Cheney Mason's Bet

In June of 2009, Dustin Kolodziej filed a breach of contract lawsuit in a federal courthouse in Houston, Texas. Why did he do it and who did he file suit against? Why, he did it against one of Orlando’s most prominent attorneys, J. Cheney Mason, and he did it because Mason made a blanket statement about his client at the time, Nelson Ivan Serrano, on national TV. Serrano was on trial for murdering four people, including his former business partner and a state prosecutor.

“I challenge anybody to show me, I’ll pay them a million dollars if they can do it,” Mason said on a Dateline NBC episode in a 2006. His defendant’s alibi placed him in an Atlanta motel at the time of the homicides at a Bartow (Polk County) manufacturing plant in 1997. Murdered in cold blood were Frank Dosso, Diane Patisso, George Patisso, and George Gonsalves. The prosecution had Serrano flying from Atlanta to central Florida and back to Atlanta in time to be caught on a hotel surveillance video. Mason said it was impossible to do. There was no way Serrano could have committed the murders and made it back to Atlanta, where he was recorded at the hotel. That’s what prompted him to issue the challenge.

Dustin Kolodziej took him up on it. Kolodziej had just graduated from South Texas College of Law and he retraced the steps Serrano took across two states. At the end of the final leg, he proved it could be done within the required time. He videotaped his excursion and sent it to Mason along with a letter demanding the million dollar payout.

“I’m really unconcerned about it,” Mason said back then. “When it’s over, somebody or some group of people out there are going to have to face the consequences of filing such a false, stupid lawsuit.”

Later that year, a federal judge in Texas dismissed the suit citing a lack of contacts with the state to establish jurisdiction. Also at issue was the statement, which was taken out of context. Mason said the comment was made in jest, and when his lawyers got the raw transcript from NBC, it showed the episode was edited. Not only was he joking when he made the statement, it was directed toward state prosecutors. It was reflected in that unedited interview.

“It was all done humorously and the transcript reflects that,” Mason said.

No doubt, Cheney Mason has had plenty of courtroom battles, and he was able to add this personal victory to his list, but in the end, his client, Nelson Serrano, lost. On June 26, 2007, Judge Susan Robertssentenced him to death by lethal injection.

On the day he joined the Anthony defense team, he said, “This case is going to be fun to try, and we will walk out of here with Casey in arm.”

He may be an excellent ‘shoot from the hip’ counselor, but at times, he’s more adept at shooting off his mouth.

FYI:

In July, 2007, Amy Edwards of the Orlando Sentinel broke down some of the public costs associated with his case.

Here’s a look at the Serrano case by the numbers, which are rounded.

$1 million plus

Price the Florida Department of Law Enforcement reports its investigation cost.

1,762

days in the Polk County Jail. Serrano was booked into the jail Sept.1, 2002 and booked out June 28, 2007.

$69,883

Minimum cost to house Serrano in the jail. Sheriff’s Office officials say the actual cost is likely more since Serrano was on suicide watch, which requires more security.

$68,000

Estimated cost of the salaries of State Attorney’s Office employees who were devoted to the case full time — two lawyers, one secretary, one investigator and media employee.

$36,657

State Attorney’s Office reports includes cost of expert and expert travel, court reporter, attorney travel and travel for witnesses.

$30,930

Jury-associated costs.

$29,926

Court reporter for all hearings

$29,857

Real-time court translator

$58,596

Public funds used for his defense, which include

$10,000

Jury consultant

$8,414

Court reporting

$975

Crime-scene processing

$3,532

Travel

$29,530

Investigation

$1,800

Mental health

$4,000

Polygraph expert

$290

Information and evidence

$56

Postage

A decision on this case was rendered in federal court

EquuSearch: Running out of patience before us?

As soon as members of the media showed up at Mark NeJame’s office this past Friday, Casey Anthony’s defense team ran out the door, tails between their legs. They had arrived only minutes earlier to look over records belonging to Texas EquuSearch.

Now, TES officials say they want to try to break the standoff with Casey’s team in court. One source said that, with Chief Judge Belvin Perry now in charge, they want him to decide when enough is enough. They are fed up with playing the waiting game. For more than eight months TES has waged a large legal battle over keeping most of the searchers’ records private.

In August of 2009, Casey’s defense team won the right to pore over records of 32 searchers who looked closest to the location where Caylee’s remains were eventually found. The defense later filed a motion to copy all of the records of roughly 4,000 people who looked for the toddler at all other locations, including south of OIA. Judge Stan Strickland denied that motion.

The defense made claims that at least two of the searchers looked in the very spot where Caylee rested and found nothing. Texas EquuSearch is getting fed up with the defense and is planning on filing legal paperwork to have the new judge order Mason & Co. to review the records and be done with it. Mark NeJame declined to comment.

In one other bit of news, and if my source is correct, Baez will stand behind the shadow of Cheney Mason because Mason has tried a number of cases before Judge Perry. Mason is also known to be a one man band with lots of attorneys he can turn to for assistance. He has surrounded himself with an excellent blend of specialists, all independent and all within the immediate vicinity of his office. In other words, he rents them space.

A roll of the “die”

To say I am still reeling from what J. Cheney Mason did just over a week ago is a gross understatement. I intend to return the salvo as hard as he threw it. I will not go quietly into the night.

J. Cheney Mason is a high-profile attorney. According to his Web site, he is the recipient of many awards from professional organizations for his work in the legal field. No doubt, he has earned them, and I reluctantly place him in the same league as the Johnnie Cochrans and F. Lee Baileys of the world of lawyering, but that doesn’t necessarily make it a good thing. One is dearly departed and the other was stripped of his license to practice law. Although I wish him no ill will, I would never tip my hat to him.

In the field of criminal defense, he has tried over 200 cases in Florida. His trials run the gamut of high-profile cases including white-collar crimes, corporate, bank, mail and wire fraud; arson, robbery, embezzlement, racketeering, and, of course, homicide. His resumé must read like the underbelly of an Eastern Razorback rattlesnake, as indigenous to Florida as he is.

I had the good fortune of talking to several people recently about what makes Mason tick. Why did he do what he did? What strange notion entered his brain that gave him pause to file the ridiculous and perplexing motion that forced an extremely fair judge to step down? It belies common sense and pragmatic thinking from an otherwise seemingly brilliant tactician.

As a criminal defense attorney, he represents the low-lifes of the world - like murderers. I have always maintained that everyone, including Casey, is innocent until proven otherwise in a court of law, and all people deserve to be represented by counsel. He is most certainly qualified to defend her, but whether his defendants are guilty or not is of no consequence to him. Indeed, he fits right in on this one - his most famous case to date! He’s on top of the world!

What Cheney Mason will tell you is that it is not his job to prove anyone innocent. It is merely his job to find loopholes and errors in law to exonerate his clients. All you need is a lot of money and he will work for you. This is his mantra. This is his credo. (Obviously, in old age, he has bent his rules by taking this case for a few oranges, perhaps, and an exclusive footnote in history.) By creating reasonable doubt, which is his forte, he places criminals back out on the streets we walk every day. I can’t just surreptitiously blame him for it. All lawyers take an oath to represent their clients to the best of their ability, and that includes low-lifes rolling big bucks, whether we like it or not. I will not question the motive of this man who is ready, willing and able to place criminals back out on the streets to roam. It is called ego and the thrill of victory, far removed from compassion for victims and their everlasting  justice. I will not castigate him for it because, unfortunately, he holds no monopoly in this somewhat limited field of unscrupulous attorneys.

It was ego that caused Mason to let the world know he had the power to take out a sitting judge. It was ego and a twisted mindset that caused him to file that dismissal motion exactly 12 minutes before the court closed up shop for the weekend, and it was a bitter ego that made sure the judge had the entire weekend to think about it. That’s called rubbing it in and there’s no other way to explain it. Was it fun to do, Cheney?

What exactly was he thinking? He wanted the judge of his choice in return. He expected to hand-pick Judge Strickland’s successor by playing up his abundant connections with the court and cashing in his chips, only it doesn’t work that way and hasn’t for years, probably since the time Belvin Perry, Jr. unseated an incumbent judge in 1989, something I am very familiar with.¹ All of that courthouse schmoozing went belly up. In the end, the only thing he managed to prove was that his power only reaches the front door of his own office on Orange Avenue in downtown Orlando; his throne and the center of his universe almost across the street from the courthouse. What he never expected was this end result. When a lawyer bites like a rattlesnake, the court takes a heavy dose of serum.

No doubt, he would have loved to have seen any number of judges step up to the plate. “Sure, Cheney, it would be a blast to dosey doe with you.” Only it backfired.

One judge he would have given his right arm to dance with is Bob LeBlanc. He’s a fine judge and less inclined, so the rumors go, to sentence someone to death. Could it be because he is a veteran criminal defense attorney, just like Mason? Getting the death penalty off the table is of primary concern at the moment, and the latest motions filed by this defense attest to that. In my opinion, it is the main reason those motions were filed after Judge Strickland vacated this bench. Mason was giddy with excitement over the prospect of getting to hand select a judge. Yee Haw!

There’s Julie H. O’Kane, only she rotated off the criminal bench last year, and this is no civil picnic through the park. Lest he think in his good old boy wisdom that a female would be a friendlier judge, guess again. Judge O’Kane had no problem sentencing Michael Boykin to life in prison in 2006, but the death penalty was not an option.

A. Thomas Mihok is a well-seasoned judge, but he is back on the criminal circuit after spending the past seven years working in juvenile, domestic and civil courts. Certainly, he is capable, and just prior to leaving criminal the first time, he sentenced an Orlando man to life in prison in 2003 for his role in two grisly murders that occurred in late 1999. He spared Kevin Robinson a death sentence, despite the jury’s recommendation that Robinson be put to death for one of the murders.

Roger J. MacDonald has been on the criminal bench for less than two years and his last stint ended in 1998, when he moved to juvenile and domestic. He could easily go either way.

Walter Kominski comes highly recommended. He has a litany of credentials, and has shifted back and forth between criminal, juvenile, domestic and civil, but he just went back to criminal at the end of the year. At the moment, he has his hands full with Robert Ward, charged with murdering his wife in the exclusive community of Isleworth, where Tiger Woods got into a bit of trouble.

Last, but not least, and without having to name every judge on the Orange County Ninth Judicial Circuit, we have Marc L. Lubet. Not only is he on the criminal bench, he is on the Florida Bar’s Criminal Cases Committee as well as the Criminal Law Committee. Coincidentally, he was the presiding judge at the Lisa “Astronut” Nowak plea agreement last November. Cheney Mason was one of her attorneys. The judge told Nowak that the plea would probably affect her Navy career, but added, “You brought this on yourself, and I don’t have any sympathy for you in that respect.”

Ultimately, Chief Judge Belvin Perry, Jr. had a myriad of judges to from, each and every one of them qualified to take on a burden of this scale, but none of them were sitting idly by, waiting to be plucked by the likes of Mason. They have their own case loads. Any of the judges I cited, plus many others, would have been prime pickings for him, but in the end, Cheney Mason did not play with a full deck. Instead, he became a joker standing side-by-side with the other one, Baez. He had only one die to toss and it came up a snake-eye. He never anticipated that Perry, in all his wisdom and experience, would put his foot down. He thought this would be fun & games. Well, the good ol’ boy club went out of business years ago. A little girl is dead and the woman standing accused of her murder is a step closer, not farther away, to her fate because of this decision. For better or for worse, God works in mysterious ways. If Mason wants to go out in a big blast blaze of glory, I predict he will implode right before our very eyes. No fading away. No more awards, either, because it takes dice to play a game of craps and he only came equipped with one. That spells crap.

Take good care of your health, Cheney, you are going to need it.

Perry v. Mason, et al

There is such a stark contrast between Judge Belvin Perry, Jr. and J. Cheney Mason, it’s like night and day. The way Mason handled himself at Casey’s indigence hearing was comical and bizarre, to say the least. We got to see a good old boy duke it out with an easy going, bend-over-backwards to be nice, class-act, kind of jurist. What sort of lawyer would have the audacity to ask a circuit court judge in high standing whether he trusted him or not? A wolf in sheep’s clothing? A man with no scruples? I guarantee, with the changing of the guard, Mason will never try this sort of spontaneous trickery on Judge Perry. Therein lay the perplexing issue with Judge Strickland. It became evident from the moment Mason asked this silly question at that first encounter between the two that he had it in for the judge. He didn’t respect him enough to bite his acerbic tongue, and none of us picked up on it. Don’t you trust me is a despicable question to ask because the fact is, no one trusts him and one of the ‘whys’ became clear when he ambushed the judge.

With Judge Stan Strickland’s recusal, the new marshal in town issued an edict titled, ORDER SETTING CASE MANAGEMENT HEARING. What I’m curious about is whether this is standard protocol or intended to warn the (mostly defense) attorneys to mind their Ps & Qs. Of course, in order to be fair and just,  the order is inclusive, meaning prosecutors, as well. And to be further fair and just, I will say I have seen and heard Jeff Ashton in action and he can get rather animated, but has yet to step outside the realm of dignity and composure.

From the opening bell, Judge Perry has set the pace. BAM! You will do this!

Judges and lawyers have a professional obligation to conclude litigation as soon as it is reasonably and justly possible to do so…

The trial judge shall take charge of all cases at an early stage in the litigation and shall control the progress of cases thereafter until the case is determined. The trial judge shall take specific steps to monitor and control the pace of litigation…

- Fla. R. Jud. Admin. 2.545(a)(b)

Clearly, the precept is to get all acts together. From what I have witnessed sitting in the gallery, the prosecution has remained on an even keel, with a set course of action, while the defense has flip-flopped like a fish out of water. This may change dramatically with the addition of Mason on the defense team, but his first attempt at striking down the sitting judge was met with an expired notary commission stamp from the last decade. Is this an omen of things to come? Not in Belvin Perry, Jr’s court. He set a date for a come to order meeting, sua spontestyle, on April 30 at 9:30 am. For on this day it is ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that both sides be prepared to discuss:

Discovery deadlines, including but not limited to, the scheduling and completion of depositions of all ordinary and expert witnesses; future deadlines, motions that remain pending and unresolved, and pre-trial and trial dates.

By the way, sua sponte is Latin for “on its own will or motion.” That means the judge does not expect to have to kick any attorneys in the fanny to get the ball rolling by that date. He expects them to provide the court with pending motions, including specific identifiers that will need future evidentiary hearings and those that may be addressed based on the pleadings.

The order also means the attorneys must provide the Court with courtesy copies of the motions. A typical dirty trick this defense has been playing all along is filing motions minutes before a hearing is set to begin, within minutes of a deadline or just before the end of a day. Take the one asking for Judge Strickland to dismiss himself. It was filed at 4:48 PM last Friday, 12 minutes before the Clerk of Court shut down for the weekend. So far, I have attended four hearings, of which multiple motions have been heard. At each one, invariably, motions would make their way to Judge Strickland’s bench minutes before he walked into the courtroom. How can a judge rule on a motion when he doesn’t get to see it until two minutes before the hearing starts? BAM! Gone are those days.

On a more personal note, I found it to be exceptionally cruel that this motion was filed so late on a Friday afternoon, which gave the judge the entire weekend to mull it over. It was an incredibly vicious and classless way to let a class act know that his number was virtually up. In his closing statement, Judge Stan Strickland noted that the motion accused him of “being an aggrandizing media hound.” The irony, indeed, was rich, and I hope Chief Judge Belvin Perry, Jr. takes note of that.

What we have here is a cowboy lawyer with a judge who knows how to crack the whip. Yes, Cheney, this should be lots of fun. Are tight boots part of the courtroom decorum?

My Dearest Muffin

Since Casey’s defense smeared me as a pro-prosecution puppet, I might as well take on that role for now. It’s funny, too, because I was always cast as a goon for the defense by some of the blogs.

Dear Muffin,

You stupid twit. You had your cake and wanted to eat it, too, just like you’ve had it all your life. Well, guess what? You “done run outta cake” as your new Grandpa Cheney Bricklayer would be saying had he not turned an about-face and squeezed his flabby-scabby butt next to yours. Oh yes, there’s no doubt in my mind who came up with this brilliantly stupid notion to unseat your best chance at remaining alive for years to come. Yup, you sure know how to pick ‘em. Bricklayer, you and Jose Pimpdaddy are going to rue the day you pointed your finger at Judge Stan Strickland, the fairest judge in all the land, and whispered to “make him stop.” Well, you made him stop alright, but you created a monster.

You and your team of craptorneys are really going to have it tough from now on, a lot tougher because Chief Judge Belvin Perry, Jr. is a no-nonsense judge who will squash you like the low-life cockroach you really are. There won’t even be a carcass by the time he gets done with you. I just can’t wait until the day you try to pull off another stunt like this because you just used your last Get Out of Jail card and you ain’t even remotely close to seeing and breathing the same freedom as me.

You wanna know something else? Also gone are those days when I treated you fair and civilized, just like Judge Strickland said on live TV. You and your buffoons are up against a well-known judge who will not tolerate those silly courtroom antics you are famous for, and you might as well get used to filing proper motions.

Speaking of motions, I had to laugh at the ones you just submitted for dismissal. What’s this? Florida’s capital sentencing procedure is unconstitutional? Therefore death is not a possible sentence? And what about your claim that prosecutors decided to seek the death penalty just to make it so expensive for you to defend herself? DUH, you have a dream team that’s going to get creamed and you blame it on costing too much money for pro bono work? Nonsense! Face the music, you’re charged with a heinous crime and ordering Belvin Perry to make it stop is not going to make it stop. Trust me on this one. I can see the handwriting on the wall… the state didn’t spend enough money on you, therefore, as you sit there in a snit, the jury must acquit. Right.

You take the cake with the one claiming sexism. Where is Betty Friedan when you need her? Researchers have found that when women defy traditional gender stereotypes, and commit ‘men-type’ crimes, they are punished more severely than comparable male offenders. HAH! I hope you brought plenty of footnotes along with that one. By the way, tell your attorney that ‘men-type’ is an extremely sexist term.

In closing, I must say congratulations, Casey! You rolled snake-eyes. Although you managed to get your best chance judge to give you a Community Chest filled with State money, you will never pass Go again and you will never collect $200 by the only means you know how -  by stealing it.

Is it OK to ask you for a small favor before I go? Please ask that pompous, bombastic windbag of yours if he ever paid off that million dollar bet he made. Actually, never mind, because he didn’t, and he’s the laughing-stock of the Orlando legal community. That should tell you something about his character, and in the end, when the jury returns with a verdict, he will end his career with the biggest flop of his life. Banished and tarnished, just like you tried and failed to do with the judge.

You know, I have always been against the death penalty, but in your case, I may just have to change my mind. Indeed, as Judge Strickland wrote, the irony is rich, and I would add that you are much poorer for it. He may be off this case, but I am not, and you ain’t heard nothin’ yet. You went from Strickland to stricter. Wrong move.

SINcerely,

Marinade Dave

P.S. Write back. I gave Pimpdaddy my business card. I’d love to hear your side of the story.

Beware of soft shoe shufflers

Two quotes come to mind as I open this post. One comes from George Harrison. You can listen as you read.

Watch out now, take care
Beware of soft shoe shufflers
Dancing down the sidewalks
As each unconscious sufferer
Wanders aimlessly

After yesterday’s motion, do Jose Baez and Cheney Mason think they will be dancing down the sidewalks, as Casey prances between them, arm-in-arm? Mason said so. This is going to be fun!

Last month I wrote a whimsical comment…

I’m back. I had lunch. We all went out. Jose and gang, Linda Drane Burdick and company. I told them we wouldn’t all fit in Waffle House, but dang! We did. Cheney Mason even picked up the tab – plus, he left a big tip! Judge Strickland was telling funny jokes the whole time. I coughed in my coffee, it was so funny. The only sad part for me was that they all ate dessert, but I couldn’t.

Now, I am reading that people actually believe this to be true, as if we really did sit down together at a Waffle House and pass the syrup. One big happy family.

Let me tell you, I did not expect this nightmare to come down on me yesterday. I have maintained all along that Casey could never get a fairer judge in the state of Florida and I am of the opinion that the defense has not just shot itself in both feet, it took a shotgun blast to the liver. That’s my gut feeling.

When private investigator Jerry Lyons came calling last Sunday, I had no idea of the tack the defense would ultimately take. The guy was as smooth as butter. To be truthful, he was exactly like a car salesman who loads you up with all the options without you knowing it and before long, you pay a huge price. First, he plied me with compliments about my blog. Then, he asked me whether Casey could get a fair trial in Orlando. He questioned my friendship with police, especially Sgt. John Allen of OCSO. He segued into the judge and before I knew what he was doing, he got me to talk. Mind you, as soon as I realized what he was up to, I told him the defense would be stupid, stupid, stupid for going after Judge Strickland and I stopped. But it was too late.

Between you and me, Jerry Lyons said that John Allen is a bad cop. He’s got a ridiculous track record and he makes all police look bad. He’s dishonest and a liar. Did I agree with his sleazy critique? Of course not, and this is how he tricked me into opening up, by hitting below the belt and getting me to defend his targets, but there’s nowhere in that motion that any part of this conversation took place. Clearly, it was a pick and choose edit intended to do one thing and one thing only: nail the judge to a cross. How naive I was, but did I purposely help the defense? Not in your life. Did I think this selectively taped conversation would work against the judge? No, not initially, and I only spoke to him to begin with because I felt there was nothing to hide; that the state, law enforcement and the judge were on solid ground. I told this P.I. that the judge bases his decisions on law and statutes and that sort of thing and he would never deny a motion due to his own personal feelings. From what I’ve seen in the courtroom, he’s never shown me signs that he took issue with the defense. What I always saw was a judge described by Eyewitness News Legal Analyst Bill Sheaffer, who agreed with me yesterday by saying “the motion is a mistake because Knechel is not directly involved in the case.” He added that “the defense could not ask for a more impartial, patient, or fair judge.”¹

I couldn’t agree with him more.

On the WESH Website, Richard Hornsby said, “There is little doubt that one day the defense will look back on the motion (as) the worst move they’ve made,” He added that, “Judge Strickland has previously shown a fairness to Casey in the way he sentenced her in the check case, and now they don’t know who their judge will be.”

Before I dig into the motion filed by the defense yesterday, let me tell you a few things. To all who sent me nasty comments, they went unread because I only need to read the first couple of words to let me know why they went into spam to begin with. The others who did so I know by heart. You just soldier on. By all means, continue sending me hit after hit after hit. Also, to you who have done so for months now, day after day after day, so what? Nothing has changed from Thursday to yesterday because you were already filled with the stench of hatred. Whatever gets your jollies off.

What has perplexed me all along is how I am considered an Anthony lover and now, the defense throws me under the bus by accusing me of being the exact opposite and some of you still regard me as this Casey supporter because I aided the defense in this conspiracy to unseat the judge. Well, let me tell you, I did no such thing, and if you add up all the elements, you would know that the ripple effect from this will be the exact opposite if the defense gets it’s wish. If, as I have maintained all along, the Honorable Stan Strickland is the fairest judge, what sort of judge would replace him if he chooses to recuse himself? The defense cannot hand-pick a replacement. Who would take his place is a game of Russian Roulette with 41 rounds in a 42-shot pistol. No insult intended for the remaining circuit court judges, but Judge Strickland is held in such high esteem, I don’t need further explanation.

The Motion

To say I was blindsided by this defense is an absolute understatement and I never really got to see the motion until after all of the interviews were done. Thank God that yesterday’s news, as the old saying in the newspaper industry goes, is the bottom of today’s bird cage, but the ramifications of this motion will continue for months to come, if not throughout history. Does anyone really believe this is how I would like to be remembered? The guy who took out a judge who I have nothing but complete respect and admiration for? This motion is eating me up inside because I will forever be remembered as the defense’s scapegoat. Knechel trumped Kronk and I’m not directly involved whatsoever. Instead of proving Casey is not guilty, it will be about how a blogger inadvertently changed the course due to a legal technicality. No, I am not implying anything about the final outcome.

Let’s start with the opening bell:

The precipitating grounds for disqualification is the revelation that the judge has apparently developed a personal relationship with a journalist/blogger known fictitiously as “Marinade Dave”, who has historically presented numerous stories of severe bias and prejudice against the Defendant.

Now, this is what clearly befuddles me. I have tried to be fair in my writing and that has gotten me into trouble with the lunatic fringe who are obsessed with my so-called love for the Anthonys. I wrote a post titled, Casey Anthony must die, published on April 20, 2009 - virtually a year ago. Does any proof exist that the judge even read it? Did he single that post out and bring it to my attention as a fair post? Better still, did the defense even take the time to read it? I contend that they did not, and there’s a reason why. The following is a paragraph from that post:

Since the middle of July of last year, the name Casey Marie Anthony has permeated the airwaves, earwaves and print media of this country and many parts of the civilized world on a daily basis. Every day, something must be reported on the case against Casey, and no one has titillated more than Nancy Grace. All of her loyal followers must be tickled pink since the State Attorney’s Office of Florida announced last week that the prosecution will seek the death penalty against her for the murder of her daughter, Caylee Marie. State Attorney Lawson Lamar’s office said they want to kill Casey because, as the official explanation says, “sufficient aggravating circumstances” have come to light. Please take note that Lamar did not ask for the same thing against George, Cindy and Lee and some of you won’t sleep until the entire family is dead by the wheels of justice. How ironic that nearly 2,000 years ago and for hundreds of years, the idol worshippers of Rome demanded the heads of Christians as they begged for their lives. Now, it is the Christians making the same kinds of demands. There should be no trial.Casey Anthony must die! I am not going to delve into the pros and cons of this sort of punishment and I don’t really want to hear opinions one way or the other. This article is meant to just give you a taste of things to come.

Does that sound like I was asking for Casey’s scalp or does it reflect a more humane sort of treatment? My intent of the post was to explain the death penalty, which was what the state had just changed the penalty to. I continued…

Before you throw any “Lawson Lamar lament” my way, this is not meant to argue the pros and cons of the death penalty, nor is it to trash Casey for not fessing up. This is just to let you how the process works.

All who read me are aware I am against the death penalty based on my moral beliefs. The post I wrote was more or less to point out the barbaric nature of it and I based it on case studies. The people out there who insist that Casey must die were my targets, not Casey. How mindless this defense must be.

The Caylee’s murder: Premeditated and pretty stupid, too post was pretty much like what the title says. Hey, I was telling it like I saw it back then. Written in February of 2009, is there any proof whatsoever that the judge read it? To the morons who call me an Anthony lover, no doubt you passed it on by. Idiots.

The other post cited by the defense in the motion was Guilty as CHARGED?published in June of 2009. Please note the question mark at the end of the title. You know something? That post was primarily about the fraud charges and if it was read thoroughly, the defense would understand it was a straight-up report, similar in fashion to an AP style. Should the judge recuse himself because it could have come out of a newspaper and he reads the Orlando Sentinel? What if he watches the news, too? And, of course, has the defense forgotten what Casey did? Why, she pleaded guilty to ALL thirteen charges and let this be a reflection on the sitting judge; he dropped seven of the thirteen. Baez asked the court to give Casey credit for time served and place her on probation in the check case. The judge agreed that Anthony had already spent more time in jail than any sentence she could receive in the check case. If that sentence wasn’t fair enough, I wish the plea could be rescinded and put before a different judge, let’s say Belvin Perry, Jr. Damn, Baez, what did you want? That the state apologize to Miss Anthony for charging her with fraud to begin with?

On page 13 of the motion, the defense writes:

Judge Strickland’s deliberate courting of a well known media figure raises the inference that Judge Strickland seeks publicity in his own right…

and

Due to Mr. Knechel’s relentless pro-prosecution bias, as evidenced in his blog posts, any reasonable observer could conclude that Judge Strickland’s endorsement of Mr. Knechel’s blog is evidence of Judge Strickland’s own pro-prosecution slant in this case.

How disgusting. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary describes courting as,“to engage in social activities leading to engagement and marriage” and “to engage in activity leading to mating.” Baez and Mason need to get their minds out of the gutter. That’s bad enough, but to state that I am a well known media figure? Tell that to the millions and millions of people out there who never heard of me until yesterday. You clowns created the media beast. That’s after the fact, not before. Motion dismissed.

Had the defense cited ALL of my posts, it would see there is a fair and open-minded balance of views, to which my loyal readers will attest. How dare an unrefined, wet-behind-the-ear lawyer and an over-the-hill windbag attorney write such drivel. Ask my critics whether I am an Anthony lover or not and see what response you get.

I know there are many more elements of that motion I could argue all day long, but I think I’ve gotten my point across. I will readily admit I have made some mistakes. I regret the day I put up the post about meeting the judge and I have said so, but I stand behind everything I have written about this case. The defense heard the judge call me up that day. No evidence exists that he has read every one of my posts, including ones that have nothing to do with the Casey Anthony case. I have steadfastly maintained that I am more than fair and balanced regarding the crime and what I have reflected on, and everyone who knows me will pretty much agree with this assessment. In my opinion, what Casey’s defense has done is tantamount to handing her a ticket to hell. If the defense has no faith in her innocence, which it clearly spells out by the direction it is taking, how can anyone expect a jury to buy her story? Kronk owns duct tape. Knechel knows the judge. George and Cindy are yet to come.

Why did the defense waste taxpayers’ money to find me instead of Zenaida Gonzalez? Is it nothing more than an admission that a nanny does not exist? Why is the defense searching for a way to get Casey out of jail on a technicality instead of pursuing a course that proves she did not commit the crimes for which she stands charged? Why attack this judge who has stood by his tenets based on law, not emotion?

What the judge needs to do is toss this motion out because it smacks of desperation. When Baez and Mason must attack a blogger and a distinguished member of the court, clearly, they have run out of options. I’ll bet the farm it ran out the same day Cheney Mason’s notary commission expired, which makes this motion null and void. If this is the best the defense can muster, God save Casey, because they sure aren’t doing their job. I still don’t believe in the death penalty, and if they had any smarts, they’d have paid some attention to what I’ve written about that, too, instead of focusing on all they disagree with. Those stupid idiots. That’s what makes me fair and balanced.

I never looked for trouble. I was blindsided by the defense, but let me tell you, the words of encouragement from all of the media personnel who interviewed me yesterday kept my spirits from sinking into an abyss because of this mess. They helped me tremendously by offering their support behind the scenes. Believe me, there’s more going on behind these scenes than any of you can imagine and that’s just the way it is, believe me or not.

I will forever maintain that Casey Anthony deserves her day in court. I have been steadfast in my belief that she is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. It has never been our job to pronounce judgment on her. Today, I stand before you, my peers, and make this last statement. Jose Baez and Cheney Mason are guilty of insufficient legal counsel. It is their own inept bumbling that will change the course of this case, not me, and certainly, not Judge Stan Strickland. This isn’t bias. It’s fact.

One final thought. I have maintained all along that I have never published anyone’s private identifying information on the Internet. Jeremiah Lyons has turned me into a public figure and I am going to do the same thing to him. Look him up on the Internet, just like what he did to find me. Jerry, I know you were just doing what you do well, but you’re a sleazeball, you rotten son of a bitch. You took me out of context.

Jeremiah Lyons, Investigator, Port St. Lucie, Fl (772)812-6430

Just like his card says. Do what you want with it.

I want to especially thank Bob Kealing from WESH for being such a stand-up guy. He has been the consummate gentleman and mentor, and I have the utmost respect for him. He’s a class act.

In closing, my heartfelt thanks go out to Snoopy and everyone who has stood by me, including Melissa, who wrote a wonderful post. I will continue to do my best to provide my unique insight into this case. To all who sent me encouraging e-mails, thank you. I will try to respond, but I am in a bit of a funk these days.

Another look at Suburban Drive

Yesterday afternoon, I took a ride down to Suburban Drive, just to see how it fared after the coldest and longest winter I’ve ever been through in my 29 years of living in the Orlando area. We had an unusually high amount of rain, too. On a personal level, I wanted to take a little breather from the exasperating news of late that seems to have raised more questions than answers. Was Casey really molested by her brother Lee and George, her father? Are jail house snitches Robyn Adams and Maya Derkovic telling the truth about what they saw and heard? Is Jose Baez a crook? Did Casey admit to using chloroform? Did she describe little Caylee’s black bag coffin before anyone else knew about it? There are so many new and complex questions from this latest document dump, it’s tough to sort through all of the documents and recorded phone calls to garner all the answers. In particular, the letters Casey wrote are excruciatingly painful to read.

I hope this new video gives you a clearer look inside of those woods, not to mention something different to discuss for a day or so.

[vodpod id=Video.3402505&w=425&h=350&fv=%26rel%3D0%26border%3D0%26]

Jailhouse Confections, Part 1

Confections [kənˈfɛkʃən]  - Informal anything regarded as excessively elaborate or frivolous

Maya Derkovic and Robyn Adams

Venting through the ventilation system

There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one’s safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn’t, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn’t have to; but if he didn’t want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.

- Joseph Heller, from Catch-22

That’s one of the problems with the letters released yesterday, letters written by Casey’s own hand. Damned if you believe her and damned if you don’t. Here, we have 258 pages of, as criminal defense attorney Richard Hornsby stated, drivel. We also have several interviews to pore over and Detective Yuri Melich’s synopsis of what Maya Derkovic and Robyn Adams told him and other members of law enforcement about conversations they had with Casey. The words of two jailhouse snitches allegedly coming from a confirmed liar.

Herein lies a dilemma. In her interview, inmate Maya Derkovic talked about Casey using something to knock Caylee out, but she was not specific about what drugs she used to do that. Melich wrote, “Casey Anthony never mentioned what she used to put Caylee Anthony to sleep.”

But also in his investigative summary, Melich reported something completely different coming from inmate Robyn Adams. “Caylee Anthony had trouble sleeping and she had to use chloroform to put her to sleep. Casey Anthony implied her mother may have brought the chloroform home when she worked at a local clinic.”

Those are contradictory words written by Melich. Generally, prosecutors rely on sworn testimony and not on what a detective writes in a summary, but now the possibility exists that the defense could exploit the detective’s credibility at trial. In the movie Cool Hand Luke, starring the late Paul Newman, the prison captain said, “What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate.” Was it chloroform or wasn’t it, according to Melich? Did Casey tell one person about using this trihalomethane, but not the other? Can we trust anything coming from the mouths and hands of an established prevaricator, a convicted murderer and a convicted drug trafficker out to strike a deal with the State?

Without addressing the Melich implications any further, I will focus on Casey’s jail-bird friends. Melich is a matter for legal dissection.

What happens when convicts are called to the stand is simple. The defense has the option to cross-examine, and when they do, a whole can of worms spills out about that person’s criminal past. Yes, the defense will do that and because of the Sixth Amendment, Casey will have the right to be confronted with the witnesses against her, shackles and all.

Maya Derkovic, now 21, was convicted of murdering a 15-year-old girl, Harriet “Jackie” Curtis, in February of 2008. Dear Maya is spending her best years at Lowell Correctional Institution. She was a member of a gang, the 3rd World Rolling Sixties, a spinoff of the West Coast Crips. While incarcerated at the Orange County Jail, she decided it was time to come clean with what she did, so she opened up to a jailer, and later, to detectives. She and two other gang members lured Curtis to a retention pond on Goldenrod Road with the sole intent to kill. The other two, Amiri “Sin” Lundy and Dominique “D” Tolbert, held Curtis down while Derkovic choked her to death.

A pertinent point Casey’s defense would bring up is the conflict that’s arisen since Derkovic’s confession. In trying to find peace, she decided to come clean. In October of 2007, she told Orlando Sentinel reporters Henry Pierson Curtis and Sarah Lundy, “What I did was terribly wrong. It’s time to fess up to what I did and do the right thing.”

That sounds all chivalrous and everything. Good for her. She saw the light. Praise the Lord, but there’s a problem with it. She appealed her conviction. For the record, she is now incarcerated for these felony offenses: (1) Carjacking Without Felony Assault/Deadly Weapon - 2 years; (2) Aggravated Flee/Alluding a Law Enforcement Officer - 2 years; and (3) 2nd Degree Murder, Dangerous Act - 30 years. Why would Ms. Derkovic appeal her conviction if her inner conviction was to come clean and seek redemption?

Robyn Adams is married to a former police officer. Orlando Sentinelreporters Jim Leusner and Vincent Bradshaw wrote on July 23, 2008 that “Clay Adams lived two lives: one as an Altamonte Springs cop, the other as a painkiller-addicted, marijuana grow-house operator who was scheming to kill a former supervisor.”

Courtesy of WFTV

I live right around the corner from Altamonte Springs and there’s no way I don’t remember the story of one of the city’s finest from July 2008. According to a complaint filed by Agent Timothy Gunning of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Robyn Adams, then an employee at a surgeon’s office, obtained illicit prescriptions for her husband and marijuana seeds from the Netherlands via the Internet. They both ran the grow-house.

According to the Sentinel article, the complaint gives this account of the probe:

Adams approached an informant to partner in a marijuana-growing operation. That person tipped off CCIB agents, who brought the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and ATF into the case.

During the next two weeks, the informant secretly recorded meetings and phone calls with Adams and his wife while agents monitored them. Adams bragged about previous marijuana-growing operations and driving the pot to Tallahassee distributors.

Adams provided the informant with drivers-license photos, undercover aliases and real names of drug agents and CCIB officers, along with the descriptions of their vehicles. Adams also supplied weapons and prescription drugs to the informant, a convicted felon.

He told the informant that he joined CCIB earlier this year to learn investigative methods on how to detect marijuana-growing operations, Gunning wrote.

Adams was “extremely upset” when a supervisor’s reprimand led to his removal from the task force, the agent wrote.

“Clay advised [the informant] that he will let the issue cool off for a couple of months and then ‘take [the supervisor] out’ when he least expects it, utilizing a .308-caliber rifle equipped with a silencer,” Gunning wrote.

After the informant rented a home for the operation, Adams and his wife set up hydroponic equipment in the residence last weekend and provided marijuana seeds, the complaint read.

Adams is a master patrolman who has served as a uniformed officer and detective for Altamonte Springs police. He has been suspended without pay, police Chief Robert Merchant said at a news conference Tuesday.

Adams’ actions “disgraced the honor of the badge,” he said.

“I am extremely upset,” Merchant said. “We work very, very hard to build our reputation only to have it brought down by [Adams’] actions.”

This is a despicable couple who conspired to deal in illicit drugs and (allegedly) have a police officer murdered. Clay Adams owned an arsenal of handguns, rifles and shotguns¹.  She will stay locked up inside the Tallahassee Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) until April 6, 2017, while he will remain up close and personal-like with Big Bubba at the Beaumont FCI until October 17, 2023. When interviewed, Bubba said he “don’t like cops gone bad.” No one does. Robyn Adams kept those letters from Casey after promising to dispose of them. Flush after reading. She tried to work out a plea deal over them. In my opinion, once a cop’s wife, always a cop’s wife, no matter how rotten to the corps. It’s a mindset thing and if you can’t trust a cop - or his wife - who can you trust?

I don’t know what is truth and what is fiction from the documents released yesterday. What I can and will say is that there are huge differences between being raised up with a strong religious faith and the kind that comes in prison, called jailhouse religion. I’m not going to say that either of these women picked up an honesty trait suddenly, and I’m not going to deny that they may have had epiphanies - the sudden realization or comprehension of the essence or meaning of something - a Come to Jesus moment so to speak, but I sure as hell wouldn’t put any stock in what they had to say. Any more than I would put in Miss Anthony’s letters. Again, let me refresh your memories… “Not a bit of useful information has been provided by Ms. Anthony as to the whereabouts of her daughter,” Circuit Court Judge Stan Strickland said. “And I would add that the truth and Ms. Anthony are strangers.”

What we have to be very careful of is selective believing. If you don’t trust Casey, how can you believe any of it is true? If you do believe any of it, you must believe Casey is telling the truth. So are the snitches.

A veritable Catch-22. Plus 2.

OCSO SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT ON CASEY’S LETTERS

Bashing & Trashing

Letters written with conviction

Casey Anthony’s secret jail house letters to fellow dorm mate, convicted felon Robyn Adams, should be released today. While the contents are not earth shattering, they should shed light on what makes Casey tick. Adams is the wife of a former Altamonte Springs police officer. She had been held at the Orange County Jail for helping him grow and sell pot but has since been transferred to the big house, her home for the next 10 years, give or take, depending on her behavior.

In court yesterday for an unrelated hearing, Casey’s defense attorney, Jose Baez, said, “You are going to find, if you look at them in context, a person who’s locked up 23 hours a day.” He added that they have nothing to hide.

Word on the street is that she wrote about the cuisine at the Thirty-Third Street Eatery. The nachos aren’t as good as Taco Bell or something like that. Here is where I’ll go out on a limb and say why I think the letters may help the prosecution. It’s not about what she wrote, it’s about what she didn’t write. If there are no mentions made of Caylee in those 50 letters, or if she’s merely noted in passing, it could shed light on a mother who couldn’t care less about the death of her daughter, she doesn’t mourn her, and she is, quite seemingly, very self-absorbed. On the other hand, please keep in mind that Casey has been told by Baez not to talk about Caylee or the case and that could be a very viable explanation.

Oddly, many people should be in total agreement with her on one front. She spends a lot of time bashing and trashing her parents. There you go, just what the bashers and trashers wanted to hear… You go girl!

♦

In other news, prosecutors want transcripts of the hearing held on August 21, 2009. It was there that Casey’s former defense team member Todd Macaluso announced in court that, “The body or remains of Caylee Anthony were placed there after Anthony was locked up in the Orange County facility.”

At the time, the defense would not go into details about the evidence they had to prove it. Macaluso’s bold statement set up the defense’s request for records from Texas EquuSearch, the volunteer group that helped search for Caylee. TES maintains that the wooded area was too flooded at the time to search.

Speaking of Texas EquuSearch, Orange County Circuit Court Judge Stan Strickland denied Casey’s request for all of the records from the search group after yesterday morning’s hearing. Baez had argued that the records are important to the case, but TES attorney Mark NeJame said Baez had plenty of time and access to view them. He called Baez’s lack of doing so “either laziness or sloppiness.”

In his order, the judge wrote that the files are still available for review at NeJame’s office in downtown Orlando and, therefore, there’s no reason to modify an earlier order. If the defense needs to access more records, they are free to request those.

Defense TES Document Denial by Judge Strickland