Why did Jose Baez leave early from court?*MERGED*POLL ADDED*

[crucibelle]

Not to be obtuse, but do you really think that the Chief Justice of the Ninth Judicial Circuit would stop jury selection of a Capital Murder trial after lunch on Wednesday so that Jose Baez could deal with a Pretrial Conference scheduled for the following Thursday morning (at the same time Judge Perry has already indicated they will resume no less).

Wouldn't it be more realistic to think that either (a) Chief Judge Perry would personally email or call the misdemeanor Judge in his courthouse and get Jose excused or (b) Jose has already arranged for someone else to cover it for him; and this was the last thing on his mind.

The bottom line is that Jose likely had a family emergency that called himr home; and no matter how much you want to fault him, if Judge Perry found it serious enough to let him take time to take care of the situation, there should be no reason for anybody to fault the genuineness of the matter.

The voice of reason...... Thank you for talking with us, rhornsby.

 

[YellowSubmarine]

JB cannot quit. New law in Fla prevents him from doing so.

And I'm pretty sure he can't be fired so easily at this point.

 

[crucibelle]

I think that she should have pled and still hold out hope that she will. Unfortunately, I don't believe that she ever will. She'll take this right to end and then she'll try to appeal. She will go on and on for time and attention until she dies (by natural causes or otherwise). I do not believe that she is emotionally affected by the jury selection process or by the potential that she will be put to death. Sociopaths have no fear. They do not have the ability to understand cause and effect. This is just another day of entertainment in her life...

I have seen these behaviors first hand.

moo

I agree with everything you've said, here. She should have tried to make a deal a long time ago. I don't think she is emotionally affected either. That's why I didn't buy that she had an anxiety attack the other day. She's definitely a sociopath, and along with the no fear that you mentioned, they (sociopaths) also have a low anxiety level. JMO!!

 

[Wagara]

I voted "None of the Above". I am thinking he needed to file something or do something to intervene in the A's trying to trademark Caylee's name and the phrase "Justice for Caylee". I am sure that KC is NOT happy with them for that and she is going to have JB stop them. JMO.

But how would JB justify this being necessary to ICA's defense and be a reason for him to blow off jury selection? Wouldn't anything other than ICA's defense be outside of his responsibilites?

 

[princesspjs]

I voted "None of the Above". I am thinking he needed to file something or do something to intervene in the A's trying to trademark Caylee's name and the phrase "Justice for Caylee". I am sure that KC is NOT happy with them for that and she is going to have JB stop them. JMO.

*bolded and pinked by me*

Um why on God's green earth would they be trademarking Justice for Caylee? They haven't done a single thing so far that even comes close to trying to get Justice for Caylee. I do know of a very nice website and group of bloggers who use J4C and Justice for Caylee as their very own "universal prayer" type of slogan. Why would the A's be able to trademark that phrase when they have never once even used it themselves?

 

[Oakley]

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news...-trial-week-two-wedne20110518,0,2431463.story

<Snipped from article:>

Later in the afternoon, Baez told the Orlando Sentinel via a text message: "Today's adjournment was due to a private matter. Please stop the speculation, as jury selection will continue at 8:30 tomorrow morning. No further statements will be made."

After that, Baez was spotted smiling with other defense attorneys in his car outside a hotel near the Pinellas County Courthouse.

So JB is still in Pinellas after all, and smiling? So much for an emergency. I am beginning to think she really has either fired him or he's been disbarred from the prior bar complaint/investigations. JMO.

 

[iluvmua]

*bolded and pinked by me*

Um why on God's green earth would they be trademarking Justice for Caylee? They haven't done a single thing so far that even comes close to trying to get Justice for Caylee. I do know of a very nice website and group of bloggers who use J4C and Justice for Caylee as their very own "universal prayer" type of slogan. Why would the A's be able to trademark that phrase when they have never once even used it themselves?

Probably because they don't want Justice for Caylee, They want justice for Casey. :maddening:

 

[tragco]

Is everyone sure he never left Pinellas? If he sent the mass text at 3:30 and was in a car outside the hotel, maybe he was getting ready to leave right then? What media is saying he never left?

 

[Bathbuddys]

100% not a plea.

How do you know 100% no deal?

 

[mck16]

I'm not reallly sure what point I want to make with this comment, so take it for what it is worth.

During Jose's little "cry me a river" speech this morning, it almost sounded to me like he was trying to make a point about how much work, time and effort he had invested in this case, but I get the feeling that his comments were not directed at/to Judge Perry.

After watching the video a couple of times, it almost feels as though he is trying to plead his case to someone else (Casey, maybe?).

Even Judge Perry seemed to be responsive to that, in that Judge Perry agreed with him.

If you listen to the audio, it sounds like Judge Perry almost feels sorry for the position in which Baez finds himself.

I think that Baez knew when court recessed for lunch that he was not going to be back for the afternoon session. The IS producer stated that he saw Baez leave the courthouse and drive away at lunch time.

While I at one time held Jean Casarez in high regard for her journalism and neutrality, I now find it hard to believe much that she says. That being said, she did say that she saw the defense team in the court house cafeteria sitting at two tables instead of their usual one table.

I do wish that Jean had said how exactly the defense team was divided up between those two tables; it might give a little more insight into what was going on. She also stated that Anne Finnell spent the majority of the lunch break, pushed well away from the table, and speaking on the phone.

I am still somewhat flummoxed (okay, I am really flummoxed) as to what happened today. I don't have any idea if Casey is wanting to fire Baez, if Baez truly had a private matter to attend to, or just exactly what happened.

If Casey had fired Baez, it seems to me that court would have continued on with jury selection. There would not have been any reason to suddenly halt or delay those efforts as ICA still has a fully qualified defense team without Baez.

If an appeal was being filed, why would they not have written up the appeal and sent the new attorney Fryer on to file it, or even Ms. Sims. Jury selection could have continued while the appellate court reviewed and ruled on any appeal/motion that the defense team had filed.

If there were plea deal discussions going on, why would Baez not have been a part of that and not be present in court? Even if he wanted to discuss a potential plea deal with George and Cindy, he could do that by telephone.

If Baez left due to a family related issue, why could Mason not have handled jury selection. He does, after all, have many years experience in choosing juries, and with input from Finnell and Sims, they could easily discuss and make decisions with ICA regarding potential jurors.

I already have chronic insomnia, and this is entire situation only ensures that I will likely not get one minute of sleep tonight.

I have no idea if aything I said makes sense--I was just writing what I have been thinking about all evening.

I am utterly baffled by what happened today.

I did not hear the impassioned plea JB made this morning, but I have seen several posters refer to it. I am wondering if JB is feeling the frustration of what has got to be a very trying week and half for him and his team. Nearly all of the jury pool expressed the fact that they already think she is guilty. I am wondering if he didn't just tell the judge I gotta get out of here for a few hours. Maybe he is cracking under the pressure. I don't know if this is an acceptable excuse or if it happens but maybe JB is losing it. And maybe CA is threatening him to do something more for her case. jmo

 

[YellowSubmarine]

But how would JB justify this being necessary to ICA's defense and be a reason for him to blow off jury selection? Wouldn't anything other than ICA's defense be outside of his responsibilites?

I agree. As much as HHJP wants to see justice for Caylee, I am SURE he wouldn't halt jury selection to allow JB to do this. Besides, one of JB's interns could've filed to intervene. It's not like JB would be writing it up himself anyway . . . .

 

[panthera]

Well, and it makes most sense with why he requested a little extra time for lunch, but never made it back and the fact HHJP didn't refer to it as a family emergency or whatnot plus Ashton stating he couldn't comment because HHJP left it off record. What would be the harm in saying "Baez had a family emergency". Also, he didn't leave Pinellas and he was seen laughing and smiling.

There are very few reasons why the Judge would suspend jury selection proceedings, and if JB was seen later in the day in Pinellas Co., it seems to rule out any type of personal emergency. Reporters are only speculating what happened today, and I would take it as such until we find out tomorrow what actually did happen.

MOO

 

[crucibelle]

*bolded and pinked by me*

Um why on God's green earth would they be trademarking Justice for Caylee? They haven't done a single thing so far that even comes close to trying to get Justice for Caylee. I do know of a very nice website and group of bloggers who use J4C and Justice for Caylee as their very own "universal prayer" type of slogan. Why would the A's be able to trademark that phrase when they have never once even used it themselves?

Agreed. I think it is disgusting that they are trying to get that phrase trademarked. The only thing remotely similar they have said is "justice for Casey is justice for Caylee"... which is a load of BS, IMO.

 

[grandmaj]

Well he had better have a note for the judge. This is outrageous. If this was an intentional attempt to stop jury selection I hope the judge has some remedy.

 

[Wise Old Owl]

Not to be obtuse, but do you really think that the Chief Justice of the Ninth Judicial Circuit would stop jury selection of a Capital Murder trial after lunch on Wednesday so that Jose Baez could deal with a Pretrial Conference scheduled for the following Thursday morning (at the same time Judge Perry has already indicated they will resume no less).

Wouldn't it be more realistic to think that either (a) Chief Judge Perry would personally email or call the misdemeanor Judge in his courthouse and get Jose excused or (b) Jose has already arranged for someone else to cover it for him; and this was the last thing on his mind.

The bottom line is that Jose likely had a family emergency that called him home; and no matter how much you want to fault him, if Judge Perry found it serious enough to let him take time to take care of the situation, there should be no reason for anybody to fault the genuineness of the matter.

Agreed that this wasn't about any pending cases JB has in Orange county. But, it has now been reported that JB was spotted stillin Pinellas County around 3:30 or so. If this was a true family emergency, wouldn't he have been on the road. He could have been back in Orlando by 3:30 and not seen in the parking lot of a hotel near the courthouse in Pinellas.

With that - would love to hear your thoughts.

 

[suzihawk]

I voted "None of the Above". I am thinking he needed to file something or do something to intervene in the A's trying to trademark Caylee's name and the phrase "Justice for Caylee". I am sure that KC is NOT happy with them for that and she is going to have JB stop them. JMO.

Couldn't he have sent another attorney to handle that, if indeed it's an issue? I would think picking jurors to sit on the trial for his client that's facing the death penalty would be more important than worrying about trademark issues and who's cashing in. But then again...


Oh... and JUSTICE FOR CAYLEE!

 

[Kimster]

ATTENTION PLEASE:

<clearing throat>

At some point this evening, Websleuths will be turned off for about 5 minutes or so. This is so can do his magic and allow us to have less bumps in the road tomorrow.

This has been an announcement from your local alien. :kimsterwink:

 

[YellowSubmarine]

There are very few reasons why the Judge would suspend jury selection proceedings, and if JB was seen later in the day in Pinellas Co., it seems to rule out any type of personal emergency. Reporters are only speculating what happened today, and I would take it as such until we find out tomorrow what actually did happen.

MOO

AHHHHH! And I have to work! Good thing I can have the news on! It's going to kill me if I don't get to find out what happened til I get home!

 

[GutFeeling!]

My two cents here (IMOHO): Just looking at the small amount of factual info, what we know is:

1: JB has a pretrial conference Still on the docket...and he shoulda dealt with that before now, as he is rather booked up from the first day of ICA jury selection til 'round somewhere in July-on a DP case!

2: CA & GA filed suit today for "trademarking" the name "Caylee Anthony" and "Justice for Caylee". As ICA was viewing something on AF's smart phone, they were mouthing words in response to it. I assume that this story was what she was showing to her. ICA Did appear to be crying, looked like mascara & eyeliner was blotchy and my first thought to connect to is that Mommy and Daddy are taking more of Caylee away from her..(never mind that she took Caylee away from life).. She seems to have divorced her parents in every way at this point and may have a need to exert her "power" on this, as it may cause them pain and suffering....I totally agree that her tears are only for herself.. I can't help but to feel that there is some possible legal wrangling that JB may have offered to her, that can be done to stop the Grandparents from proceeding, as ICA is still the "Mother" (not a convict {yet})...She was seen mouthing the words "Do it" or "Just do it"...An opportunity to play Tug of war may have presented itself.

3: I read in several posts that JB's house is in foreclosure, but I haven't seen a link for that yet, as I had for #1 and #2. If true, there could be a time sensitive matter (private) which must be addressed immediately. JB appears to be rather sluggish on adding things to his calendar, if ya know what I mean!

I am as "speculation-crazy" as the rest of the trial watchers and can't hardly wait til 8:30 am (ET), when court reconvenes. Of course, I'll be hangin' out here and on all the newspaper sites, looking for any sliver of factual info!!

Couple of things to clear some things up:
1. His docket tomorrow was a pretrial hearing for a theft of utilities (misdemeanor) anyone in his office could do that. There is also another for a criminal felony for next week too but JP said early that dockets would be cleared, so we can rule that one out.

2. I agree with you but can't see why that would require an afternoon off since you said that that had only actually been filed today - BUT that matter could be considered private between ICA and himself (and in the meanwhile give him a good reason ((in his eyes) to stall)

3. Here is the link for the foreclosure: [ame="http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=110341"]Jose Baez Both Homes in Foreclosure - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community[/ame] ... and I would consider that a private matter too but I thought it was done now.

Thought that may help

 

[grandmaj]

The potential jurors could have been tainted by all of this speculation also. It has been all over the news and TV shows. Hard to miss.