enroll pro hac vice and notice of appearance with her DP credentials. These are just that basic. If she's serious enough to appear today in the courtroom, then these should've been filed prior to this morning's hearing, period, even if she's not sure about being involved for the duration.

Thanks, I really appreciate your answer.

I asked because it has me baffled. I've read her credentials and after watching the post-hearing interview, she sounded to be by far the most professional of the defense team. I'm a paralegal and have drafted pro hac vice motions and notices of appearance eons of times. Like you said, they are soooo basic. A notice of appearance takes less than 5 minutes to draft. That is why I was thinking maybe she hasn't totally committed to this team. I was thinking maybe Baez didn't want anyone to find out through the clerk's office the identity of the new DP atty, instead opting to make a grand introduction, like today. Except Lyons seems too bright to allow herself to be used in such a way. The manner in which the whole thing has been handled has me confused.

 

[Valhall]

Sooooooo, LE was doing their job by looking at other possible suspects.
Oh, JB.

That statement is ultimately going to bite him in the *advertiser censored*. I thought Cindy and Co.'s whole complaint for nigh on a year now has been a "rush to judgment" and that LE never looked anywhere but at KC??? I thought KC and CA have maintained Melich told them that first night/day that he intended to take KC down?

hmmm

 

[Tiki]

I would not be surprised at all if Baez had lined up someone else entirely, and they already had a falling out, then he lined up the current one last minute, (out of the fifty he asked, she bit). It is very possible he could make someone regret their decision in short order.

Hmmm - I was wondering the same.
He announced he had a DP atty weeks ago so how come there wasn't time to file the paperwork?

 

[OneLostGrl]

As part of JB's argument re: materiality, JB mentioned the State's assertion that the (Caylee's) death was not accidental.

thanks

 

[amethyst221]

Maybe the new attorney is as lulled by the notoriety of the case as the rest of them, regardless of her capabilities. I took the defense spokesperson at her word a few weeks ago, when she said they had retained a DP qualified attorney but wanted to delay revealing the name to protect her from the media.

 

[OneLostGrl]

JB's comportment differs greatly from that of every single other attorney involved in this case. It's difficult to watch at times.

In any case I have ever followed.

 

[MidAtlanticNative]

Thanks, I really appreciate your answer.

I asked because it has me baffled. I've read her credentials and after watching the post-hearing interview, she sounded to be by far the most professional of the defense team. I'm a paralegal and have drafted pro hac vice motions and notices of appearance eons of times. Like you said, they are soooo basic. A notice of appearance takes less than 5 minutes to draft. That is why I was thinking maybe she hasn't totally committed to this team. I was thinking maybe Baez didn't want anyone to find out through the clerk's office the identity of the new DP atty, instead opting to make a grand introduction, like today. Except Lyons seems too bright to allow herself to be used in such a way. The manner in which the whole thing has been handled has me confused.

(bold mine)
Me, too. I had the exact same thought process as you did. I can't see any benefit to the strategy the defense team employed here. Unless they simply knew from the onset that they'd be sacrificing Lyon's voice in today's hearing in exchange for the "grand introduction" you mentioned. Odd...

ETA: It didn't put many points on the board, either.

 

[one_hooah_wife]

Bolded by me, Chezhire.

If so, then they assumed incorrectly and the "shock an awe" moment didn't happen: instead, she didn't get to open her mouth due to their ineptitude. Judge Strickland has proven he is not the type of judge who allows random dispensation of the rules of the FL judicial system.

Yep, she's in Stan's house now!

 

[Themis]

Oh..she's there. As much as she ever was. And now seems to be enjoying her position as pseudo-attorney. She was writing furiously on that legal pad, just like she was an attorney getting ready to argue her case. She's a slick one...

Yes, she was and the experienced DP attorney wrote a note to her and told her to knock it off. In a DP case, the defendant is on stage all the time -- every second --- and needs to act the part of a sober, respectful defendant at all times. The image of her being a fake lawyer and engaging in her own defense both underscores the fakeness (and enhances the image of her as a liar) and gives an impression that she is actively involved in a defense (or cover-up). No point in enhancing the most negative aspects of this case. KC needs to sit quietly, respectfully and attentively but take a completely passive role as if she is without knowledge of this case and it is serious business. This is clearly not the case where she should be "helping" her attorney or part of a defense "team." That image will hurt her and the DP attorney told her to knock it off.

Also, comments were made about CA crying. When the SA put the DP back on the table, CA treated it as if it was just a fake power move to up the pressure to get KC to plea. Now, with the arrival of the new DP attorney, there has been a new reality check. This is not just a bluff. This is as serious as "serious situations" get and the SA is deadly serious about the DP. For the first time, CA is realizing that the chance that KC could get the DP is very real. The DP attorney just removed all of CA's emotional buffer and it hurts. GA was there some time ago; about the time of his suicide attempt. He is stronger now. JMHO, of course.

 

[Valhall]

Are any medical records,paper or computer records shown in the tape? I think not. It is just her reaction. IMO, this has nothing to do with her so called HIPPA rights.

Well, her attorney himself stated they gave her NO MEDICAL ATTENTION whatsoever. So I'm not sure how he's justifying using medical privacy issues about this video when he just declared there was nothing medical about the situation.