Quitters, Opportunists and Laggards

As predicted,  yet another of Casey Anthony’s defense lawyers is jumping ship.  Linda Kenny Baden recently announced, with considerably less fanfare then when she entered the case, her notice of intent to withdraw from the now, somewhat  beleaguered defense team.  Although Ms. Baden cited financial hardship as the reason for filing her motion to withdraw, one could certainly question whether it was for perhaps a more ignoble reason,  like, say, having exhausted the opportunity for self-promotion and publicity.   She and other quitters, who likewise climbed aboard to take complete and utter advantage of  the local, state, national, and international media coverage of the Casey case, have abandoned Miss Anthony now that the real case work has finally commenced.

I am curious as to why Ms. Baden and the book promoting law professor,  Andrea Lyon, did not express their travel and expense reimbursement concerns way back when they each made their splashy entries into the Casey case.  Could it be  because that was prior to the time  the Florida taxpayers were on the hook to pay the costs  for Casey’s defense?  What else has changed from that time until now?

Others have wondered whether the defense  perhaps could have gotten any work at all out of Ms. Baden, had Casey’s lead attorney, Mr Baez, (who held  the purse strings to the small fortune now gone) had geared up to go to work for his client much earlier than he had. All of those national TV appearances certainly did nothing to attack the State’s case against Casey. What took so long?  He at one time possessed the funds to pay Ms. Baden for reasonable expenses attendant to her representation.

Even if we accept Ms. Baden’s announced reason for quitting the case, the apparent mismanagement of hundreds of thousands of dollars taken in ostensibly on Casey’s behalf  by both Mr Baez and Casey’s loving family, is still galling to many (although who couldn’t use a vacation cruise break, or  new custom suits especially during these turbulent times and troubled economy).  Now, the money having mysteriously evaporated, Casey Anthony is at the mercy of the Florida taxpayers’ largess and the good auspices of certain pro bono attorneys working to defend her life.

Those musings aside, I observe that Ms. Baden’s departure from the defense team is the most serious loss of personnel to date. Giving the Devil her due, Ms Baden is, after all, nationally renowned for her expertise in the area of forensic evidence, and as we all know, the Prosecution’s case consists of a significant amount of forensic evidence,  both established and novel.

Ms. Baden’s reputation can best be illustrated by the following, relatively recent events:  record mogul Phil Spector retained Ms Baden to handle the forensic evidence in his California murder trial.  Result for trial number one: a hung jury.  Mr. Spector declined to retain Ms. Baden for the second trial.  Result for trial number two: a guilty verdict. Ms. Baden’s are big shoes to fill.

Which begs the question, is anyone on the present defense team capable? Well, no, not actually.   And although that may not be terribly troubling to the majority at first blush, it is to those who have spent their legal careers  promoting the ends of  justice.  In the end, our criminal justice system usually works, whether by man’s endeavors or by divine intervention.  But it pains one to see a conviction had because of  avarice, self promotion or ineptitude by lawyers entrusted with the obligation and responsibility to vigorously and energetically defend those individuals who,  in our minds,  are the least worthy.   Because in our system of  justice,  justice for all,  is defined by justice afforded to the least deserving of us.

Note:    Judge Perry granted Ms. Baden’s motion to withdraw at the October 29th status hearing.

WJS

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