ORLANDO, Fla.,None — Casey Anthony's lead attorney, Jose Baez, was hit with another ethics complaint. This one is so severe, he could lose his ability to practice law if it proves to be true.
BILL SHEAFFER: Analysis Of New Ethics Complaint VIDEO REPORT: Ethics Complaint On Baez READ: Brad Conway Interview With Investigators
WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer says it shouldn't impact Casey's criminal case, because the investigation probably won't be done until after Casey's murder trial is over. The Florida Bar Association might make sure of that so it doesn't affect her trial, but it could affect Baez's credibility with the judge.
WFTV has confirmed someone, though it's not clear who, has filed a grievance against Jose Baez for allegedly misrepresenting facts to the court.
"If this is true, other than stealing or being accused of stealing a client's money, there is no more serious charge that a lawyer can face," Sheaffer said.
Sheaffer, who served as the vice chair of the Florida Bar Association's Grievance Committee says, on a scale of one to 10, as charges go, it's a ten. The grievance apparently comes from an accusation made by Casey's parents' former attorney, Brad Conway.
Conway told Orange County sheriff's investigators four months ago that Baez lied to Chief Judge Belvin Perry about how Conway had seen evidence showing Caylee's body was not in the woods four months before her remains were found, but Conway told them, "I certainly did not see that, wasn't aware of it."
Conway said, at the time, he was thinking, "Bull****, it didn't happen."
The controversy swirls around Laura Buchanan, who had searched for Caylee's body with the volunteer group EquuSearch. Conway said Baez kept pressing him to get EquuSearch documents from Buchanan, which Baez said proved Caylee's body was not there in late summer, and Conway kept refusing.
Buchanan is under investigation for falsifying documents; she admitted to adding notes to EquuSearch documents she had taken home with her. During the time Baez pressed Conway to get the so-called important documents from Buchanan, Baez and Buchanan were in email communication.
The Florida Bar Association won't say who filed the grievance or when, yet, but Sheaffer says you might now see Judge Perry ordering Baez to document any material claims he makes in court.
WHAT'S NEXT IN THE CASE?
The case against Casey will be back in court on Friday. The status hearing is scheduled for 1:30pm. Casey won't be at the hearing.
A two-day hearing has been set for March 2-3. That's when the judge will consider a defense motion to suppress statements made by Casey's parents and brother, her father's self-proclaimed mistress, her jail pen pal, and her statements to law enforcement.
PEN PAL REVEALS DETAILS IN CASEY CASE
The state released more evidence in the case against Casey Anthony Friday. Prosecutors released an interview that Casey Anthony's jailhouse pen pal, Robyn Adams, had with detectives on February 12, 2010.
COP WITH PEN PAL: Pt. 1 | Pt. 2 | Pt. 3 | Pt. 4| Pt. 5 DOCUMENT: On EquuSearch Volunteer EVIDENCE PHOTOS: Released From Sheriff's Office INTERNAL INVESTIGATION: Listen | Read VIDEO REPORT: More Evidence Released DETECTIVE INTERVIEWS CINDY 2/8: Part 1 | Part 2
Adams and Casey exchanged letters while she was in the Orange County jail before she was convicted on drug charges and sent to federal prison. Adams told detectives in the interview that Casey told her she was abused.
Adams told investigators that Casey claimed to have been abused when she was younger, at the hands of her brother and father.
Adams saved her letters and shipped them to a friend on the outside. Adams, a convicted drug dealer, and currently in state prison, told investigators about how she built up a friendship with Casey. They traded letters by stuffing them in books inside the jail.
Adams painted the picture of Casey as someone upset with her family.
"I think I was just the one that was there. She didn't have anybody else. She felt like even her family turned on her," Adams told detectives.
Adams told investigators Casey felt betrayed by her mother, Cindy Anthony, who was doing talk shows, instead of going to her court hearings. She said Casey opened up about her childhood, sometimes in conversation, but mostly in letters.
When asked about sexual abuse, Adams told investigators Casey claimed she suffered the abuse at the hands of family members when she was young.
"She was younger, as if she went through a lot with her brother, a lot with her dad," Adams said.
As for the mystery baby sitter Zenaida Gonzales, who Casey claimed took her daughter Caylee, Adams said: "There was no Zenaida."
The investigator then asked, "Ok, did she tell you that?"
"Zenaida was a childhood friend," Adams replied.
Adams said she believes Casey killed Caylee because she broke down crying when remains were found near her home, remains that turned out to be Caylee's. Adams claimed Casey giggled when it was initially believed bones were found at Blanchard Park.
"Not in, like, an evil way. She just kind of like, 'That's not my kid, that's not my daughter,'" Adams said.
Also released was an audio recording of an internal investigation into corrections officer Silvia Hernandez. Hernandez helped Casey communicate with Robyn Adams.
Hernandez is the one who admitted she allowed Casey and Robyn to exchange letters and develop a close relationship.
"She was telling me they were passing notes through books," said Hernandez to investigators.
Hernandez said she allowed it to continue, along with face-to-face contact because she also became friends with Adams.
Adams was always crying and Hernandez said she felt sorry for her because they are both mothers. She even wrote letters to Adams when she was sent to state prison.
But Hernandez had a different take on Casey. She described Casey as cold and said Casey dropped hints that she knew what happened to Caylee before her remains were found.
"She was like, 'They're not looking in the right place. It's right in their face, but they're not looking in the right place,'" Hernandez described.
Much of the evidence focuses on Texas EquuSearch volunteer Laura Buchanan. She's accused of falsifying search documents in order to help Casey.
Buchanan claimed four months before Caylee's body was found off of Suburban Drive, that she searched that exact area, but found nothing.
Investigators talked to several of her friends, and even recorded phone calls between them to find out if that was true. In one call, Buchanan changes her story.
"How did you know to search over there, where the body was found?" asked detective Kasper Jordan.
"I don't, I don't think... I don't think the body was found there was it? It was found over beside some tree I guess was, was in 30 or 40 feet away from where I was," she said.
The defense planned to use Buchanan to argue that someone else put Caylee's body in those woods after October 14, once Casey was locked up in the Orange County jail.
The case against Casey will be back in court next week. A hearing is scheduled for February 4 at 1:30pm.
A two-day hearing has been set for March 2 and 3. That's when the judge will consider a defense motion to suppress statements made by Casey's parents and brother, her father's self-proclaimed mistress, her jail pen pal, and her statements to law enforcement.
Previous Stories: January 31, 2011: Evidence: Pen Pal Reveals Details In Casey Case January 24, 2011: Motion Granted For More Money To Casey's Defense January 21, 2011: Judge In Casey Case Issues Rulings, Sets Hearing January 20, 2011: Judge Rejects Motion For Casey's Attorney On Sanctions January 20, 2011: State Wants To Use Casey's Tattoo, Lifestyle To Build Case January 18, 2011: Casey's Attorney Takes On Windermere Sex Case January 18, 2011: Cheney Mason Includes Letter With Check For Fine January 14, 2011: Judge Lays Out Plans For Casey Case Jury January 13, 2011: One Of Casey's Attorneys Takes On Another High-Profile Case January 13, 2011: Casey's Attorney Pays Fine, Explains Himself January 12, 2011: Casey's Attorney Files Motion Fighting Sanctions January 7, 2011: Casey Hearings Set; Defense Motion Denied
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