Legal egos? Lawyers take shots at one another in Casey Anthony case

By Anthony Colarossi, Orlando Sentinel

10:34 p.m. EDT, August 21, 2010

What do you get when you mix a heinous child murder with simmering public outrage, an insatiable media
appetite and high-powered legal egos?

The Casey Anthony case.

Consider the recent developments in Orlando's infamous crime story:

Attorney Brad Conway appears on national TV to say he no longer represents George and Cindy
Anthony. Attorney Mark NeJame, the Anthonys' former lawyer, accuses Casey Anthony's
defense team of acting in bad faith and requests a special hearing to
debate their conduct. Attorneys Jose Baez and Cheney Mason charge NeJame
with harboring an "ulterior motive" in his attempt to "thwart" Casey
Anthony's defense and suggest his interest in a book deal is paramount.

Sometimes, between the noise of media appearances, post-hearing press conferences, court filings and
personal attacks, it's easy to forget this case is about the murder of
2-year-old Caylee Marie and the life of her mother/murder suspect. The
vitriol may subside for the moment after Orange-Osceola Chief Judge
Belvin Perry last week called the various parties to a private
conference to "discuss the tone of recent pleadings," according to court
administration spokeswoman Karen Levey.

Often it seems much more like a clash of egos in a case the public can't
seem to get enough of. The cast of characters features some of
Orlando's most experienced legal minds – and some of its most ambitious.

Jose Baez and J. Cheney Mason

The two primary defense team lawyers in their August 9 filing claimed
NeJame "solicited the defendant's family for representation." They
alleged that after being retained by George and Cindy Anthony, NeJame
"felt his client's interests were best served by going on an all out
media blitz."

The same document alleges NeJame tried to convince the Anthonys to fire
Baez as Casey Anthony's lead attorney and hire him. And it goes on to
say NeJame "is using this case to further promote his own interests."
The filing includes a statement from journalist David Lohr who stated
NeJame solicited him to be a "ghost writer" on a book about the case.

In an attached affidavit signed by Mason, the self-described Board
Certified Criminal Specialist calls NeJame's comments regarding his
behavior, "completely erroneous, insulting, scandalous, inflammatory,
and, frankly, libelous."

Mark NeJame

In one recent filing concerning the Texas EquuSearch records, NeJame
said the defense "falsely" claimed he received a conflict waiver from
the Anthonys so that Conway could review the TES files.

The defense wants a complete list of TES searchers who took part in the
early searches for Caylee, whose remains were discovered months after
she was first reported missing by her family in mid-July 2008. NeJame
and TES officials don't want the volunteers "harassed" by the defense.

Chief Judge Belvin Perry ordered that the defense can review TES records
under the supervision of a magistrate and late last week said the
details of the review may not be shared with the media.

Referring to the defense again, NeJame wrote "a competent attorney
should have and likely could have worked towards a plea deal that might
have possibly secured a deal for 10-15 years for the defendant, prior to
Caylee being found, so long as the defendant led law enforcement to
where Caylee was and truthfully told what happened to her."

Orange Circuit Judge Stan Strickland

Judge Stan Strickland recused himself from the case months ago after the
defense team complained about a "personal relationship" he had with a
blogger deemed to be critical of Casey Anthony.

In his order disqualifying himself, Strickland cited the timing of the
defense team's request for him to leave the case. It came late on a
Friday in April.

"In between media interviews, guest appearances on television shows, and
press conferences, defense counsel has filed a litany of motions,"
Strickland wrote in a four-page order oozing with sarcasm. Those
motions, Strickland said, ranged from one asking to disqualify the State
Attorney's Office to another requesting that law enforcement stop
investigating a homicide crime scene.

He concluded his recusal by stating: "At its core, defense counsel's
motion accuses the undersigned of being a 'self-aggrandizing media
hound.' Indeed. The irony is rich."

Linda Drane Burdick

Sedate, focused and well-versed in the law, the prosecution's lead
attorney has challenged the defense team's pleadings as well, often
tearing apart its arguments with facts and properly cited case law.

Most recently, she took Baez to task for arguing that he was unaware a
call from a state prison inmate was recorded. Baez tried to have that
call, involving his client, kept out of the public record. Beyond the
recorded warning at the start of the call, saying the conversation may
be subject to recording, Burdick noted that the prisoner herself told
Baez "these phones are recorded."

"It takes little imagination to envision that calls being received from a
prisoner in a correctional institution are being recorded…" Burdick
wrote in her July 26 filing.

That call, which revealed an inmate plot to concoct a story damaging to
Casey Anthony, was later made public following an order by Judge Perry.

Jeff Ashton

The prosecution's other veteran attorney has at times expressed
frustration with the defense team – and Baez, in particular – both
inside the courtroom and in court documents.

"Defense counsel has [succumbed] to the lure of the national spotlight
and frequently expressed his opinion as to crucial aspects of this
case," Ashton wrote. Following nearly 30 years prosecuting some of the
highest profile cases in the Ninth Judicial Circuit, Ashton wrote in one
2008 motion he "has never witnessed such a shameless attempt to sway
public opinion."

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/caylee-anthony/os-casey-anthony-lawyer-wars-20100821,0,4101168.story