Legal Questions for our Verified Lawyers #4

[Talina]

Hopefully this isn't a repeat question. Maybe this has already been asked and answered but I couldn't find it anywhere.

I have a few questions related to the money that Baez received on Casey's behalf for the photos sold (the $200,000 they have admitted to and was reported to the IRS by the purchaser).

Since Baez received this, it was presumably made payable to Casey and not Baez since the IRS is after her for tax liability, does Baez have any repercussions since he received it on her behalf, used it all up, and did not hold any back for her tax liability. I don't mean repercussions from the IRS, I mean from Casey as in not advising her that she shouldn't spend every dime. Say, for instance, can Casey now go back at him and sue him for anything at all related to his use of that money? Can she sue him if he never notified her of the IRS lien that he apparently received this among other notices since the lien filed by the IRS had her name with his address?

I'm just wondering if any of this can come back at him at all?

 

[AZlawyer]

Hopefully this isn't a repeat question. Maybe this has already been asked and answered but I couldn't find it anywhere.

I have a few questions related to the money that Baez received on Casey's behalf for the photos sold (the $200,000 they have admitted to and was reported to the IRS by the purchaser).

Since Baez received this, it was presumably made payable to Casey and not Baez since the IRS is after her for tax liability, does Baez have any repercussions since he received it on her behalf, used it all up, and did not hold any back for her tax liability. I don't mean repercussions from the IRS, I mean from Casey as in not advising her that she shouldn't spend every dime. Say, for instance, can Casey now go back at him and sue him for anything at all related to his use of that money? Can she sue him if he never notified her of the IRS lien that he apparently received this among other notices since the lien filed by the IRS had her name with his address?

I'm just wondering if any of this can come back at him at all?

As far as not advising her to hold back money for taxes, it depends on whether Baez, expressly or impliedly, was "representing" her on that issue. IMO most courts would find he was, unless he had her sign something saying very plainly that there might be and probably were taxes owing, that he wasn't advising her on that issue, and that she needed to consult, e.g., a CPA. I mean, technically, Casey wasn't required to use THAT PARTICULAR money to pay the taxes--she could give it all to Baez if she wanted to--but in reality he sure as heck knew she didn't have any OTHER money to pay it with, so he better have done some major CYA work.

As far as the tax lien, if he didn't notify her AND SHE WAS DAMAGED SOMEHOW by that lack of notice, she could go after him. But, first of all, I don't think we have any reason to believe he didn't notify her; second, even if he didn't, I doubt she would or could have done anything differently if she had seen the notice.

 

[atthelake]

Really behind on reading - but did look back about 40 questions on this thread and not there.

Other threads have been mentioning something about they read that FCA had until 2020 to pay debts, and have been all over that being upset. To me, it's simply the result that a lien has been placed in 2010 against any future earnings (as she had no assets) for FCA..........as lien's by judgement are usually 10 years (this is different from statute of limitation - this perhaps is due to court lien judgment). Others are wondering "how can this be" on other threads that I'm behind in.....but I'm thinking 10 years judgement/lein is normal?

Your thoughts?

ETA: In reviewing the threads, I still can't figure out where this 10 year issue that has been so discussed came from - as I can't find any reference in the MSM thread. I must have missed it?

 

[bayouland]

Request for extensions? This one filed today. Any chance of it being denied?

Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal Docket

Case Docket
Case Number: 5D11-2357
Final Criminal Judgment and Sentence Notice from Orange County


CASEY MARIE ANTHONY vs. STATE OF FLORIDA

Lower Tribunal Case(s): 08-CF-15606-A


02/01/2012 Motion Extension of Time Supplemental ROA Appellant

 

[AZlawyer]

Really behind on reading - but did look back about 40 questions on this thread and not there.

Other threads have been mentioning something about they read that FCA had until 2020 to pay debts, and have been all over that being upset. To me, it's simply the result that a lien has been placed in 2010 against any future earnings (as she had no assets) for FCA..........as lien's by judgement are usually 10 years (this is different from statute of limitation - this perhaps is due to court lien judgment). Others are wondering "how can this be" on other threads that I'm behind in.....but I'm thinking 10 years judgement/lein is normal?

Your thoughts?

ETA: In reviewing the threads, I still can't figure out where this 10 year issue that has been so discussed came from - as I can't find any reference in the MSM thread. I must have missed it?

It sounds completely normal to me, and doesn't mean that the IRS can't do anything in the meantime! They are free to start collecting, if there's anything to collect.

Request for extensions? This one filed today. Any chance of it being denied?

Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal Docket

Case Docket
Case Number: 5D11-2357
Final Criminal Judgment and Sentence Notice from Orange County


CASEY MARIE ANTHONY vs. STATE OF FLORIDA

Lower Tribunal Case(s): 08-CF-15606-A


02/01/2012 Motion Extension of Time Supplemental ROA Appellant

We never see the actual motions, so who knows? If there's any halfway decent reason given, it will probably be granted--it's a pretty routine kind of motion.

 

[okiedokietoo]

We never see the actual motions, so who knows? If there's any halfway decent reason given, it will probably be granted--it's a pretty routine kind of motion.

Hi and thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. So, how many times can they file a Motion for EOT? Is it an endless number? Can this go on until her appeal is decided or Zenaida keeps resetting the trial date/drops the case or Casey's probation ends and she skips?
08/29/2011 Motion Extension of Time Cort Rpter Trans-Cr Req
08/30/2011 Grant EOT Court Reporter Transcript-CR Req. 10/07/2011
10/31/2011 Motion Extension of Time To File Record
11/01/2011 Order Granting Time Extension To File Record 01/17/2012
12/21/2011 Motion Supplemental Record & Eot For Brief
01/12/2012 ORD-Grant Supplemental ROA & EOT for Brief
...............02/11/2012 SUPP ROA W/I 30DAYS;INIT BRF W/I 30DAYS OF SUPP
02/01/2012 Motion Extension of Time Supplemental ROA

 

[AZlawyer]

Hi and thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. So, how many times can they file a Motion for EOT? Is it an endless number? Can this go on until her appeal is decided or Zenaida keeps resetting the trial date/drops the case or Casey's probation ends and she skips?
08/29/2011 Motion Extension of Time Cort Rpter Trans-Cr Req
08/30/2011 Grant EOT Court Reporter Transcript-CR Req. 10/07/2011
10/31/2011 Motion Extension of Time To File Record
11/01/2011 Order Granting Time Extension To File Record 01/17/2012
12/21/2011 Motion Supplemental Record & Eot For Brief
01/12/2012 ORD-Grant Supplemental ROA & EOT for Brief
...............02/11/2012 SUPP ROA W/I 30DAYS;INIT BRF W/I 30DAYS OF SUPP
02/01/2012 Motion Extension of Time Supplemental ROA

They can file motions for extensions of time until the court of appeals gets sick of granting them. Which will be as soon as they run out of good reasons to ask for them.

 

[beach]

They can file motions for extensions of time until the court of appeals gets sick of granting them. Which will be as soon as they run out of good reasons to ask for them.

Heck, I filed 3 motions for continuances on different cases just today . :lol:


:highfive:

 

[Katprint]

Heck, I filed 3 motions for continuances on different cases just today . :lol:


:highfive:

Yeah, probably half my special appearances (because my real job right now is taking care of my kids so I only work part time) are to show up as a warm body with a license to practice law, to ask for a continuance until the attorney of record who actually knows something about the case can show up. LOL!

Continuances are a dime a dozen. Maybe less.

Katprint
Always only my own opinions

 

[okiedokietoo]

They can file motions for extensions of time until the court of appeals gets sick of granting them. Which will be as soon as they run out of good reasons to ask for them.

I appreciate your input and legal knowledge - thank you.
I am not an attorney. I am looking at this from the pov of a layperson. So being outside the legal field, this appears to be nothing more than strategic stalling tactics. The trial is around the corner and she is not going to have to answer any questions until the Appeal is decided. I understand that as long as the requests are "good reason" the court will grant the motions for eot's. But do appeal courts really ever say enough is enough? I mean, really, is it not obvious that they are dragging this out on purpose? I understand that the eot motions have to be for good reasons but - Can Zenaida's or TES' attorney's file a motion with the Appeal Court asking for a hearing to address the stalling? Or are there no hearings with appeal courts?

 

[AZlawyer]

I appreciate your input and legal knowledge - thank you.
I am not an attorney. I am looking at this from the pov of a layperson. So being outside the legal field, this appears to be nothing more than strategic stalling tactics. The trial is around the corner and she is not going to have to answer any questions until the Appeal is decided. I understand that as long as the requests are "good reason" the court will grant the motions for eot's. But do appeal courts really ever say enough is enough? I mean, really, is it not obvious that they are dragging this out on purpose? I understand that the eot motions have to be for good reasons but - Can Zenaida's or TES' attorney's file a motion with the Appeal Court asking for a hearing to address the stalling? Or are there no hearings with appeal courts?

Requests for continuance don't have to be strategic. For an appeal, for example, there could be a delay getting the (huge) transcript prepared--I think that was the reason given the first time or two in this case. Or people could have non-refundable tickets to Paris. :woohoo: Or surgery. Or the clerk from the trial court could have missed sending part of the record up and they have to straighten it out before filing the brief. Or a million other things. Like I said, there's no way to tell if the motion was filed for a good reason without reading it.

I don't see any "strategy" in taking the 5th in the civil cases anyway. If she takes the 5th, she's gonna lose. In civil cases, unlike in criminal cases, you can assume that someone who takes the 5th is doing so because the answer would be bad for them. So, for example, if ZG's lawyer says, "Isn't it true, Ms. Anthony, that you blamed my client for taking Caylee because you didn't want to admit that you killed your daughter?" and Casey says, "I take the 5th," then the jury can pretend that she said, "Yep. True. That's what happened."

So...
Appellate courts definitely do say "enough is enough"--but without seeing the motions, we can't say if "enough" has come along yet.

ZG and TES can't object because (1) they aren't parties to the appeal and (2) Casey taking the 5th doesn't hurt their cases one bit--it actually helps. Personally, I would be RUSHING those cases to trial in hopes of getting Casey on the stand taking the 5th in front of a jury. :great:

And last but not least, it is definitely NOT obvious that they are dragging their feet on purpose. :truce:

 

[heidisams]

I have a question related to opening/closing statements... I still don't understand why the defense was allowed to, legally speaking, make those accusations (lies imo) against ga without anything to support it. I know he has loopholes to jump through to get away with it, but I still don't like it! I do have a question for you about their closing statements. CM's part of cs was about jury instructions and how he wanted the jury to interpret them. He told the jury about the who, the when, the why, the how... which btw, obviously had a huge impact on their decision, because the jurors we've heard from justify their verdict with statements made directly from jb and cm's mouth. Juror #3 (jf) even quoted the who, the when, the why, the how carp from his closing. What I don't understand is why the defense was allowed to misrepresent the instructions to the jury. Clearly, the state only has to prove the elements of the crime... they don't need to show motive, the why... they don't need tod, the when... they don't need cod, the how. But, cm told them they needed the answers to those questions in order to find her guilty. I think this further led to the jurors confusion.
I wonder why he was allowed to tell this to the jury, when he was clearly going over jury instructions, and nobody corrected him. Couldn't the state have objected, even if it is cs? And or why didn't jbp stop it? Or give an instruction that it was incorrect?

 

[Lee Wells]

If Casey made chloroform, which we know she did because she searched the internet on how to make it and it shouldn't matter it was one time, it was found in high concentrations in her car trunk by an FBI lab, the daughter is missing and not reported by the bio mom, the smell of death was also found in the same car trunk, verified by 7-8 humans, a crime lab and 2 police dogs, daughter is found dead and she knew the entire time she was dead and where she was and lied about that too, can she be tried by the feds?

There are trying the Louisiana man, Casby, that was state acquitted for killing 3 people and setting fire to an apartment building. The federal jurisidication: the apartment building was used in interstate commerce! I guess low-income people lived there...

 

[Lee Wells]

I think they should go to an appeals court and ask them to review jury conduct and verdict, and the fact that they didn't even bother to review any of the evidence.

 

[The Farm]

I think they should go to an appeals court and ask them to review jury conduct and verdict, and the fact that they didn't even bother to review any of the evidence.

Can that be done????

 

[AZlawyer]

I have a question related to opening/closing statements... I still don't understand why the defense was allowed to, legally speaking, make those accusations (lies imo) against ga without anything to support it. I know he has loopholes to jump through to get away with it, but I still don't like it! I do have a question for you about their closing statements. CM's part of cs was about jury instructions and how he wanted the jury to interpret them. He told the jury about the who, the when, the why, the how... which btw, obviously had a huge impact on their decision, because the jurors we've heard from justify their verdict with statements made directly from jb and cm's mouth. Juror #3 (jf) even quoted the who, the when, the why, the how carp from his closing. What I don't understand is why the defense was allowed to misrepresent the instructions to the jury. Clearly, the state only has to prove the elements of the crime... they don't need to show motive, the why... they don't need tod, the when... they don't need cod, the how. But, cm told them they needed the answers to those questions in order to find her guilty. I think this further led to the jurors confusion.
I wonder why he was allowed to tell this to the jury, when he was clearly going over jury instructions, and nobody corrected him. Couldn't the state have objected, even if it is cs? And or why didn't jbp stop it? Or give an instruction that it was incorrect?

Which accusations against George do you mean? The sexual abuse allegations? If Casey lied to JB about that, then JB had "something to support it" for his opening statement. But IIRC JB was NOT allowed to discuss it in closing as he had never actually presented any evidence in support of those accusations.

I wish I had a transcript of CM's part of the closing. I didn't get to watch it. Based on his level of experience, I seriously doubt that he told the jury that the state was REQUIRED to prove any of those things. If he had, JA/LDB would have objected, and HHJP would have put a stop to it. Certainly there would have been nothing wrong with CM pointing out that the state HADN'T proved those things, though.

If Casey made chloroform, which we know she did because she searched the internet on how to make it and it shouldn't matter it was one time, it was found in high concentrations in her car trunk by an FBI lab, the daughter is missing and not reported by the bio mom, the smell of death was also found in the same car trunk, verified by 7-8 humans, a crime lab and 2 police dogs, daughter is found dead and she knew the entire time she was dead and where she was and lied about that too, can she be tried by the feds?

There are trying the Louisiana man, Casby, that was state acquitted for killing 3 people and setting fire to an apartment building. The federal jurisidication: the apartment building was used in interstate commerce! I guess low-income people lived there...

We don't know that she made chloroform.

But leaving that aside, no, IMO she can't be tried by the feds. In the Casby case, the federal charges are technically arson charges. Some incidents of arson are federal crimes. But in Casey's case, I don't see any federal jurisdiction.

I think they should go to an appeals court and ask them to review jury conduct and verdict, and the fact that they didn't even bother to review any of the evidence.

Can that be done????

No. There was no juror misconduct here--at least not anything remotely approaching an appeal issue. And we don't know that they didn't review "any" of the evidence, we just know they didn't take very long to do it, if they did. All the evidence was sitting right there in the jury room with them, so they are the only ones who can tell us whether or not they reviewed any of it. (And of course the jurors might have reviewed the evidence by discussing testimony they heard and exhibits they saw during the trial.)

 

[krkrjx]

I am confused about the recent Supreme Court ruling that imposes an eight-year term limit on chief judges. Is it typical for such rulings to have a retroactive effect? I do not understand how a ruling that is just going into effect now can consider the term currently being served by Judge Perry that is to expire next year. Would it not be more the norm to begin the limit count as of the day the law goes into effect, thereby counting the remainder of Perry's current term as year one for purposes of the new limit?

 

[AZlawyer]

I am confused about the recent Supreme Court ruling that imposes an eight-year term limit on chief judges. Is it typical for such rulings to have a retroactive effect? I do not understand how a ruling that is just going into effect now can consider the term currently being served by Judge Perry that is to expire next year. Would it not be more the norm to begin the limit count as of the day the law goes into effect, thereby counting the remainder of Perry's current term as year one for purposes of the new limit?

It's not retroactive--BP's term was expiring next year anyway. He just can't run for re-election again. So the ruling is that, in the future (not retroactively), no one who has already served 8+ years as chief can run.

 

[Anabelle]

Sorry if this has already been asked. Not had access to a computer recently. I had a sudden thought regarding the appeal on lying. If this Caylees' law goes through and there is a retrial, would this mean there is a possibility this will be enforced if she is proven Guilty a second time and this could cut off her nose to spite her face ? ie she may do more time for this? Thank you

 

[FLmom777]

I may have missed this if it was asked. Was it legal for jb to transport letters between fca and ca? It could not bee proven that it happened, but we know it did.