ORLANDO, Fla.,None — "An ambulance chaser and a rat," is how one potential juror described Jose Baez in court. Eyewitness News obtained juror surveys from other cases Baez, Casey Anthony's attorney, has defended.
JUROR SURVEYS: December 2008 Trial | November 2009 Trial BILL SHEAFFER: Analysis Of What Surveys Mean VIDEO REPORT: Juror Surveys Criticize Baez
Many were critical of Baez's work, so WFTV reporter Kathi Belich asked WFTV's legal expert whether Baez's image might hurt Casey's case in court.
There were a lot of negative descriptions of Casey's defense attorney, Jose Baez, when he questioned potential jurors in an Osceola County case he was defending in December 2008, just four days after Caylee's remains were found.
Baez was described as an "ambulance chaser and rat," "a jerk" who "should find another line of business," "not a good lawyer" who is "full of himself" and "is out to become famous." Baez apparently was worried there was fallout over defending Casey and the answers he got proved there was.
"It's called damage control. What are we going to do to limit the damage to my current clients, my future clients and, ultimately, the damage to Casey Anthony," WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said Friday (watch full interview).
Sheaffer says the potential jurors likely were focusing their anger on Baez after hearing days earlier how Caylee was found dead, with duct tape over her mouth, tossed in the woods in a trash bag.
"The community's emotions were raw," Sheaffer said.
Sometimes, time softens those raw edges. In fact, the negative comments about Baez dropped in his questionnaire for a case a year later, from 13 to two.
Only four people of the 80 questioned had something good to say about Baez, like he's "working hard to win."
About 30 people said they had no opinion of Baez, though most of them at least knew of him.
"You may well find out they do have an opinion and they have an agenda," Sheaffer said.
One potential Osceola County juror, just three months ago, explained what he knew about Casey's case with one word, "guilty."
A little less than half the people questioned in both cases said they did not know a lot about Casey's case. While the surveys are not scientific, it could mean that if her trial doesn't happen for another year and a half, they'll at least try to find a jury in Orlando.
WHY DOES CASEY'S TRIAL KEEP GETTING DELAYED?
There has been one delay after another since the case against Casey Anthony first began. Now, the state says it doesn't think the trial will start until at least May 2011, almost three years after Caylee Anthony's murder. That's about three times as long as it took for the entire trial and verdict in one of the nation's most publicized murder cases ever, OJ Simpson.
BILL SHEAFFER: Analysis Of Delays In Case
Eyewitness News compared Casey Anthony's case to the most high-profile cases in the country to find out why it's taking so long to get justice for Caylee.
From beginning to end, OJ Simpson's murder case in California took 16 months. Eighteen months have already passed in Casey's case and the end is nowhere in sight.
The state just announced the case needs a lot more time, another year and four months, which is exactly how long the case against OJ took from the day of the murders to the day of the verdict. But, there are big differences between the two cases, which explain some of the delays.
OJ Simpson was arrested, tried and back home in Brentwood in the same amount of time Casey's been in jail after being indicted for her daughter Caylee's murder and OJ's trial lasted eight months.
Prosecutors now say Casey's trial might not start until almost three years after Caylee was murdered, but Casey faces a possible death sentence, so you're seeing the judge, prosecutors and especially the defense take extra care.
"You literally have another human being's life in your hands and you are the only thing standing between the state executing your client and your client living," WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said (full interview).
And, Sheaffer says, the judge wants to make sure the case only goes to trial once.
When Caylee's body was found two months after Casey's indictment a lot more evidence needed to be tested, and even the first evidence collected in the case is taking more time to deal with.
State of the art air testing showed evidence of chloroform and human decomposition in Casey's car trunk. Both sides need to understand it and make good arguments about whether it should come into the trial and whether it means Casey is guilty.
"You have to, in effect, become an expert in a field in addition to being an attorney," Sheaffer said.
And the case doesn't stop changing. New evidence that's come to light might also delay the trial, because it's still under investigation and the defense might not find out about it for some time.
It's not just the OJ Simpson trial. Eyewitness News compared Casey's case with other high-profile trials.
It took less than a year and half to convict one of the nation's most notorious serial killers, Ted Bundy, in the death of two Florida women.
Scott Peterson was sentenced to death less than two years after he killed his wife and unborn baby.
And, in a case, similar in nature to Casey Anthony's, John Couey's trial for killing 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford was done in about two years and that included a change of venue.
Previous Stories: February 4, 2010: Why Does Casey's Trial Keep Getting Delayed? February 4, 2010: Casey Case Prosecutors Want To Withhold Info February 2, 2010: Casey Anthony's Defense Misses Deadline January 26, 2010: Baez: No Plea Deal In Casey's Murder Case January 26, 2010: Casey: "I Just Want To Let Everyone Know I'm Sorry" January 22, 2010: Casey's Defense Wants Focus To Stay On Kronk January 20, 2010: Casey Defense May Bypass Prosecutors On Plea Deal January 20, 2010: EXCLUSIVE: Casey To Be Offered Deal In Fraud Case January 19, 2010: Check Fraud Trial Postponed In Casey Case January 18, 2010: Casey Anthony's Status Hearing Delayed January 7, 2010: Casey's Attorney: "I'm Scared For My Client" January 7, 2010: Casey's Ex, Jesse Grund, Objects To Motion
WFTV
