Baez Wants Venue Change For Casey's Trial

Posted: 7:54 am EDT May 4,
2009Updated: 6:06 pm EDT May 4,
2009
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- Casey
Anthony's attorney, Jose Baez, is pushing for a change of venue because
of too much local publicity. Prosecutors have never gone on camera for
the case, but Baez does it regularly to react to evidence and other
developments.
LEGAL ANALYSIS: Sheaffer On Venue Change Request
VIDEO REPORT: Venue Change Expected
VOTE: Should Judge Grant Venue Change?
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Even
Monday, he timed his news conference so that he could do it live at the
top of the five o'clock news. Eyewitness News opted not to air it and
he was upset about that.WFTV reporter Kathi Belich had the
chance to ask Baez whether he helped cause the publicity problem, but
Baez would not answer the question. Casey herself doesn't like the
questions Belich has asked her in the past and it's one of the reasons
Casey says she wants her murder trial moved out of the Orange County
courthouse.Casey Anthony's defense attorney held a news
conference just in time for the five o'clock news to complain about all
the publicity in the case. He says he wants to move the trial to the
Miami-Dade area or to Broward County."It simply is that the
local coverage has been so constant and at times so inflammatory that
members of the local community have already formed their opinions
without having heard one piece of evidence," Baez said Monday.Baez
says his research shows that 84-percent of WFTV web visitors who
answered a poll said they believe prosecutors should seek the death
penalty against Casey Anthony. He said, in four months, more than
14,000 stories aired about the case, but only three-percent of them
aired in the Miami area and even less in the Tallahassee area. Yet, he
wants the trial in Miami."It's disingenuous. The bottom line is
that every time you go on TV to complain about the case it just
reenergizes the interest of the national media," WFTV legal analyst
Bill Sheaffer said Monday (watch full interview).Sheaffer
says moving some 200 witnesses, a judge and court personnel and dozens
of investigators, for possibly a month, will cost tens of thousands of
dollars. Finding a jury of a white woman's peers won't be difficult,
but they can't know much or have an opinion about her.Sheaffer says interest could wane and the judge might try to seat a jury in Orange County before moving on."The
judge will confer with the chief judge, Perry. They would confer with
the chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court," Sheaffer said.Baez
also filed a signed affidavit from Casey herself complaining about
questions Eyewitness News asked her, such as did she kill Caylee?Casey's lawyer didn't like Kathi Belich's question Monday either. She had only one for him:"Can
you explain your complaints about publicity when you're the one holding
news conferences all the time and going on national television?" Belich
asked.Baez never answered. But it appears he likes publicity as
long as he likes what's been publicized, otherwise he's less fond of it.Casey
Anthony has been in jail since October and is facing first-degree
murder charges in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee Anthony.
Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty. Her trial is not expected
to start until at least October.
WHAT'S NEXT IN CASE AGAINST CASEYA key
witness is expected to be questioned this week in the case against
Casey Anthony.Jose
Baez is scheduled to meet May 5 with the jail guard who was with Casey
when she was told her daughter's remains had been found. Surveillance
cameras recorded that moment.On May 28, Casey and her attorney will go
to court to try to make sure the public never sees that video.

http://www.wftv.com/news/19360044/detail.html