The Public Library of Law

I just discovered this site (The Public Library of Law) while I was surfing around for the new 5th Circuit case impacting CPS here in Texas (the Gates decision).

Sure sounds nice, but I'll need time working with this site before I get excited about it. It's free, that's good. But, heck, Lexis is offering lots of free stuff these days, too.

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Casey Anthony Getting Out on Bail

Leonard Padilla (here in Texas we still say "pa -dee - YA" not "pa -DILL- ah") is getting to be as famous as Dog "Duane" Chapman, with all the interviews he's doing about getting Casey Anthony out on bail ... and yet, here it is on Wednesday afternoon and Casey Anthony is still setting in jail.

Last night, on Nancy Grace, Padilla mentioned something about a ruling being needed by Florida's regulatory agency on his nephew's ability to do business in Florida and he also mentioned the SEC, interstate commerce, and civil rights .... This afternoon, on FOX.COM, mention is merely made of "paperwork" problems, with Casey Anthony remaining where she is.

As an attorney, I'll be amazed if there's an agency ruling on this issue in a 24 or 48 hour turnaround ... agencies have set schedules and calendars, due process requirements to meet for notice of hearing, and other time-eating requirments. Also, there's not any emergency need to expedite things here, to provide an exception to the general agency protocol.

If the family really wanted to get Casey out on bail fast, what could they do? Go get a local bail bondsman to handle things - circumvent this agency brouhaha. Padilla could do this, too, I think.

Of course, this opportunity has been open to the family since Casey Anthony was first arrested, of which they apparently have not taken advantage. Wonder why?

And on another issue, let's be clear:

the U.S. Constitution prohibits "excessive bail" in this country. It does not specifically give a right to bail, althought state constitutions or state or federal statutes may impose this right. For a good, succinct discussion of this issue, check out Justia.US, the U.S. Supreme Court's website, and its references to the high court's opinion in US v Salerno, 481 US 739 (1987).

Casey Anthony Latest - Greta's Got the Best Coverage: Is the Melinda Duckett Case Holding Nancy Back?

In my opinion, last night nailed it: Greta's got the best coverage of the Casey Anthony - Caylee Anthony story by far.

Greta Van Susteren's Coverage

Not only has Greta taken cameras into the Anthony home, as well as their backyard, along with interviewing George and Cindy Anthony repeatedly, but last night she had even more scoop: an interview with Tony the boyfriend's roommate, who was the DJ on the night that the "hot body" photos were taken, as well as being there when Casey and Tony met -- and living in the apartment, witnessing Casey being there, both before and after Caylee went missing.

From Tony the boyfriend's roommate, Greta got:

1. confirmation thru live interviews that Casey was telling Cindy that Caylee was with the nanny, at the same time she was telling Tony and his roommate that Caylee was with her grandparents, Cindy and George;
2. confirmation that Casey met Tony through Facebook, and that their relationship started around the last week of May;
3. confirmation that Casey left around 8:30 am each morning, telling Tony and his roommate she was going to work (just as she was telling her grandparents she was going to work); and
4. confirmation that after the last weekend in May, or the first week of June at the latest, Caylee was not seen by Tony's roommate at the apartment.

The DJ/roommate also stated that Casey appeared to be a "good girl" to everyone; that she was partying like there wasn't any problem at all during the "hot body" contest night; and that when she was with Caylee, she acted like a good mother - and that the mother and daughter had what appeared to be a loving, caring, close relationship.

Nancy Grace's Coverage

Meanwhile, over on Nancy Grace, the big interview last night was with psychic Gail St. John (another interview was with St. John's assistant) which gave us absolutely nothing new. I must admit, thought, that the cadaver dog was very cute, and had the best personality of all the psychic team members.

Nancy Grace and the Melinda Duckett Missing Tot Case - has Nancy been reined in?

Granted, Nancy Grace may be gunshy - or maybe the CNN legal team has set some clear show boundaries, given that she's being sued for her aggressive questioning of the mother of another missing tot, who committed suicide shortly after the interview.

Just like Casey Anthony, Melinda Duckett was the only "person of interest" regarding her missing son, Trenton. Trenton is still missing today.

Melinda was questioned on videotape by Nancy Grace, who vigorously questioned Melinda on why she didn't take a lie detector test, and why she was so vague in her answers to questions regarding Trenton's location. (One can only imagine how a similar interview would go between Nancy Grace and Casey Anthony.)

After her interview with Nancy Grace, but before the show aired on TV, Melinda Duckett committed suicide.

The Duckett family is suing Nancy Grace and CNN for the wrongful death of Melinda, as well as for their own allegedly severe emotional distress as well as media and public harassment after CNN and Nancy Grace aired the interview after Melinda's death.

Just this month, the judge okayed the case to go forward, denying CNN/Nancy Grace's motion to dismiss the lawsuit on the grounds that it would "severely chill" media coverage of stories involving similar missing children (or missing persons).

Interestingly, the Duckett lawsuit is filed in a federal district court in Florida, the same state in which the Anthony investigation is taking place. If another Florida family were to file a similar suit, they would be under the same state and federal circuit jurisdiction.

So, has Nancy Grace been "chilled" by the pending litigation? It's something to ponder ... though (ahem) I'm no psychic.

Don't get me wrong, though -- there's nothing I'd like better that to watch Nancy Grace interview Casey Anthony.

I'm just thinking that while the Jenny Jones show had its $25,000,000 verdict reversed on appeal, litigation is very expensive in time and money, and while television shows need to be responsible, the argument that their coverage can be "chilled" by even the possibility of being sued is also something valid.

Has Rielle Hunter Been Illegally Paid John Edwards Campaign Money?

First, I think the irony that the National Enquirer broke this story is delicious. It's almost as fun as Matt Drudge and Monica's stained dress ....

That aside, wearing my lawyer hat, I'm thinking that the big, lasting story here is the money. Affairs aren't new for presidents or presidential candidates and sad to say, illegitimate children probably aren't either.

But this twist of "show me the campaign money" is new....

There are continuing news stories about Rielle Hunter receiving cash from Edwards' former campaign finance chairman ... and that this money continues to be provided to her.

CBS News is quoting ABC's Nightline interview last Friday of John Edwards, where he purported states,"I've never paid a dime of money to any of the people that are involved. I've never asked anybody to pay a dime of money, never been told that any money's been paid."

(Edwards is a lawyer, and this response reminds me of my first year at UT Law, where torts Professor Treece explained personal injury defense: "you weren't bitten by a dog; second, my dog doesn't bite; third, I don't own a dog.")

1. Rielle Hunter's undoubtedly got the argument that she was, or is, a campaign employee.

However, that only gets her so far -- the money she's received needs to be reasonably comparable to others in that same position. Easiest way to do that is to compare jobs: how much did Hillary's campaign videographer get paid? Mitt Romney's? Mike Huckabee's? Ron Paul's? Do they all have campaign videographers?

2. Another question here, for me at least, is not just the scope of her employment but its length.

Is she still employed by the campaign? In what capacity? (According to the National Enquirer, Rielle Hunter is still receiving cash payments from the Edwards campaign coffers.)

3. Was any of this illegal?

If Miss Hunter, the former Lisa Druck, has been paid campaign dollars for what essentially becomes custody, support, and/or consideration for a confidentiality agreement, then federal laws may come into play here, and to me, this is where the rubber meets the road on this story being different from the rest of the Gary Hart-esque dramas.

I think we're looking at a federal crime when someone's dollars, given to advance a political campaign for president, are instead used for the personal expenses of the candidate's pregnant girlfriend.

Maybe it's fraud. Maybe it's theft. Maybe it's a violation of federal campaign funding protocols. But it's something.

CAYLEE ANTHONY - NOW THEY'VE HIRED PSYCHICS

Today's news has Cynthia and George Anthony hiring a psychic named "Gale St. John" to try and find Caylee Anthony. (Casey's still in jail, refusing visits with family.)

So, I went and surfed around on "Gale St. John" and she doesn't seem that impressive to me. Her website has a list of cases, not that many, and of thosae, only a few that appear to be successful ... and there's no specific references to any particular police matters where Gale St. John has saved the day.

I know that the Amazing Randi considers all psychics as shams, but if the Anthonys were going to hire someone, couldn't they at least go get Allison DuBois, who at least has a Harvard professor backing her up? (Yep, that Allison DuBois - the one that they made the TV show about, starring Patricia Arquette ....)

Where Was Casey Anthony Employed?

There's video of George Anthony describing the last time he saw Caylee -- Casey and Caylee were leaving the Anthony home while George was watching his usual Food Network television show, before he left for his job. Casey was purportedly going to work, and dropping Caylee off at the babysitter (I just cannot use the word "nanny" here ...). This was on June 16th.

There's video of Cindy Anthony talking about Casey referring to Caylee's "nanny" over the past year and a half before Caylee went missing.

There's audio of Lee Anthony explaining that Casey worked for two companies (Kodak, CVision) that contracted with Universal, which would explain why Casey Anthony's name was not on the Universal payroll roster.

Then, there's the search warrant affidavit (see link below) -- Casey Anthony was fired off the Universal lot over two years ago, her alleged coworkers and former boss don't exist, and she's got no payroll stubs, etc. to show any past employment history.

So, here's my question: as bizarre as the Anthony family appears to be, they do seem cohesive in their assumption that Casey was going to work. For an extended period of time.

Where was she going, with her child, on a regular basis - in work attire?

I can't find the answer anywhere on the web.

Sources:
Sun-Sentinel.com
FoxNews.com
InvestigationDiscovery.com"

Read the Search Warrant in Caylee Anthony Case

A local television station in Orlando has published the entire search warrant in the Casey Anthony case online, go read it here:

http://www.wftv.com/download/2008/0807/17124703.pdf.