The Greek myth of Icarus tells of a young man with such hubris, he believed he could do anything, even fly. So he fashioned a pair of wings with feathers, but glued them together with wax. His hubris led him to imagine himself invincible and fly too close to the sun. As one can imagine, the wax holding the wings together melts, and Icarus takes a brutal fall, ultimately, a deadly one.
This myth might have been tailor-made for the story of Jose Baez, criminal defense attorney who, after a mere three years of trial of experience, took on one of the highest profile First Degree Murder cases in history, with the whole world watching. Like Icarus, who thought too highly of himself, Baez thought he was up to a task that would give the most seasoned defense attorney pause.
I've heard some In Session (TruTV) commentators say, Jose Baez has experience. He has 45 cases under his belt. Maybe so, but not 45 cases of this magnitude. Baez has tried five murder cases, and one capital case, cases which reportedly had nothing like the complexity of the Casey Anthony case. Jose Baez does not have the experience and background one would expect to lead a defense team in a complex high-profile capital murder case being watched by the world.
Jose Baez, as it turns out, has a rather checkered past, according to the Orlando Sentinel*. Baez was born in Puerto Rico in 1969, and grew up in the Bronx and South Florida, raised by his mom, a single parent. He dropped out of Homestead High in 9th grade. Following that, he married at 17 and shortly became a father. He then earned a GED in lieu of a high school diploma and joined the Navy.
According to his resume, Baez spent three years assigned to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Norolk, Virginia, where he trained as an intelligence analyst with what he describes as "Cosmic Top Secret" security clearance. Upon discharge from the military, he attends Miami-Dade Community College and transfers to Florida State University, from which he graduates. Baez is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and competed with the karate, pistol and crime scene team from FS U's chapter of Lambda Alpha Epsilon, a fraternity of criminology majors.
Baez was accepted to St. Thomas University of Law in Miami and graduated in 1997. It is unclear when he takes the Bar, however passing the Bar exam is not the only qualification for becoming a lawyer. One must be accepted by the State Bar. In 1998, after his graduation from law school, Jose Baez was called before the Florida Board of Bar Examiners which screens prospective Florida attorneys. He was told his application to become a member of the Bar had been denied based on what I call, "behavior unbecoming an officer of the court."
Jose Baez appealed this decision all the way to the Florida Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court upheld the Board's decision. The Florida Supreme Court issued an order in 2000 denying Baez entrance to the Bar citing "unpaid bills, extravagant spending and other financial irresponsibility" up to that time. Justices reserved the strongest condemnation for Jose Baez's failure to stay current on his child support payments for his only child. His overall behavior, wrote the Justices, showed a "total lack of respect for the rights of others and a total lack of respect for the legal system, which is absolutely inconsistent with the character and fitness qualities required of those seeking to be afforded the highest position of trust and confidence recognized by our system of law." For eight more years, the Bar continued to deny Jose Baez's entrance.
Undeterred, Baez began working as a paralegal for the Miami-Dade Public Defender's office. He also taught internet research to lawyers and started four businesses including two bikini companies (Bon Bon Bikinis and Brazilian-Bikinis.com), and applied for his real estate license. After working for the Miami-Dade Public Defender's office as a paralegal for a number of years, Baez took and passed the Bar exam in 2005 and at that time he was accepted by the Florida Bar. At present, Jose Baez is a lawyer in good standing with the Florida Bar Association.
It's really quite a story. One can see that Baez had a rough beginning, a rough middle, and had to face consequences for his actions for a number of years before he was given the privilege of practicing law. One would think these experiences humbled him, but alas it does not seem so.
He is a tragic figure, I believe, and his tragic flaw, like Icarus, is that of hubris. As a result, he behaves brazenly and even recklessly, both in his personal and his professional life. All those years in the Public Defender's office, and it is surprising he did not learn the lesson that all defense lawyers must learn: Do not assume your client is being truthful, do not trust your client, do not take your client's word for anything. And for heaven's sake, DO NOT tell the jury you are going to prove something you CANNOT prove! If you do, you will lose all credibility with a jury, if you lose all credibility, your client will as well!
I knew Jose Baez was asking for trouble in presenting a defense saying Casey Anthony had been molested since the age of 8, and further, that George Anthony had witnessed the death of Caylee and had himself covered it up. First and foremost, the latter claim is utterly ridiculous. While it IS believable Casey Anthony might have panicked after an accident and attempted to cover it up, it is NOT believable that a man who was a cop, who worked for the Orlando Sheriff's Department, in fact, would consider for one second covering up an accident. Nor is it believable that George Anthony would then allow his daughter to take the rap for him. Is such a scenario possible with some father and daughter somewhere? Sure. But an ex-cop certainly knows that covering up an accident is the worst possible move. Further, I think he'd have done a better job hiding the body!
As to the molestation charges, it seems clear that Jose Baez was trying to find a way to explain Casey's lying behavior to the jury. And I have no doubt that, even if prompted in some way by him, she did in fact tell him that this was true. However, to make a charge like this one simply must have some kind of evidence, even if in the form of someone to whom Casey told such a story. Had Baez consulted a number of psychologists, I'm sure one or two could have given some theories as to what COULD have happened to her, as to what her diagnosis was or is. An expert witness could have said that Casey's behavior is consistent with this or that diagnosis, and to have this or that diagnosis, one must have suffered X, Y or Z, even if one does not recall this, or understand it well enough to articulate it. That's about as good as it's going to get.
The fact is, if Jose Baez thought it possible George Anthony molested Casey, and he may well have believed it, he would have done well to investigate. Is there a friend she told? Might a teacher or counselor from school recall anything of note? Does George Anthony have any criminal record? Have there ever be any complaints of any kind against him? Any lawsuits? Was there ever a report made to Child Protective Services? Would Lee be able to testify to anything that could give credence to this charge? Is there an expert witness who can say that Casey exhibits signs of molestation?
Clearly none of these things existed. I'm simply not sure why he thought he could go ahead and put on this defense, even if he had originally planned to put Casey on the stand.
The failure of this case-- and I believe Jose Baez has failed miserably--all comes back to the fact that, like the lawyer played by Richard Gere in Primal Fear, he BELIEVED IN his client. the jury. And I can only imagine that in order to believe Casey was telling the truth, he also had to believe he was immune to the rules all other lawyers must follow. He had to believe that he was special, and that his ability to detect the truth was unique, granting him the ability to go with a defense based solely on the word of a proven liar.
He then built a defense based on his belief that his rapport with Casey was such that she would not lead him astray, that she would in fact tell HIM the truth. That is the only possible reason someone would put on such a risky defense. And thus his defense was built upon the shifting sands of untruths, which could not withstand the scrutiny of actual investigation.
Look how surprised he was-- truly surprised-- that Cindy Anthony committed perjury. As he said to the judge, "We took Mrs. Anthony's word she was telling the truth." I am sure that is true. But THAT is exactly what a defense lawyer cannot afford to do.
Closing statements are scheduled for tomorrow, Sunday July 3, 2011. I expect rather a grand show from Baez. And I expect the usually smugness (perhaps deserved at this point) from Jeff Ashton. I cannot say whether the jury will find Casey Anthony guilty of First Degree Murder, but if I had to guess I'd say yes. If they do not, there are plenty of other charges to keep her in prison for life, or most of her life. But as of right now, I suspect she will get a first degree murder conviction. As for death or life, I'd guess she'd get life, so as to spare George and Cindy Anthony further grief. However, I wouldn't be shocked if she did in fact get death.
* http://mo.imperfectparent.com/topics/2011/06/05/casey-anthony-trial-qod-who-is-jose-baez/
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