Jose Baez Both Homes in Foreclosure

[nums24]

I keep going :waitasec: because the thread title keeps changing. LOL

But I agree with Mr. Bond.

:bang: The title change was all me, I jumped the gun. In my defense, I wanted it to correct. No more changing the title. :innocent:

 

[Kimster]

:bang: The title change was all me, I jumped the gun. In my defense, I wanted it to correct. No more changing the title. :innocent:

It's okay by me! I just crack up because seems like every time I look in this forum the title has been changed! :floorlaugh:

 

[nums24]

Baez Faces Foreclosure On Home

http://www.wesh.com/news/24425702/detail.html :woohoo:

<snipped>

At the time the state chose to see the death penalty against Anthony, Deen said Baez should have asked himself whether he was qualified to remain on the case and whether he could afford it.

"You don't talk about the business end of it, but that's part of it. That's a huge part of it," Deen said.

Video Report: http://www.wesh.com/video/24427582/index.html

 

[Kimster]

Baez Faces Foreclosure On Home

http://www.wesh.com/news/24425702/detail.html


:woohoo:

HEY! Where's the mention that Nums24 broke this story? HUH? :snooty:

 

[nums24]

HEY! Where's the mention that Nums24 broke this story? HUH? :snooty:

We see where the press gets their stories from, they troll the blogs.

It's ok, I just wanted the info exposed!

 

[Muzikman]

I'm struggling with the relevence of this thread, guys. :waitasec: I get that there's some interest in how the attorney's personal finances might be *speculated* to affect his professional decision-making/advice, but, I'm not getting it beyond just tossing that out there. Seems like he may be just another statistic in what has been happening across the country in recent years.

I'm trying to be/stay open-minded...trying.

Very relevant, IMO. WESH just did a 4-minute in-depth piece on this at 5 PM, and are doing another piece at 6 PM on how it affects Casey's defense.

 

[Gnatcatcher]

Ok, I'll be the bad guy and admit I'm in it for the gossip.

:innocent:

 

[faefrost]

Thank you for this informative explanation! I am not an attorney or affiliated with the legal profession (but I love the tv shows LOL).

Just to be clear, I am not an attorney either (a close cousin is, and I have had a few conversations with her along these subject lines). From what I was able to gather from my cousin, the rules about personal finances will vary by state, although they all do have them. Under normal circumstances they will be most closely looked at at the time of initial application, and otherwise will typically only come up again in the event of fraud or misconduct. bankruptcy or foreclosures at least in the state she practices are not absolutes that will disallow an attorney, nor will they typically result in disbarment or bar action in most cases. They are simply something that will be investigated and taken into consideration. So a loan default or bankruptcy 10 years prior to a bar application that was properly discharged will be treated differently than continuous and ongoing current financial problems. As the document somebody posted above indicates the key thing is candor and honesty. Acting in good faith.

In the case of JB being foreclosed on, I suspect that alot of it would depend on the exact circumstances involved. Did he act in good faith, in spite of poverty? did he communicate with the bank and make efforts to resolve the situation? Attempts at a short sale? Other options explored. Did he willingly surrender the keys to the house? or did he simply walk away from his paymenst and the bank is having to take actions to reclaim the property?

if he simply "walked away" it could become an issue because of the previous concerns the bar had about him walking away from his child support payments and making inappropriate lifestyle based financial choices instead.

 

[nums24]

Just to be clear, I am not an attorney either (a close cousin is, and I have had a few conversations with her along these subject lines). From what I was able to gather from my cousin, the rules about personal finances will vary by state, although they all do have them. Under normal circumstances they will be most closely looked at at the time of initial application, and otherwise will typically only come up again in the event of fraud or misconduct. bankruptcy or foreclosures at least in the state she practices are not absolutes that will disallow an attorney, nor will they typically result in disbarment or bar action in most cases. They are simply something that will be investigated and taken into consideration. So a loan default or bankruptcy 10 years prior to a bar application that was properly discharged will be treated differently than continuous and ongoing current financial problems. As the document somebody posted above indicates the key thing is candor and honesty. Acting in good faith.

In the case of JB being foreclosed on, I suspect that alot of it would depend on the exact circumstances involved. Did he act in good faith, in spite of poverty? did he communicate with the bank and make efforts to resolve the situation? Attempts at a short sale? Other options explored. Did he willingly surrender the keys to the house? or did he simply walk away from his paymenst and the bank is having to take actions to reclaim the property?

if he simply "walked away" it could become an issue because of the previous concerns the bar had about him walking away from his child support payments and making inappropriate lifestyle based financial choices instead.

I appreciate the information. I'm grateful for any clarification. I know there are rules of professional conduct. I also had a gut feeling that this could somehow impact the case.

 

[marspiter]

Personally I believe this thread should be allowed to stay because it has been confirmed by a news source. It also links directly to the codes of conduct as outlined in the Florida Bar. That and this incident could cause changes in the case such as JB having to leave the defense. Either for financial reasons (can't afford to stay on the case), or because of his violations to the FL BAR code of conduct.

I also find it interesting that JB is actually used as a negative example in the Student Exam Guide (for.....financial misconduct...imagine that).

 

[Muzikman]

Personally I believe this thread should be allowed to stay because it has been confirmed by a news source. It also links directly to the codes of conduct as outlined in the Florida Bar. That and this incident could cause changes in the case such as JB having to leave the defense. Either for financial reasons (can't afford to stay on the case), or because of his violations to the FL BAR code of conduct.

I also find it interesting that JB is actually used as a negative example in the Student Exam Guide (for.....financial misconduct...imagine that).

BBM - I had not seen that before! It is EXTREMELY interesting. Thanks for finding and posting, Nums!

 

[JDzWife]

So... did I read that right?? JB has not made any payments on his mortgage since 9/1/09??

 

[Muzikman]

So... did I read that right?? JB has not made any payments on his mortgage since 9/1/09??

According to the Docs that WESH has, yes.

 

[nort]

Perhaps a paying client would help..

 

[Kentjbkent]

Baez Faces Foreclosure On Home

http://www.wesh.com/news/24425702/detail.html :woohoo:

<snipped>

At the time the state chose to see the death penalty against Anthony, Deen said Baez should have asked himself whether he was qualified to remain on the case and whether he could afford it.

"You don't talk about the business end of it, but that's part of it. That's a huge part of it," Deen said.

Video Report: http://www.wesh.com/video/24427582/index.html

Article mentions that Baez quit paying the mortgage in September of 2009.....isn't that almost the same timeframe that the Anthonys quit paying theirs? :waitasec:

 

[Purple Iris]

In all fairness, { just give me a minute } I have to say that in light of the current mortage situation, and how hard it has hit in Florida, among other states, I can see where he defaulted on his home.

Aside from that though, in light of his past history and how long it took for him to even have the bar accept him because of his finacial problems, one would think that he would have thought long and hard before taking this step.
Esp given the exposure that he himself has generated with word that comes out of his mouth.

With the local Florida news picking this up now, it's just one more thing that he will now use to his advantage with twisting facts and trying to sway opinions.

 

[nums24]

Article mentions that Baez quit paying the mortgage in September of 2009.....isn't that almost the same timeframe that the Anthonys quit paying theirs? :waitasec:

The Anthony's stopped paying June 2009. Here are their foreclosure documents: http://www.docstoc.com/docs/26868718/Casey-Anthony-Cindy-Anthony-foreclosure-paperwork

 

[nums24]

Perhaps a paying client would help..

Baez did receive $90,000.00 in fees for Casey's defense.

<snipped> http://www.wftv.com/news/22891038/detail.html

The defense told the judge Thursday it brought in a total of $275,000 for Casey's defense. Baez had already filed paperwork with the clerk indicating he got $90,000 of it for his fee and co-counsel Andrea Lyon got $22,500, but used all of that for expenses, and that he paid public relations woman Marti Mackenzie $10,000.

Behind closed doors, Baez apparently explained how he spent the other $152,500 that was left.

 

[nums24]

Very relevant, IMO. WESH just did a 4-minute in-depth piece on this at 5 PM, and are doing another piece at 6 PM on how it affects Casey's defense.

Hi MM! Can you please let me know what the 6pm report says, I'm not sure if WESH will post the video. Thank you! :rocker:

 

[Muzikman]

Hi MM! Can you please let me know what the 6pm report says, I'm not sure if WESH will post the video. Thank you! :rocker:

They basically just expanded on the earlier report a little, with a couple local attorneys talking about what he should have done when taking on the case, as well as a real estate attorney talking about how he should handle it.