During the first week of January 2011, lead defense attorney for Casey Anthony, Jose Baez, was sanctioned by the court for failure to follow orders issued by the judge.
Mr. Baez has spent the past two and a half years ensuring this case remains a high priority for media coverage. However, after his public scolding and court reprimand, Mr. Baez was unwilling to answer questions for a local reporter, Anthony Colarossi, although he did provide a few comments which may be found at the following link.
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2011-01-08/news/os-jose-baez-outside-depth-20110107_1_casey-anthony-case-murder-case-caylee-marie
“When reached last week to respond to the criticism and the management of the case in light of Perry’s sanction, Baez said, “I don’t have to answer any questions. Who are you?”
He added, “Do you have something to offer my client? It’s a two-way street. … The door is open if you can assist me or my client.” He hung up the phone, called back minutes later and said that conversation was off the record. Told that the conversation was not, Baez responded by saying, “You’re lying and being unethical.”
He threatened to stop discussing the case altogether, an approach he has at various times taken with other Central Florida reporters.”
“I don’t have to answer any questions” – Mr. Baez could have responded by stating he chooses not to answer questions, but instead he speaks to an issue of control with “I don’t have to”. Although we do not know the exact question, we do know it revolves around Mr. Baez’s unwillingness to submit to the control of Judge Perry. His personal independence is sensitive for Mr. Baez and he uses this opportunity to assert it. Mr. Baez feels the reporter is attempting to force him to answer the questions.
“Who are you?” – Although Mr. Baez could have been trying to ascertain the identity of the reporter, it is most likely Mr. Colarossi identified himself at the beginning of the conversation prior to his questions. Therefore, this sentence is most likely a challenge to the authority of the Orlando Sentinel reporter. Mr. Baez is stating Mr. Colarossi is not someone who has the power to force Mr. Baez “to answer any questions”.
“Do you have something to offer my client?” – Mr. Baez requests a bribe to make a statement about his unprofessional behavior in handling this case. Mr. Baez is willing to sacrifice his own desire to avoid any questions about his bungling to gain something positive for “his client”. Mr. Baez does not feel speaking about his sanctioned behaviors is positive for his “client” without something else of value being added.
“It’s a two-way street.” – Mr. Baez relates his previous experience with media. Mr. Baez has been dealing with the media for two and a half years in this case and tells the reporter in his experience, “it’s a two-way street”. When Mr. Baez has involved himself with the media prior to this conversation, he makes deals, he gains something he values in exchange for his interviews.
“The door is open if you can assist me or my client.” – Mr. Baez broadens the bribe limitations from “my client” to “me or my client”. Mr. Baez is also willing to answer questions he believes will demean himself for personal gain in another area. Even if the gain does not “assist” his “client”, Mr. Baez is ready to make the deal. Mr. Baez wishes to ensure the Orlando Sentinel understands he still wants media coverage, “the door is open”, even though he does not want to answer questions about his personal and professional errors.
“You’re lying and being unethical.” – Mr. Baez responds to news he does not like. Mr. Baez attempts to coerce the reporter into following the wishes of Mr. Baez in regards to publication. We would need to read the entire conversation, which is not available to us, to determine if the reporter was “lying and being unethical”, but according to this report, this concern was not raised by Mr. Baez until after Mr. Baez’s request to keep his previous comments off-record were not honored. If Mr. Baez had concerns about this reporter’s ethics, why did he call him back and offer to make a deal for personal gain?
We have learned Mr. Baez has issues with authority which he addresses by declaring his own independence at times when no one is questioning his personal autonomy.
We have learned Mr. Baez expects to be compensated by the media.
We have learned Mr. Baez does not give interviews about the murder trial of Casey Anthony for the sole benefit of Casey Anthony despite his position as her lead defense attorney, but he does, and is willing to do so again, for personal gain.
Bull Stopper Stops Bull 
Baez self-esteem is shrinking badly. Where’s Geraldo when you need him??
He’ll be there to cheer Jose up with a yacht ride.
or maybe an adventure to Al Capone’s tomb?
Great piece, Bull. It’s about time the media starts doing some real reporting on this case. There has been virtually no investigative journalism going on these past three years. Why hasn’t one reporter (even Belich who I adore) done some serious digging into the money angle? The money angle of both Baez and the Anthony family. It’s a good story if they want to sell ads. But mostly the family has been coddled AS IF that’s what the readership desires. We want truth, facts, we want our questions answered.
The Sentinel has gotten off to a good start. Keep the hits coming.. they’re past their due date.
Yeah, what exactly was Baez asking for from the reporter, more money? How much has he raked in from his appearances?
He’s done approximately 300 media interviews over the past 2.5 years.
I ditto your comments, Sophie…there’s been a huge void of investigative journalism in a case that screams out for it; a whole series could be done on just the scamfoundation the Anthonys set up.
And how could the FL Bar have investigated Strickland’s query and found no wrong-doing by Baez? Is the FL Bar a real organization that takes its job seriously? I’d say a request by a respected Judge is a pretty serious thing and it doesn’t look like the Bar did more than take a cursory glance at D. Casey’s accusations. Baez didn’t even get a slap on the wrist.
If the Bar had done what it was supposed to do and not revealed itself as the good old boys club I guess it is… this case and the courtroom proceedings would look a whole lot different today.
The Florida Bar has failed miserably, first for ever allowing Baez in, second for not taking any action against Baez in the several bar complaints filed against him in the past few years.
Thank you for another great article!
I think the Bar is the kind of organization which is very slow moving on these types of issues. I would imagine, as in virtually all professional organizations, it will take multiple instances before true reprimands take place.
As this is Jose’s first case with any real public scrutiny, he probably has few bar complaints up until now.
I wonder if Mr. Colarossi of the OS was able to hold on to his composure when Mr. Baez said “Your lying and being unethical” long enough to get off the phone before he broke out into guffaws of laughter?
now, isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black? huh, Baez?
I wish we could see the entire conversation. While I want to believe the worst about Baez, I am intrigued by the exact words of the reporter who conveniently left his portion of the conversation out when he wrote the story which made him look superior to Baez.
This is what I do not like about taking quotes from this type of account. We have only the reporter’s word, which I am not doubting but allowing for creative remembering which we all engage in when telling a story in which we are personally involved.
When we look at a video interview or court transcription, we can rest assured we know the truth of the wording.
Baez also flaunted the rules of the court by passing letters between the perp and her family. We know that is a fact at this point and have known for a long time. As far as I can tell, no action was taken against Baez for this.
Media could’ve picked up on it and exposed this easily. Just sayin’.
I’m happy about the Sentinel article, I am. Baez should be grateful he’s had 3 years of relatively good press and just suck this one up because he deserves it in spades. But I’m sure he won’t.
What have you been reading, where Baez has had relatively good press? Pretty much all the press that I have seen about Baez – other than his good fashion and grooming choices – has been bad press concerning Baez’ arrogance, inexperience, dishonesty, financial irresponsibility, etc. By way of example, the article linked by Bullstopper refers to additional archived articles (links broken, unfortunately) titled: “Special report on Jose Baez: For 8 years, Florida Bar would not let Casey Anthony’s lawyer practice law” and “Casey Anthony attorney Jose Baez faces foreclosure.”
Yes there have been articles. With this kind of elephant in the room the press has to address some of it. But I maintain compared to what they could have been saying and investigating they have been SOFT on Baez and the Anthony family.
Where was the expose on Baez passing correspondence between the perp and the parents? Not to mention all of them lying to the court and the public about this going on?
That’s just an example.
And Katprint, yes they’ve written about his foreclosures and his past history and basically, so what.
I think some thoughtful, well-investigated articles like the one that is the subject of Bull’s post would be welcome. Pertaining to THIS CASE RIGHT NOW. Not past cases, not foreclosures, not his child-support payments.
I think the concerned public would like to see more delving into his flaunting the orders of the judge every day of the week. Like that.
katprint, here are the links to the articles.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/caylee-anthony/orl-casey-anthony-jose-baez-050309,0,http://marinadedave.com/1572952,full.story
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/caylee-anthony/orl-casey-anthony-who-is-jose-baez-050409,0,7668671,full.story
If Casey does walk for some crazy reason it will shake up the legal community in FL permanently. And there will be a whole lot of changes going forward. Hopefully this will NEVER be allowed to happen again.
That’s the only silver lining I can think of at the moment.
I really don’t think Florida will pull a Los Angeles travesty of justice! Keep the faith in the System……
I don’t really think she’s going to walk either. I was just heaping on the drama a bit. 🙂
But srsly, they need to tighten up that ship down there. And they can start with the Bar Association.
I can’t conceive of Casey walking out on her attorney’s arms into the sunlight, free and clear of all charges by any stretch of the human imagination. Jose and Co. talked a good game before they were challenged once the hearings began. Since then the attorneys have dropped like FLIES and are putting distance between themselves and Miss Anthony’s case. It doesn’t apparently hold the appeal that it once had for some reason and don’t tell me it was because of personal finances. That is just ludicrous. It probably has more to do with the evidence that has not been released prior to trial as it would be considered as to prejudicial to Miss Anthony.
A very nicely written, intersting article, Bull.
Perhaps Mr. Baez is just confused. He does seem to mistake the definations of the terms “ethics” and antics,” and might think they are interchangeable. It would explain a lot.
I have no doubt Jose is confused… but even he is not sure about what…
If anyone is interested:
48 Hours on ID (ID Discovery Channel), tonight at 9pm EST “The Untold Story of Caylee Anthony”. ~ NEW ~
The description says something like “Grandparents discover their granddaughter missing and 5 months later zero in on her mother”.
5 months later?
I will watch and see what that is all about. I wonder if it will be a “puff piece” that the Anthony’s participated in (and got paid for!!!), or a real investigative show that 48 hours usually does. Should be interesting. Please let me know if anyone else watches!
Just stopping in to my favorite places to spread the word!
Hi Bull! And Venice!
Sorry, it was a repeat!
I figured it was. Have a nice day Linda 🙂
I think Baez’s pride is his down fall. It was his pride that got him involved on a case he had no business taking on. it was pride that put his face in the camera every chance he got, and it is pride that keeps him from admitting his is in over his head and can’t effective represent his client. Dignity seems to be a concept Mr. Baez and his client are unfamiliar with.
Pride is not helping him, that’s for sure.
@ emberl – Thanks for the links, but when I click them I don’t go to the articles. Instead, I go to “Page Not Found” and the current article analyzed by Bullstopper. I tried searching the site which suggested I should look in the Archive where apparently articles are available for purchase (but I don’t care enough to spend money on that.)
@ Sophie – It’s “relatively good” if it isn’t as bad as it could be. Great spin! I love it! I am adding that to my repertoire!
ha ha Katprint! Just call me Sophie-Spin-Doctor! At your service. 🙂
Sophie, January 9, 2011 at 12:43 pm:
Great piece, Bull. It’s about time the media starts doing some real reporting on this case. There has been virtually no investigative journalism going on these past three years. Why hasn’t one reporter (even Belich who I adore) done some serious digging into the money angle? The money angle of both Baez and the Anthony family. It’s a good story if they want to sell ads. But mostly the family has been coddled AS IF that’s what the readership desires. We want truth, facts, we want our questions answered.
The Sentinel has gotten off to a good start. Keep the hits coming.. they’re past their due date.
____________________________________
Here, Here, Sophie! Well said. It IS about time and yes, I agree, they’ve turned a blind eye to an incredible amount of BS in this case. All of us were drawing these conclusions about baez within the first couple of months, and if WE could, why couldn’t the courts? He should never, ever have been allowed to get away with everything he did, especially with the money! And the lying. And the inappropriate touching. And the lying. And the message passing. And the rude, arrogant courtroom behaviour. MORE lying (this time to the Judge) And the TES debacle — why bother having governing bodies if they arent governing? Somebody needs to be responsible for his messes. Isn’t there someone, somewhere, who is getting paid to prevent this sh-t from happening? Maybe we should all be pressuring the media to keep his (and mason’s) bad, bad behaviour on the front pages. Although they apparently can’t even be shamed into behaving more professionally!
There are several angles to this case including the money which I feel are vastly underexposed.
Caylee’s dad springs to mind…
do tell more…..
Dignity? Mr. Baez? Dignity is a demonstrated and an earned character quality. Baez has been discounting or cheapening his for some time.
I think he assumes his arrogance, posturing, and bullying while calling himself an attorney provides him some kind of dignity.
Very well said!!!
This brings up an interesting point about dignity. For Jose, the universe owes him dignity, just as it owes him a house making his shirking of his financial obligation a non-problem.
For most professionals, dignity is earned by their body of work and the positive completion of their duties. Not so for Jose, who has earned nothing at this point as he is a novice at best in the world of murder trials, but expects the police and Jeff Ashton to report in to him by phone.
I do believe that to place a price on your dignity, you have to have some in the first place!
You would need to have some to sell some.
Baez has no problems pricing things he does not possess. He may have a bridge and statue to sell you with his dignity.
Bullshitter.. what a real chicken shit of a little wienie you are. You have to be a real pussy to be afraid of a little adversity on your, using the term loosely here, blob.. er, blog. Well, you do have a few loyal posters so if you get them to go under 3 or 4 different names each then it looks like you a a real “following. LOLLOL. What a cow you are. And no, I don’t have a link to back that up, but I know a place where more than just I think that about you.
Why don’t you go back to that place you know and stay there?
If I am such a “pussy”, why do you keep coming back?
Why do you think stats are important to me? They are important to you. I have no need of stats. My work remains the truth regardless of the number of people who read it.
OMG. SICK.
Great response Bull!
LindaNewYork
January 9, 2011 at 8:38 pm #
That was a re-peat! i don’t watch because i don’t know if the scams get a royalty payment. i think they get more than enough of our money through taxes!
Bull, you never cease to amaze me.. After you let out my comment, and you inserted your reply to me, instead of putting Cecelia’s post next in line, as it should have been, you inserted “despicable me” in response to me. At least I suppose it was in response to me, even though it was right after yours. Again, let me point out that I have not been rude, to any one but you, and you said I could say what I like about you.. And, if I may ask, does a person apologize to you for being caught up in a dialogue between you and me, yet then turn around and do it again. I really know the answer to my own question, Bull.. because this person likes to fight.
As many blogs as you comment on, I find it hard to believe you are really this stupid.
Do you not understand the order of the comments varies depending on blog set-up?
If you hit REPLY to a specific comment, your reply appears underneath that specific comment or last in the row of other reply comments to the comment. Have you never noticed the indentation?
If you go all the way to the bottom of the comments and enter a new comment there, it appears last in the line of comments.
Why would I bother changing the order of your comments? Let’s getreal and get over ourselves, shall we?
And while we are at it, let’s get this clear, too. I do NOT wish to have a dialogue with you. You wish to distract myself and my readers from our chosen topic. If you wish to comment about the topic at hand, do so. Your comments which I did not allow were full of insults to other posters. I will not allow any such comments, cry all you want about me censoring you, my readers know the truth.
Let me be extremely clear.
You are NOT welcome here.
I have extended you NO invitation.
Any comments you make, you do so of your own free will.
Any replies of which you do not approve, you asked for and I care nothing for your feelings at reading them or being unable to post a reply, so stop whining to me.
In the spirit of “fairness” of which you so heartily espouse, this will be my final reply to any of your posts as you deprive my readers of my limited response time.
whay to put get real in his/her place. and with such style and dignity.something get real has none of. thanks bull
Well then Bull, it has been fun. I would like to point out that “DISPICABLE ME’S” “OMG,SICK” exclamation looks like she is referring to your comment since it is after mine. Perhaps she was referring to you “statement analysis” intead of my comment. LOLLOL. You seem to be really getting stressed by having to really deal with me. I have noticed that you only have a line or two in response to your other posters but quite the little diatribe for me Bull. I gather that it doesn’t take one long to agree with people who agree with you though, huh? In a way, I feel sorry for you and I feel bad that I have been such a thorn in your side. I just don’t understand why you have bothered with me at all. Could be “ego” I suppose. I am talking about a Baez ego and not a Jeff Ashton ego, that I pointed out on JBMission’s blog. If you go there and read, you will see there is a great deal of difference between the 2 of them. LOL. I will move on for now Bull, but I will say again that since you won’t let anymore of my comments through, it is enough for me to know that you read them. Thanks for your limited time, though I see you had a new article out about George being an agent of the state. Whhhaaatt.? LOL
Aren’t you a rude, ignorant a@@wipe! Got your own website that no one visits