Judge Reprimands Casey's Defense Team
Posted: 7:21 am EST January 6, 2009Updated: 5:55 pm EST January 6, 2009
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- A judge berated Casey Anthony's defense team at the courthouse Tuesday. Her lawyers are trying to delay her deposition in the civil suit filed by Zenaida Gonzalez until after her murder trial.Casey's team lost another battle Tuesday and each time, WFTV legal analyst William Sheaffer said, Casey Anthony loses in the court of public opinion. Still, he said, it's unlikely Casey will be forced to answer questions in the lawsuit before she goes to trial.
VIDEO REPORT: Casey's Defense Team Berated
"I think that's about as likely as me waking up tomorrow morning with a full head of hair," a bald Sheaffer told Eyewitness News on Tuesday.Each time Casey Anthony's defense team puts her in a position where she's asked to answer questions but refuses, Sheaffer said, it paints her in a bad light. So even if, despite their legal missteps in the Zenaida Gonzalez lawsuit, Casey wins the right to take the fifth and not answer questions, she loses."Who among us, the minute you hear someone has asserted a Fifth Amendment privilege, doesn't think they have something to hide," Sheaffer said."We lose when we bring the level of our practice and our profession to that," Orange County Circuit Judge Jose Rodriguez said Tuesday.Judge Rodriguez berated Casey's defense team for accusing Gonzalez's lawyers of merely being motivated by publicity and greed. Gonzalez's lawyer, Keith Mitnik said all they want is for Casey to make it clear that this Zenaida Gonzalez, mother of six, is not the Zenaida that Casey is accusing of kidnapping Caylee."We want to clear her name as soon as we can. Delaying means more time with her reputation in limbo," Mitnik said.Currently, Casey's deposition is still set for Monday, but that could change.
PROSECUTORS WON'T HAND OVER PHOTOS, X-RAYSProsecutors are refusing to hand over autopsy photos and x-rays of Caylee Anthony's remains until a judge imposes more restrictions.The defense wants the pictures of the remains, which were discovered last December, but prosecutors are concerned the photos could be sold to media outlets for financial gain. They want the judge to first issue an order that no copies of the pictures can be made or mailed and that they are only to be used by the defense.
NO PRESS CONFERENCE FROM ANTHONYS' PRIVATE INVESTIGATORSEyewitness News has learned that there will be no press conference Monday from two of the Anthonys' private investigators, Jim Hoover and Dominic Casey, as originally expected.Late Friday, Eyewitness News learned that a press conference was expected Monday, possibly to discuss the controversy over video that was taped at the scene where Caylee's remains were later found. But early Monday afternoon, Eyewitness News learned there would be no press conference. No details were given as to why.Brand new evidence could potentially tie Casey Anthony to her daughter's body. A mystery videotape of the crime scene, shot by one of the Anthonys' private investigators weeks before Caylee was found, reportedly shows their other private investigator on the phone. But who is he talking to?That mystery caller could be a big clue that connects Casey to the crime scene.
VIDEO REPORT: Mystery Videotape Could Hold Clue
Eyewitness News has learned the Anthonys' two private investigators came to the discovery scene on November 15 and 16, a Saturday and Sunday, possibly because they didn't find Caylee's remains right away.Law enforcement is trying to find out whether inside information led them there.Eyewitness News has learned that the Anthonys' private investigator, Dominic Casey, is seen a month before the body was found on the November 15 videotape at the scene on the phone. California bounty hunter Leonard Padilla, who first sprung Casey out of jail, says he saw Dominic Casey on the videotape, because the person who shot it, private investigator Jim Hoover, showed it to him."He's standing there, or somebody's standing there, filming Dominic down the road and Dominic's on a cell phone, and you can see the fence, the signs on the left, the fence is there, everything is there," Padilla told Eyewitness News.Finding out who Dominic Casey was talking to that day on the phone at the scene could be important to investigators in finding out whether inside information brought him and the other private eye to the area.Padilla told Eyewitness News that Hoover claims Dominic Casey told him on November 15 that Caylee's remains had been found and that the two of them were going to look for them. Dominic Casey told Eyewitness News on Friday he was talking to his ill daughter on the phone that day and insists he was only there to rule out a tip from one of Casey's friends.Padilla said he asked Hoover about Dominic Casey's phone call."I even asked him, 'Who's he talking to?' He said, 'I don't know.' 'Could you hear what he was saying?' 'No, I couldn't hear.' He was 100 yards away," Padilla explained.Both Dominic Casey and Padilla said Hoover claims to have recorded over most of the tape he shot at the scene.
VIDEO REPORT: Casey's Defense Team Berated
"I think that's about as likely as me waking up tomorrow morning with a full head of hair," a bald Sheaffer told Eyewitness News on Tuesday.Each time Casey Anthony's defense team puts her in a position where she's asked to answer questions but refuses, Sheaffer said, it paints her in a bad light. So even if, despite their legal missteps in the Zenaida Gonzalez lawsuit, Casey wins the right to take the fifth and not answer questions, she loses."Who among us, the minute you hear someone has asserted a Fifth Amendment privilege, doesn't think they have something to hide," Sheaffer said."We lose when we bring the level of our practice and our profession to that," Orange County Circuit Judge Jose Rodriguez said Tuesday.Judge Rodriguez berated Casey's defense team for accusing Gonzalez's lawyers of merely being motivated by publicity and greed. Gonzalez's lawyer, Keith Mitnik said all they want is for Casey to make it clear that this Zenaida Gonzalez, mother of six, is not the Zenaida that Casey is accusing of kidnapping Caylee."We want to clear her name as soon as we can. Delaying means more time with her reputation in limbo," Mitnik said.Currently, Casey's deposition is still set for Monday, but that could change.
PROSECUTORS WON'T HAND OVER PHOTOS, X-RAYSProsecutors are refusing to hand over autopsy photos and x-rays of Caylee Anthony's remains until a judge imposes more restrictions.The defense wants the pictures of the remains, which were discovered last December, but prosecutors are concerned the photos could be sold to media outlets for financial gain. They want the judge to first issue an order that no copies of the pictures can be made or mailed and that they are only to be used by the defense.
NO PRESS CONFERENCE FROM ANTHONYS' PRIVATE INVESTIGATORSEyewitness News has learned that there will be no press conference Monday from two of the Anthonys' private investigators, Jim Hoover and Dominic Casey, as originally expected.Late Friday, Eyewitness News learned that a press conference was expected Monday, possibly to discuss the controversy over video that was taped at the scene where Caylee's remains were later found. But early Monday afternoon, Eyewitness News learned there would be no press conference. No details were given as to why.Brand new evidence could potentially tie Casey Anthony to her daughter's body. A mystery videotape of the crime scene, shot by one of the Anthonys' private investigators weeks before Caylee was found, reportedly shows their other private investigator on the phone. But who is he talking to?That mystery caller could be a big clue that connects Casey to the crime scene.
VIDEO REPORT: Mystery Videotape Could Hold Clue
Eyewitness News has learned the Anthonys' two private investigators came to the discovery scene on November 15 and 16, a Saturday and Sunday, possibly because they didn't find Caylee's remains right away.Law enforcement is trying to find out whether inside information led them there.Eyewitness News has learned that the Anthonys' private investigator, Dominic Casey, is seen a month before the body was found on the November 15 videotape at the scene on the phone. California bounty hunter Leonard Padilla, who first sprung Casey out of jail, says he saw Dominic Casey on the videotape, because the person who shot it, private investigator Jim Hoover, showed it to him."He's standing there, or somebody's standing there, filming Dominic down the road and Dominic's on a cell phone, and you can see the fence, the signs on the left, the fence is there, everything is there," Padilla told Eyewitness News.Finding out who Dominic Casey was talking to that day on the phone at the scene could be important to investigators in finding out whether inside information brought him and the other private eye to the area.Padilla told Eyewitness News that Hoover claims Dominic Casey told him on November 15 that Caylee's remains had been found and that the two of them were going to look for them. Dominic Casey told Eyewitness News on Friday he was talking to his ill daughter on the phone that day and insists he was only there to rule out a tip from one of Casey's friends.Padilla said he asked Hoover about Dominic Casey's phone call."I even asked him, 'Who's he talking to?' He said, 'I don't know.' 'Could you hear what he was saying?' 'No, I couldn't hear.' He was 100 yards away," Padilla explained.Both Dominic Casey and Padilla said Hoover claims to have recorded over most of the tape he shot at the scene.
Previous Stories:
- January 5, 2009: No Press Conference From Anthonys' Private Investigators
- January 2, 2009: Major Caylee Anthony Clue Could Be On Mystery Videotape
- January 1, 2009: Casey's Closet, Caylee's Room Searched
- January 1, 2009: Padilla Says P.I. Knew Where Caylee's Remains Were
- December 31, 2008: P.I. Says He Videotaped Area Where Caylee Was Later Found
- December 31, 2008: 2nd Anthony Investigator Says He Videotaped Remains Site
- December 30, 2008: No Holiday Visitors For Jailed Casey Anthony
- December 30, 2008: Attorney Advising Anthonys Says Lee May Be Charged
- December 29, 2008: Attorney Considers Giving Meter Reader $5,000 Reward
- December 25, 2008: Anthonys Spend Christmas Without Caylee, Plan To Keep Donating Toys
- December 22, 2008: Caylee Memorial Toys Donated To Rescue Mission
- December 20, 2008: Medical Examiner Says Caylee Anthony Was Murdered
- December 19, 2008: Major Announcement Expected In Anthony Case
- December 18, 2008: Facebook Posting Suggests Casey Took Friend's Duct Tape
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