Letter Asks Prosecutors To Consider Not Cashing Baez Fine Check

Letter Asks Prosecutors To Consider Not Cashing Baez Fine Check

Baez Ordered By Court To Pay $583.73

POSTED: 6:03 pm EST January 13, 2011

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Casey Anthony defense attorney Jose Baez has turned in payment for his recent contempt of court fine, but lawyers also asked that prosecutors consider not cashing the check.
Baez was required by Judge Belvin Perry to pay $583.73 for a wilfull violation of a court order. Thursday was the deadline to pay the fine.

Along with the check, co-counsel Cheney Mason wrote prosecutor Jeff Ashton a letter asking him to consider holding the check and not cashing it.
Earlier this week, Mason filed a motion that asked Perry to reconsider the fine.
In his letter, Mason said there is a good faith reason not to oppose the motion, given the potential future impact on Baez.
"This is starting to wear down everybody," said veteran attorney Jeff Deen, who is not affiliated with the case.
Deen supervises a staff of state attorneys and said all of the lawyers associated with the Anthony case should take the fine as a warning, not just Baez.
"The intensity is building up. Everybody's past actions are going to come back and haunt them in this case if they haven't been following the procedures," said Deen.
Friday will be Baez' first time in front of Perry since his contempt fine. WESH.com will provide live coverage of the hearing.
http://www.wesh.com/caseyanthony/26486629/detail.html