Andrea Lyon leaves a ‘money pit’; how big a blow is it?

Casey Anthony: Andrea Lyon leaves a ‘money pit’; how big a blow is it?

posted by halboedeker on June, 30 2010 10:28 PM

What do Tom Hanks and Casey Anthony have in common?

They have both starred in something called “The Money Pit.”

WFTV-Ch. 9, via its 10 p.m. news on sister station WRDQ-Ch. 27, explained that defense attorney Andrea Lyon “wants out because the case is a money pit,” anchor Vanessa Welch said tonight.

WFTV explained that defense attorney Jose Baez will continue to consult with Chicago attorney Lyon but that she was leaving the case for financial reasons. Casey Anthony is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her daughter, Caylee.

WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said he wasn’t surprised Lyon had departed because the money has been exhausted. Sheaffer added that Orlando defense attorney Cheney Mason can take over Lyon’s duties and said if Lyon were a true believer she would still be with the case.

Yet Baez described Lyon as “a wonderful lawyer” who believes in Anthony’s case and who spent her own money on the case, WFTV’s Kenneth Moton reported.

WESH-Ch. 2 legal analyst Richard Hornsby said Lyon’s departure was a huge blow. “The defense as a whole is definitely going to take a step back without her resources and knowledge,” he said.

Do you agree?

Hornsby didn’t buy Baez’s cost explanations for Lyon’s departure.

“She wouldn’t have had to have a lot of costs to incur,” he said. “I think the cost excuse is really a cover for something a lot bigger with Andrea Lyon’s belief in the defense team.”

Baez told WESH that simply wasn’t true and that’s Lyon’s departure wouldn’t affect the defense. (The report aired on the 10 p.m. news on sister station WKCF-Ch. 18.)

So how big is Lyon’s departure?


http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2010/06/casey-anthony-andrea-lyon-leaves-a-money-pit-how-big-a-blow-is-it.html