By now, even though it was just last night, it’s almost old news that Casey Anthony’s defense has asked the court for financial help with her upcoming death penalty case, declaring that it’s the only way to make sure they will have the resources necessary to fight to save her life. The motion requesting monetary assistance was filed minutes before 5:00 pm yesterday - closing time.

In a statement released last night, defense spokeswoman Liz Brown said the team has incurred extensive costs defending Casey, and that initial estimates have skyrocketed since the state decided to seek the death penalty. Subsequently, if Casey is to receive a fair trial, the state has to help pay necessary costs.

“This assistance is critical to enabling the defense to interview the 100+ individuals on the State’s witness list, investigate thousands of tips, and analyze complex forensic evidence,” the statement reads.

Before I go further into what role a Public Defender will play in this case, assuming Judge Stan Strickland signs the order, let’s grapple what’s been spent first. Casey’s attorney, Jose Baez, states that she has already paid the defense $111,954. He said that it’s not enough to give her the proper defense she needs, and taxpayers should make up the difference. According to Baez, nearly $90,000 of that amount was used for his fees, and the rest covered Lyon’s expenses. That would most likely be for air fare, lodging and meals. She is working on the case at no cost.

Now, before you question the rest of the $200,000 ABC reportedly paid the defense team, smarten up and consider this: Do you think Baez is going to seek financial help when he’s down to the last penny? No, and he wants to make sure the defense doesn’t come to a grinding halt. If there’s money left, which I’m sure there is, he wants it for fees paid to attorneys like himself and others. He has to pay rent, for example, and this isn’t worth arguing over. Attorneys are in the business to make money. Lyon is doing it for free. I’m not going to try to break down how much Casey’s attorneys make per hour, but it was her money to spend; not yours, not mine, and not George’s or Cindy’s. And now, it is in the very good hands of a most qualified judicial officer.

In his article titled, INTERROGATORIES, QUERIES & BURNING QUESTIONS, criminal defense attorney and WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer wrote, “Remember, this is a complex, circumstantial evidence case requiring many, many witnesses to establish the circumstantial chain of guilt.  Included among those witnesses are forensics experts seeking to gain admission of  ‘novel scientific evidence,’ requiring a great deal of preparation by both the state and the defense.  In this instance, justice delayed will not equate to justice denied.  Casey is facing the ultimate penalty.”

Remember, along with this great deal of preparation comes lots of expenses, and no matter what you think about Casey, she does not have deep pockets like OJ Simpson did, and if you want true justice for Caylee, you have to understand that it behooves my state to stack the evidence deck against her and not just the cost deck, because she would surely qualify for a solid appeal or to have the charges tossed if she does not have a strong team of attorneys and experts behind her to counter the massive evidence, list of forensic experts and witness list stockpiled by the prosecution. All defense teams have a legal responsibility to represent their clients or we will go back to witch hunts of old where everyone is guilty as charged. Period. BURN HER! If this were to occur, criminal defense attorneys like Bill Sheaffer would have no reason to exist, so watch who you point your selective fingers at. We are a country made up of laws and they apply to everyone, including Casey. One more thing to consider is Casey’s right to fund her defense from items sold, such as photographs and home videos. The way our court system works is that a defendant is innocent until proven guilty. This means that Casey is legally innocent and can sell whatever she wants pertaining to her daughter. I know, it’s not fair, but such is the system of justice in the United States of America.

Let’s move on to what the indigent status means. Take a look at the Florida Circuit/County/Judicial Court APPLICATION FOR CRIMINAL INDIGENT STATUS that Casey had to fill out. You can click on it to enlarge it.

This comes from the state of Florida, so don’t second guess it. You will notice that Casey had two options to check:

I AM SEEKING THE APPOINTMENT OF A PUBLIC DEFENDER

or

I HAVE A PRIVATE ATTORNEY OR AM SELF-REPRESENTED AND SEEK DETERMINATION OF INDIGENCE STATUS FOR COSTS

Please pay attention to the second option, because that is the one Casey chose, I’m sure, so forget all about Jose Baez leaving town on the next boat to Miami. It just isn’t happening because there are no ports out of Orlando or Orange County and Baez has no interest in leaving this case.

What you will find on the form is the area where she had to fill out income and my guess would be that she checked Other kinds of income not on the list. I wouldn’t expect there to be anything earth shattering to come out of this revelation. We know she sold images and videos, but we also know that it is still legal for her to do so. How much is left as far as monies and goods to sell will come up at the hearing, I’m sure.

According to Baez, interestingly, Casey was OK with paying for her defense until the state changed the penalty to death, and that made it almost impossible to cover all expenses because - as legal experts would agree - defending a complex death penalty murder case like this one can easily run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, something Baez is certainly claiming. Caylee’s pictures are not going to pay for the bulk of it. The motion requests that the state cover the cost of depositions, transcripts, investigators, legal research, expert witness fees, medical or mental examinations, travel expenses and other costs the defense has or will incur. Some of the defense’s witnesses and forensic experts will, no doubt, come from out-of-state, and the defense will have to cough up the funds somehow.

This doesn’t surprise me, and I wouldn’t read too much into it. For one thing, the judge will have to agree with Casey’s request, which I think he will be obligated to do when he sees her assets and expenditures, and not to take sides, but the state was ready to take on the enormity of the responsibilities - good and bad - when it charged her with first-degree murder and changed the penalty to death. In the eyes of the law, the defense is morally and ethically responsible for defending her. The question remains, how much will the court be willing to give Casey? Remember, the scales of justice are blind and they should weigh about the same.

Let’s take a look at what the motion Casey filled out looks like:

Remember Casey is requesting that she be found indigent for costs and eligible for the provision of due-process services in this matter, according to the paperwork that was filed. This does not effectively mean any attorneys will leave the team, like Baez, but it also doesn’t free up money to hire more of them, either. My guess is that with this filing, some powerful and/or well-known defense attorneys will enter the fray because her financial statement will be available to the public. Everyone will be able to look into the inner workings of what makes this defense tick. Another important thing to factor in is this: If Baez is as crooked as some of you think, it will come out now. Personally, I don’t think anything illegal will be found or he would have submitted a letter of resignation to his client to save himself and she would then have a greater chance of reaching indigent status.

This is the Florida Statute referenced in the motion:

27.52 (5)

(5)  INDIGENT FOR COSTS.—A person who is eligible to be represented by a public defender under s. 27.51 but who is represented by private counsel not appointed by the court for a reasonable fee as approved by the court, on a pro bono basis, or who is proceeding pro se, may move the court for a determination that he or she is indigent for costs and eligible for the provision of due process services, as prescribed by ss. 29.006 and 29.007, funded by the state.

(a)  The person must submit to the court:

1.  The completed application prescribed in subsection (1).

2.  In the case of a person represented by counsel, an affidavit attesting to the estimated amount of attorney’s fees and the source of payment for these fees.

(b)  In reviewing the motion, the court shall consider:

1.  Whether the applicant applied for a determination of indigent status under subsection (1) and the outcome of such application.

2.  The extent to which the person’s income equals or exceeds the income criteria prescribed in subsection (2).

3.  The additional factors prescribed in subsection (4).

4.  Whether the applicant is proceeding pro se.

5.  When the applicant retained private counsel.

6.  The amount of any attorney’s fees and who is paying the fees.

(c)  Based upon its review, the court shall make one of the following determinations:

1.  The applicant is not indigent for costs.

2.  The applicant is indigent for costs.

(d)  The provision of due process services based upon a determination that a person is indigent for costs under this subsection must be effectuated pursuant to a court order, a copy of which the clerk shall provide to counsel representing the person, or to the person directly if he or she is proceeding pro se, for use in requesting payment of due process expenses through the Justice Administrative Commission. Private counsel representing a person declared indigent for costs shall execute the Justice Administrative Commission’s contract for counsel representing persons determined to be indigent for costs.

According to The Florida Legislature’s Office of Program Policy Analysis & Government Accountability, the commission contracts with court-appointed attorneys - not always Public Defenders - and reviews their invoices for the payment of fees. The commission also administers several funds related to conflict counsel (attorneys appointed when a public defender has a conflict of interest and cannot represent a defendant) and other court-related expenses.  The commission is also responsible for recording revenues from payments by the cities and counties to state attorneys and public defenders for the prosecution of ordinance violations and other new revenue sources.

Again, could this spell the doom for Baez? No, I don’t think so, and I’ll tell you why. For one thing, I don’t believe Baez’s intent was to lose his job here, but most importantly, if Baez and Lyon are replaced by Public Defenders, do you have any idea how much it would cost taxpayers to do it all over again? The state’s not looking to add any more costs to this case than necessary.

I will be looking further into what this is all about, but I think there’s enough here to mentally swallow and digest. In the meantime, don’t get your hopes up that Jose Baez will be given his walking papers. Judge Strickland will have a lot to say in this matter and we all know how safe, sane and reasonable he is. If anything, he may negotiate a deal where Andrea Lyon is placed in charge and Baez takes a huge cut, which will be coming anyway, I’m sure. After all, she’s working for cost and some of it will hinge on how much is left in the Casey war chest. We shall see.

See also: Justice Administrative Commission

and Section 27.5304, Florida Statute