Debbie Does Defense

When Cindy Anthony stepped down from the witness stand inside courtroom 23, the room fell silent. While she walked back to her seat in the gallery, the judge asked the defense if it had any more witnesses. This was supposed to be Debbie Polisano's time to take the stand, since she missed the first call, but she was still absent. She was Cindy's supervisor at Gentiva. Judge Perry asked the defense what time the subpoena stated to be available and Jose said 2:00 PM. It was now 3:48. Instead of becoming angered, the judge allowed Lee to take the stand. A deputy went out and called him in.

As Cindy sat down in her chair, Mallory gave her a very loving kiss on the lips while embracing her and offering much-needed support as she quietly whispered in her ear. Cindy was visibly shaking and in tears. Her face was somewhat red. These were real emotions. This was not something any mother - any grandmother - would want to experience to begin with, let alone relive. Silently, I watched her despair, taking notes on paper and in my head, trying to understand what must have bounced around in her brain like a roller coaster ready to jump the tracks. No matter what, as human beings, we must admit that this is not a ride any of us would wish for; one she will tell again and again in her mind and in the courtroom. Needless to say, I don't envy her or anyone in her family. It is a ride to hell.

I took note of George's straight ahead gaze, one completely void of emotion. It was one that spoke volumes about a man who didn't want a part of this theater. I can't say why he seemed so distant, but everyone seems to know; the letters his own daughter wrote that implicated him and his son of some strange sort of sexually perverse behavior, the differences of opinions within his family and some of his friends over this entire mess, and God knows what else. The list may be long, but all I realized, as I sat there, was that these people didn't deserve any of this. No, not at all. No one does.

Lee sat on the stand testifying in his own inimitable style. He has a tendency to laugh when the need arises. I don't know if it's a nervous thing or whether it hits him when he feels like someone is backing him into a corner. It could be his way of remaining uplifted during times when he should be down. Some may think it's quirky, and I would find it most difficult to conjure up if my sister sat in the hot seat, facing a possible penalty of death, but that's me. To him, it's quite possibly a mechanism that helps him cope; helps him get through some, otherwise, very tough times.

He spoke of his arrival at the house, after his father called him on the phone and asked to go home because he felt his mother would need his support. That showed me the concern of a parent. Something was wrong, alright, but I don't doubt that no one knew what would be in store. Caylee wasn't considered missing at the time. To George, Caylee AND Casey were nowhere to be found. Did Cindy ever alert him to the fact that their daughter always had excuses for not putting Caylee on the phone? She's napping. She's at Disney. SeaWorld. If anyone thinks the nanny story was weaved during the third 911 call, Richard Grund was told of her "existence" long before. He told OCSO Corporal Yuri Melich in September of 2008 that Casey had brought up Zenaida Gonzalez sometime between March - May of 2006. (See: Richard Grund Interview)

Lee testified that when he got to the house, no one was to be found. Later, Cindy and Casey came home and the two of them were far from smiling. Cindy was quite frustrated. Where is Caylee? What is wrong with you? She was getting nowhere fast, so she asked him to talk to her. He took over and tried to elicit information, to no avail, so he decided to take a different approach. In a "last-ditch effort" before law enforcement would come to the house to question her, he wanted to know why they couldn't go get Caylee. Plain and simple. End of story. We go get her and call it a night. That's when she blurted out that she hadn't seen her daughter in 31 days, but I seriously doubt she was counting. Up until the moment Cindy found Casey at Tony Lazzaro's apartment, guess who was out partying every night, way too busy to remember days of the week, let alone worry about her daughter's whereabouts? She knew right where she was.

At 4:20 PM, a half hour after he began, Lee Anthony was excused by Judge Perry. He then asked the defense if their next witness had arrived. It took a minute or two before Debbie Polisano was found and brought in. She seemed to me to be a rather reluctant witness, since it was approaching 4:30, and to be well over two hours late to a court hearing is something most people don't think of doing. After her testimony, it became more of a "what was this defense thinking" by the line of questioning. This was Cheney Mason's witness to collect information that would be positive. When he asked her how it started, she told him Cindy needed to take care of family matters after her husband called. She said she needed to do that, to go home and pick up the car.

He asked her if she had a conversation with Cindy when she returned. Yes. Do you recall what she told you? Yes. "That they both (George and Cindy) found the car at an impound lot, that it had been there for a while, that she didn't know, she wasn't able to get hold of Casey, and the car seat and the baby's doll and the backpack were in the car."

"Did she tell you anything else?"

"She told me there was a terrible, terrible odor in the car."

"I'm sorry?"

"She told me there was a terrible odor in the car."

This is where Cheney Mason should have stopped asking questions. Instead, he continued and the damage went from bad to worse. "Did she say anything that, uh, that her husband George had said to her?"

"I asked her if she had opened the trunk and she didn't answer, and then................................ she said that, that she felt that it smelled like a dead body."

"Did she tell you that's what George told her?" And this latest revelation of the defense now investigating George becomes more clear. Is he to blame? Is he someone worth discrediting? Should the defense throw him under the bus with the rest of us?

"That George told her?"

"Yes, her husband, George." The latest target.

"I know................................ She didn't say George told her. She said they both knew that."

"I'm sorry, she what?"

"She didn't say George told her that."

"Yes?"

"She just said that they both knew that."

There you have it. The shape of things to come. Damning testimony. Mason later stated in his argument that Cindy had a long time for reflection before she made the 911 calls, because she went back to work and had to be told by her superior and her superior's superior to go home. He said that Cindy still talks like Caylee is alive today. In the end, it mattered not what Mason or Baez had to say. The judge ruled that the tapes were admissible at trial because the defendant will have an opportunity to cross-examine the witness who made the statements during those calls. They were not hearsay. They were excited utterances made by a desperate woman who wanted nothing more at that time than to hold her grandchild again, her grandchild who was now missing. When she handed Casey the phone, it was the first time she spun her web of lies to law enforcement. What she was so good at doing, or so she thought, could not convince detectives that she'd go get her daughter the next morning. Sadly, a part of Cindy is still waiting for the tomorrow that will never come.

When Debbie Polisano was officially excused, she walked to the gate that separates the court from the gallery. I watched her like a hawk because I wanted to see if there would be any exchange between her and her former employee. I saw none. As she opened the gate to walk through, she turned away from the Anthonys, almost as if it was purposely done that way as some sort of personal affront. As she walked toward the doors, she stared straight forward, and I got the distinct impression that there was some sort of parting of ways somewhere along the pike. Of course, I could be reading more into it than necessary. She might have been nervous, but once again, there was a silence that befell the courtroom, and I looked at this day as an eerie omen of things to come. While both defense attorneys had their moments, they fell well short of convincing the judge that they based their claims on case law. Before the second break, the state proffered an example of case law. Judge Perry was well aware of it. At that moment, I knew how the judge was going to rule. He did his homework.

♦

During the second break, I had the opportunity to talk to Cheney Mason about that particular case law that Burdick and the judge mentioned, something called Lurch v. State. I suggested, because Judge Perry had familiarized himself with the case, he already made his decision and it wasn't favorable for the defense. I told him he did a good job in there. He just said, "We'll see," and he walked back into the courtroom. My intent was not to irritate him at all and it didn't. It was just a commentary. Seconds later, I ran into Jeff Ashton. I asked him why he was late. Not so much why he was late, I explained, but was it the plan all along to have Linda question Cindy because her tone might sound less intimidating? He said, absolutely not! That was how it panned out. It could have been either of them, or Frank George, I suppose. There was never a plan like that. There never is, he said. It doesn't work that way. I thanked him and returned to the courtroom. There was still a lot of work to be done. The OBJECTION TO RELEASE OF DOCUMENTS RELATED TO INTENDED DEFENSE REVIEW OF EVIDENCE was still on the docket du jour. The defense was granted that one. What those experts were doing in town last week is considered work product. In the end, it wasn't a fiasco for the defense, but those recordings are not going to help at trial. Neither is Debbie Polisano.

On a final note, Fusian Ultra Lounge, Casey's old stomping grounds, is no more. In it's place is Fifty Brews Bar and Grill. The initial count has them pegged at 74 beers.

A civil play, s’il vous plaît?

Today was my first foray into Orange County Circuit Court Judge Jose R. Rodriguez’s courtroom. I decided that this would be a perfect day before the firestorm begins in the criminal case, where motions are set for Thursday, next Monday, and the day after. This one came at a leisurely time, too; an easy 1:30 PM. That meant no rush hour traffic and no skipping lunch or dinner – not that that’s ever been a problem in Judge Stan Strickland’s court.

One of the things I noticed upon entering the courtroom was the relaxed nature of everyone, including the lone bailiff who sat at a desk in front of me. To my left was Red Huber, the award winning photographer from the Orlando Sentinel. We are both left-handed and our birthdays are only days apart. I’m not telling you who is older, but the deputy’s is one month after ours, in September and two out of three will be the same age. I asked the man with the badge why there were no other deputies in the room, like in Casey’s other courtrooms I’ve been in. He said, “This is civil court. We don’t get too many criminals in here.”

To be truthful, a second deputy did come in and sit across the room from him as court got under way, but this bailiff sure was a nice guy. Smart, too, because he doesn’t pay any attention to what goes on over at the criminal side. Casey who?

The judge was very amicable today, too. He was already at his bench when we were allowed in, so there was none of the ALL RISE business and we actually left before court was adjourned. The courtroom was sparse, but there were a few other cases to hear. Judge Rodriguez heard one, which only took a few minutes. It was all very relaxed. He then said he would hear the case about Zenaida Gonzalez and Casey, because that would clear the courtroom of most of the people who were there – all media – except for attorneys. That left only a couple of cases to address, but he knew this one would go by fairly quickly. It did.

Casey’s attorney, Jonathan Kasen, wasn’t there, but Keith Mitnik was. He represents Zenaida Gonzalez from the Morgan & Morgan law firm. The judge called today’s hearing a pre-trial conference and told him his docket is backed up. He told Mitnik to remove this case from the docket and refile it for trial in January, February or March of “oh-eleven” – the only time when there are openings. But he would set nothing in stone. Mitnik asked if it could possibly be sandwiched in between cases. Judge Rodriguez would not relent. Nope, he wasn’t going to bump-up. Older cases take priority, he responded.

That was pretty much the order for the day, but it doesn’t mean it ended there. Keith Mitnik was very happy to talk to the media when we exited the courtroom. It seems he saved the best for last, and it made my trip very much worth it. Outside of the courtroom is a large area for people to wait before the courtroom opens up. There’s a sprinkling of chairs here and there, but not nearly enough for everyone to sit. Like I said, it was only media people lining up to talk to him.

“I’m not surprised,” Mitnik said about the trial delay, which he had hoped would be held in August. “The courts are very busy. It’s not an old case.”

There is the possibility of new evidence surfacing from the criminal investigation, and the postponement actually gives Zenaida Gonzalez’s attorneys time to review the letters Casey wrote, along with statements made by the two jail house snitches, Robyn Adams and Maya Derkovic. Did Casey say or write that the nanny never existed? “They could be bombshells for our case.”

When he was asked if Zenaida is now working, he wouldn’t answer. He expects a jury to find that this Zenaida had nothing to do with Caylee’s murder. When pressed about money, he said this was more a matter of right and wrong, not money, although he did address punitive damages. He said he would ask for a significant amount of money.

He was puzzled by the fact that nothing has been done about Dominic Casey. Why hasn’t he been deposed yet? That’s a very good question, he responded, but he did add that Casey’s attorney, Diana Tennis, had filed a couple of motions that are pending, so there is some activity.

He said he had absolutely no contact with Casey Anthony. He is aware that she has her Fifth Amendment right to not answer and fully expects her to use it. Last September, her attorney, Jonathan Kasen, asked Judge Rodriguez to delay or throw out the civil trial. He said that Casey should not be asked whether or not she murdered her child while under oath. The judge denied that request. Something tells me there will be a lot of pleading the Fifth.

There are two other items of interest…

After most of the media people finished their questions, I had a chance to talk to Keith. I offered my condolences. He lost his 85-year-old mother a few months back. He’s a very good natured guy and told me he got that trait from her. He seems like a softie at heart. Standing alongside me was Bob Kealing from WESH. We did press him for information on the Cheney Mason/Judge Stan Strickland debacle. He was willing to proffer his thoughts, but he did ask that it be off the record. The only thing I will tell you is that he did not think it was my fault at all. Like I said, there isn’t an attorney in town who doesn’t know Mason.

Finally, I got a phone call this afternoon from my old friend Bill. Bill is the attorney who gave me excellent advice when I had to design ads, bumper stickers and more for a judge’s re-election against his opponent, a newcomer by the name of Belvin Perry, Jr. Bill went on to become a judge in Jacksonville, but is now retired except for consulting work. He asked me if I knew where Belvin came from. I said, you mean the prosecutor’s office? He said, yes… but it’s more than that. He and Ray Sharpe handled all of the capital cases. That means he knows all about prosecuting murderers. Before you let your imagination run away with this, please remember he is now the chief judge and no longer a prosecutor. Still, it’s something to mull over. Meanwhile, Bill agreed to be my “legal advisor” so he’s willing to answer difficult legal questions. Bill and I go back at least 25 years and I used to tell him he should be a judge. Well, he was, and I am proud to know him.