Anthony Defense Wants Funding Records Sealed

http://www.wesh.com/news/23461168/detail.html
Anthony Defense Wants Funding Records Sealed
Hearing Slated For Thursday Morning
POSTED: 11:59 am EDT May 5, 2010
UPDATED: 12:55 pm EDT May 5, 2010
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Casey Anthony's lawyers are asking the judge to seal all state records indicating how her defense is funded
In a new motion, Anthony's attorney, Jose Baez, argues public disclosure of invoices they submit for reimbursement will lead to "rampant speculation as to the defense strategy."

Now that Anthony has been declared indigent, she qualifies to reimburse with state tax dollars for certain expenses.

Judge Belvin Perry is holding a hearing on the issue Thursday morning.
Casey Anthony is in the Orange County Jail being held on no bond on charges of murder in the death of her daughter, Caylee.

Caylee's remains were found in a wooded area off Suburban Drive near the Anthony family home in December 2008.

Anthony maintains a nanny by the name of Zenaida Gonzalez kidnapped Caylee.

http://www.wftv.com/news/23465730/detail.html
Casey's Attorneys Want Spending Kept Private
Posted: 4:37 pm EDT May 5, 2010
Updated: 4:58 pm EDT May 5, 2010

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- WFTV discovered Casey Anthony's attorneys are trying to prevent the public from seeing how much tax money they're spending on Casey's defense.


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MOTIONS: Seal Spending | Pay For Experts
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A judge has declared Casey indigent, so taxpayers will now pick up the tab for her expenses. Her attorneys want all of the information, which would normally be public, kept secret.

At last week's hearing, Casey's attorneys said they don't want the names of their experts to go public so prosecutors and the public don't find out the direction of the defense, but now they're asking for the amount they're spending to be kept secret, too (read motion).

When Casey was first arrested, she had no money that was legitimately earned. She couldn't even pay defense attorney Jose Baez's $5,000 retainer.

But, instead of opting for a public defender back then, only two months after Caylee had disappeared, Casey sold all of her own videos and photos of Caylee to ABC for $200,000 and two of her attorneys, one of whom has since left the case, raised another $140,000.

That money is gone now and taxpayers have no idea where all of it went. But now the defense wants to keep its future spending of tax money on her behalf a secret.

“That's not gonna fly with taxpayers,” WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said.

The defense filed the motion Wednesday, the day before it goes before Chief Judge Belvin Perry and the state Justice Administrative Commission to discuss its budget. In its motion, the defense says "documents and requests for funding will lead to endless speculation as to the defense strategy for defending Miss Anthony and could ultimately affect her right to a fair trial."

“Disingenuous, when defense appears on national TV floating defense theories and fueling speculation,” Sheaffer said.

In another motion filed Wednesday (read it), the defense wants taxpayers to pay for Casey's out of town experts and their travel, even though the state rules say she has to use Florida experts. The defense says it would be more expensive for new experts to start all over.