ORANGE COUNTY, Fla.,None — An Orange County judge could finally make a decision Friday on whether or not taxpayers will pay for Casey Anthony's defense. Her attorneys have been ordered to hand over a detailed list of how the defense team has spent its money.
The deadline comes as more information comes out about two inmates Casey befriended while in jail. Sources tell Eyewitness News that Casey may have written as many as 50 letters to one of them. Eyewitness News has also learned that those letters were illegally passed between inmates by a corrections officer.
VIDEO REPORT: Casey's Letters Passed Illegally In Jail 'SECRET' MOTION: Judge Unseals | State's Motion
Thursday afternoon, on the courthouse steps, Eyewitness News asked Casey's team whether they knew about the letters and they did not have much to say.
"I'm not going to comment on any of that until the court has an opportunity to hear our arguments," lead attorney Jose Baez said.
In public, Casey has kept her mouth shut abut what happened to her daughter Caylee, but new evidence in the case show she found confidantes behind bars.
Eyewitness News broke the story Thursday when a new document (read it) revealed an investigation involving two other inmates and one corrections officer. They say she wrote at least 50 letters to an inmate, possibly a woman named Robyn Adams, who was also incarcerated in the Orange County jail.
Adams is in now federal prison for her participation in the drug trade.
The letters could be released in 15 days if Casey's law team does not fight it.
Eyewitness News has learned the letters do not contain a confession, but they do have information regarding the case. Sources who have read the letters say what is in them could be damning to Casey's defense.
A corrections officer is being investigated, because she allegedly facilitated the friendship by passing the letters along. The jail said it cannot confirm that assertion, but if the investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement turns up enough evidence to warrant an internal investigation it will conduct one.
"Also significant, because it's not a matter of jailhouse snitch coming forward to say that she allegedly said something to them. These letters are in her own handwriting," WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said.
On Thursday, it was also revealed that Casey's defense team has received about $275,000 from the ABC television network for pictures and videos of Caylee. They will have to present an itemized breakdown of that money before the judge will declare Casey indigent. That decision could be handed down Friday.
"GAME CHANGING" ATTORNEY INTRODUCED AT CASEY HEARING
At an indigency hearing Thursday morning in the case against Casey Anthony, there was a major shake-up in the defense team. Renowned criminal defense attorney J. Cheney Mason, who is based in Orlando, has now joined the defense team (visit his website).
CASEY ARRIVES: See Images | Raw Video INDIGENCY HEARING: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Images BILL SHEAFFER: Analysis Of Casey Hearing INTERVIEWS: Casey's New Attorney | Jose Baez 'SECRET' MOTION: Judge Unseals | State's Motion TEAM COVERAGE: Casey In Court, New Attorney INDIGENCE DETAILS: Motion | Fees | Application
"I was looking all over for a Perry Mason. The best I could do was Cheney Mason," Casey's lead attorney, Jose Baez, told the media after Thursday's hearing (watch full interview).
Now, Mason will be added to the team assembled by Baez. He's there with death penalty expert Andrea Lyon and former member of the OJ Simpson dream team, Linda Kenney Baden.
"You do not come any larger than J. Cheney Mason," WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said. "He's going after an acquittal, not just to get her off a death sentence."
Mason has 39 years of experience as a criminal defense lawyer and a largely winning record.
"This is the most significant event for the defense since the discovery of Caylee's body," Sheaffer said.
Mason was awarded the highest honor in the country in 2004 by National Criminal Defense Attorneys and has been successful in defending 50 first-degree murder cases.
"He has a great deal of talent and a great deal of credibility," Sheaffer said. "This is a game changer."
Thursday, Mason said defense lawyer Jose Baez asked him to join the defense team and he agreed, saying it will be "fun." WFTV asked him if he's a "game changer."
"I don't know. I guess when a jury says 'not guilty' we'll find out," he replied (watch full interview). "This case is going to be fun to try, and we will walk out of here with Casey in arm. Stand by."
Mason said he's putting off retirement to do this and said he's already amassing a team of others who are willing to work for free, as he is, to give Casey a fighting chance against what's becoming a tougher and tougher case for her.
"In the end, no matter how talented the lawyer is, the facts are what the facts are. He cannot alter those facts. He has to work with them," Sheaffer said.
This isn't the first high-profile case Mason has been involved in. He helped former astronaut Lisa Nowak get a plea that kept her out of jail and a felony conviction off her record. Nowak was accused of trying to kidnap a romantic rival after driving to Orlando from Texas.
Mason also successfully represented Lou Pearlman in cases against boy bands N'Sync and The Backstreet Boys. That was before Pearlman was exposed as a con-man and convicted of cheating banks and investors out of $300 million. Mason dropped out of that case before it ended.
INDIGENCY DECISION HANGS ON DEFENSE'S LIST
Casey was in the court room Thursday morning for her indigency hearing wearing a striped, light-colored, button-down, long-sleeve shirt and dark pants (images | raw video). She was all smiles as she sat down between attorney Jose Baez and new addition J. Cheney Mason as the hearing got underway.
Rawcase 14 Rawcase 14 CASEY ARRIVES IN COURT See Images | Watch Raw Video Casey's new attorney told prosecutors and Judge Strickland that Casey's defense doesn't have a dime left.
"It's all way gone and way upside down," Mason said. "I've been asked to join and I'm doing it pro bono [free]. We're just seeking confirmation of Ms. Anthony's indigency and I don't think that should be in question."
"I think it needs to be out here in open court. So, if they want to tell me what happened in the past, the court is willing to listen," Judge Stan Strickland told Cheney, referring to money already paid to attorneys in the case.
Under oath, Baez told Judge Strickland he received $275,000 early on in the case, made up of $5,000 from a yet unnamed donor, $75,000 from Casey's former attorney Todd Macaluso, and $200,000 from ABC, the latter being something WFTV reported over a year ago.
"Those were for licensing of photos and nothing else," Baez told the judge.
Baez received $90,000 in legal fees. Andrea Lyon got $22,500 for investigations and travel. The rest was spent on things like experts, depositions and investigators. But that explanation wasn't good enough for the judge.
"If they were given X amount in the past and it's not well-accounted for, why would I want to entrust them with the public's money?" Judge Strickland asked Mason.
"And there's another way to deal with that. I think you'll trust me," Mason responded.
"A novel position, but that's fine," Strickland said.
"Am I right?" Mason asked.
"Of course, I trust you, but that has nothing to do with me handing over money," Strickland said.
Mason said he still wants taxpayers to pick up some of the costs of Casey's defense, which he said could reach $200,000, even with free lawyers and free experts.
"You want these funds, but I don't have much about the source of what happened in the past and where that money went," Strickland said.
"I'm not seeking any public funds today, judge. As I said, the lawyers are appearing pro bono, so, therefore, it's nobody's business about what we're doing or not doing unless you can prove that the money previously paid was used improperly," Mason replied.
After much discussion, Judge Strickland asked Casey's defense team to submit an itemized breakdown of exactly where the team has spent money to this point. It will be after Judge Strickland reviews it that a determination on indigence will be made.
Most defendants who are declared indigent get a public defender, but because Casey and her lawyers have already established a relationship, she would get to keep them.
If Casey's request is granted by the judge, her team does not just get a blank check. She will only get money for state-approved expenses, like investigators and court reporters. Also, if the judge thinks Baez has misspent any of the money he has made, the lawyer could have to fund some of his own services.
Casey Anthony's murder trial is set for May 11, 2011.
Previous Stories: March 18, 2010: "Game Changing" Attorney Introduced At Casey Hearing March 18, 2010: Judge To Decide If State Will Pay For Casey's Defense March 17, 2010: Anthony's Attorney Denies George Had Affair March 15, 2010: George Anthony Texted Alleged "Other Woman" March 15, 2010: Woman Claims She Had Affair With George Anthony March 10, 2010: Casey Wants 911, Comments Blocked; DNA Charts Released March 9, 2010: Defense Wants Casey Party Pics Thrown Out March 8, 2010: Date Set For Casey Anthony Murder Trial March 8, 2010: Defense Wants Help Paying For Casey's Defense March 5, 2010: New Evidence Soon To Be Released In Casey Case
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