The Legal Edge

Casey Anthony Trial Date Set

The official trial date is now set. January 5, 2009. Happy New Year.

Casey Anthony is now scheduled to stand trial in Orlando, Florida for the murder of her still missing little girl Caylee and for now let’s assume the date sticks. This is one of those  cases. A case; a story that captures the heart of the country, inflames passion, angers, no enrages.  An irresponsible mom who would rather not be a mom of any kind. More fun to party, come on, life doesn’t end at age 22 does it? What’s wrong with having a social life?

As sorry as I feel for the loving friends, grandparents and others who have become so involved in the sad saga, let’s be real here. Caylee is likely in a much better place now. The newest evidence; “air tests” of the Anthony car trunk revealing samples “consistent” with decomposition. The new info; the strand of hair that is “similar” to one found in Caylee’s brush; the chloroform residue; and most of all the strange explanation given by mother Casey saying she spent a month looking for her daughter before reporting her missing…it all leads to the same reasonable conclusion, Mommy Dearest.

And Casey, jurors don’t worry about dead bodies never found. In fact, a missing body pisses them off. Remember Perry March, the Tennessee attorney who killed his wife? Ten years later and the body was never found. No body; no problem. Perry will never see the outside world again.

I’m confident Ms. Anthony will get as fair a trial as is humanly possible under the circumstances. Too bad for her those circumstances include, a Florida venue; a nationally exposed case that has painted her a monster; and a truly unbelievable explanation of her actions once she “discovered” her child missing. Ask any parent.

In the normal course, a suspected killer might hope to escape the death penalty by telling authorities where to find the deceased victim. But the Anthony defense team has steadfastly held that Caley is still alive. Tough to reveal the body if you never killed anyone. If defense counsel believes the “Caley is still alive” strategy will play at trial they better wake up and smell the cyanide.

MJB

One of our big hearted fellow trial fans is reaching out to help find that little missing girl Caylee Anthony. I’m happy to pass this along:

Caylee Anthony, Texas EquuSearch and The Legal Edge

Bummed-out as I was, despite The Legal Edge going to bat for us for Spector Deux, we just couldn’t get enough people to commit to the pay-per-view concept.  Maybe next time, people will realize that TLE is totally serious about bringing us – the trial junkies – what we want!

As you know, we at T&T are totally absorbed in finding justice for little Caylee Anthony.  Sadly, we have come to accept this baby is dead, whether by accident or intent.

I have watched the absolute despair on Texas EquuSearch’s Tim Miller’s face about the lack of any cooperation from the Anthony family in locating Caylee.

TES has already laid out $44k in their search for Caylee and they are severely cashed-strapped at the moment.  Tim is physically drained and exhausted, but he and his wonderful group remain dedicated to bringing this baby home for a proper burial.

I have chatted back-and-forth with Michel and told him I took the money I would have paid for Spector Deux and donated it to EquuSearch.  Their work, not only for Caylee, but also for countless others, is a selfless labor of love.

I also told Michel, I would like to issue a challenge to all of you that told him you would subscribe to Spector Deux, please donate the money you would pony-up for Spector, or even as little as $5.  This baby needs to come home!

Michel and TLE, as well as T&T believe TES could certainly use what resources we have to offer.  They know that strength lies in our numbers and voices.  They, like us believe in justice.

So…one moment can change your life forever!

To donate to TES please go to http://www.texasequusearch.org/donate.html

TLE says, “Thanks Denise.”

JACOB -MJB's healthy, happy 5 year old

MJB

Of course if talking about Phil Spector’s hair a miss is as good as a mile. For those who read only headlines…We did not get enough PS2 fans to pledge their allegiance to a TLE production of the music producer’s re-trial.

We tried. We wish we had longer to get the word out. The hundreds of folks we got to commit in five days might have blossomed into the number we needed (1000) but we are out of time. I will be calling Judge Fidler this morning to officially bow out.

Thanks to all who tried to rally the troops. I believe there is still hope for Openings, Closings and Verdict to be televised but there has been no official word on that yet.

TLE is moving on. The two trials we were considering have been moved into 2009, so the pickings are slim but we’re lining up the best of the rest. And construction continues on our new features so keep an eye out for more as The Legal Edge Network works to become the place for all things legal.

 MJB

Oprah -- Apparantly reacting to a request for credit

Over the last week TLE has been fortunate enough to get some mainstream media attention appearing on the CBS Early Show, CNN  and Extra to talk about the O.J. Simpson verdict and our exclusive interview. We were more than happy to help out. That is, until we ran into Oprah.

Here’s what happened. An Oprah underling calls to say they would like to use our O.J. interview on their Friday “Live” topical program. I said “sure,” prepared the material and shipped it off. I then wrote to the Oprah legal department to confirm we would be getting the proper on screen credit for the material we were providing for free to the daytime Queen. A very standard, accepted practice in the biz. Here’s the reply:

              “Unfortunately, we can’t give .com credit. (It’s our standing policy not to provide any web addresses in our credits.)

Hmmm. Let’s see. We provide you with exclusive material you will effectively use as your own, because nobody reads the end credits on your show or any anybody else’s, and you won’t actually credit us since we are a dot com entity. Hey, who wouldn’t rush to make that deal? Are you kidding me?

I sent Oprah legal a nice note suggesting our TLE policy  was not to give away exclusive material without proper attribution. I also asked,

“What’s the harm in identifying the media outlet, even if it’s a dot com? And BTW, dot com media outlets are no different than ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNCB, FOX or any other local or national outlet. Oh, right. In this case there is a difference because although the big guys all tried to get the interview only up and coming TLE made it happen.”

A day later I got the shocking news that the Oprah show “was going a different direction.” That’s corporate weasle speak for “You got us. We were going to use your interview as our own and bury your credit so you received absolutely no value in return.”  (The October 10, 2008 program did include a segment on the O.J. Simpson verdict.)

I’m not sure what is more pathetic; the corporate Oprah machine that makes a practice of steam-rolling folks into submission so she can fill her show with the work product of others…or the likelihood that waaay too many people actually cave in to this bullying boloney so they can say, “We were on Oprah.”

Oprah, isn’t having all  the money enough?

MJB

IS PHIL SPECTOR IN YOUR FUTURE?

I once covered the “fight of the century”. It was 1986 at Ceasars Palace in Las Vegas. Thomas “Hitman” Hearns vs. “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler. The fight lasted only 2 1/2 rounds before the “Hitman” went down, and while celebufight fans like Bo Derek and Sly Stallone called it the best fight ever, the boxers were plotting to set up the rematch. As the glassy eyed Hearns told me after the fight, “We did it once…let’s do it again.”

What the heck does this have to to with The Legal Edge? Nothing really, except that after an outpouring of Phil Spector fan e-mails I’ve decided to try one last time to get a read on how many folks would really subscribe to a monthly service that allowed us to cover costs to stream the Spector trial. Here’s the deal: I’ve opened a new e-mail address just to receive commitments from PS2 fans. If the number is sufficient (and based on my calculations and production costs that number needs to be at least 1000 viewers at $35.00 per month. The cost would go down if we get more subscribers) we would go ahead with setting up the actual payment structure to assure these commitments. The last thing we want to do is start the process and end up going under because a large number of folks flaked.

Here’s the dedicated e-mail address: lawjerktoo@gmail.com

So, pass this along to anyone interested. I’ll e-mail the basics to all registered at TLE…and we’ll see. It’s up to you now.

MJB

As expected, both defendant O.J. Simpson and defendant C.J. Stewart filed there motions for new trial Friday the 10th, basically the last day to do so under the very time stingy Nevada rules. But here’s a betting line, a sure lock, my V.I.P. can’t lose special…Motion DENIED.

The hearing on the motion isn’t until October 30th, but this all pro forma, Gabe Grasso and Brent Bryson just making the right paper move through the system to set up grounds for appeal. You may remember Judge Jackie Glass refusing to extend the time to file the motion. Why would she do that knowing the amount of material counsel would need to review to support any motion? “I have no idea,” deadpanned Bryson in the courthouse hallway just after the verdict.

Well, I don’t have the same political constraints. Judge Glass said, “no” to any extension because she heard the case and the filing of a new trial motion is effectively asking the trial judge (Glass) to reverse herself on the rulings she handed down along the way. It just doesn’t happen. But the filing of the motion and the impending denial is necessary to set up the appeal.

So, the parties grind through the system. O.J. grinds through another 23 hours of each day in his segregated cell (See Part #4 of TLE’s Alfred Beardsley jailhouse interview), and the sentencing will come and go long before any appellate issues are ever decided.

But it’s part of the system. Flawed or not it’s the best on the planet.

MJB

 

When O.J. Simpson talked to me last week about his holiday round of golf, he never seemed to realize that it could have been his last golf outing ever.

 

Whew!  It was part challenge; part stress; part surprise and completely rewarding and satisfying.

Thanks to everyone for sharing this first trial with all of us here at TLE. Special congrats to Matt, our Chief Producer; Jamie, our Associate Producer and the folks back in NYC who responded to every emergency…I mean cleverly disguised opportunity. We proved it could be done and we stacked up nicely against the big boys who have been doing this for decades.

Okay, if you count the O.J. Simpson exclusive we did a little better than those who have been doing this for decades. That interview has provided us with a fair share of exposure which is nice as we prepare for our next adventure.

And what might that next adventure be you ask? Simply put; we don’t know yet. We are looking at a few different options. The “Baby Grace” case in Texas and the Denise Lee case in Florida to name a couple. Yeah, I know, there’s that Phil Spector II case out in my homeland California. We have processed and re-processed the possible coverage of PS2 for months. We even floated the idea of covering the case as a bonus to those who would subscribe to watch the case simply to cover our production costs. Why not cover it as our primary case?  The fact is:

• Ratings at CTV proved not enough people watched the first version of the Spector case.
• A 4-5 month case does not fit our business plan and would be very risky in light of the limited audience.
• We want to expose a larger audience to new cases whenever possible. 

The audience that has expressed an interest in seeing PS2 is vocal and intense so we tried to measure that interest as a pay per view additional trial. The numbers were just not large enough to allow for an acceptable monthly fee. And to cover Spector as our primary trial would mean losing the chance to bring our audience between 4 and 6 new trials. That doesn’t mean PS2 isn’t worth the effort, but we had to make a business decision. Hopefully it is the right one.

So, we will continue building upon the features you find at TLE. Consumer segments and caught on tape moments, plus message boards and our legal news resource are on the way. We appreciate your being here, your enthusiasm and the opportunity to do it again and again.

This first round at TLE is just the beginning.

MJB

They have been the focus of all things O.J. since their nuptials in September 2007. Outside the courtroom Tom and Sabrina Scotto sit close together, Sabrina often holding Tom’s hand, leaning on his shoulder or tugging at his arm. The couple who celebrated their first anniversary on the day we heard Opening Statements in this trial live in Miami and have been friends with the Simpson family for about eight years. It was the Scotto wedding that brought O.J. and friends to Las Vegas in the first place. Now, instead of sharing family dinners and fond memories the Scottos are re-living a series of bad ideas and worse judgment that may send their buddy O.J. to prison.

Talking with both the bride and groom I get this feeling that they are a very giving couple. They love their friend O.J. and want to do everything they can to help. When they returned last week from their 1st anniversary trip to Maui (the same trip they took for their honeymoon) O.J. asked Tom to stay here in Las Vegas for the rest of the trial. Tom responded by having his “security” man drive one of Tom’s SUV’s out here from Florida which the auto repair shop owner now uses to get O.J. to and from the courthouse.

Tom testified today. His story of a Michael McClinton-Walter Alexander extortion and “N” bomb laced discussion was, if true, the big blow the defense needed to convince these jurors that co-defendants making deals to save their own skin could not be trusted. Even Mrs. Scotto’s name came up in court as Detective Andy Caldwell blurted out that Sabrina had been kicked out of the preliminary hearing in this case for “tampering” with witnesses. To that, Tom and Sabrina told me there was no such ejection. They did admit that during the prelim, while Charles Cashmore (man hiding in room 1203 bathroom) was on the stand, Cashmore was making eye contact with his publicist in the gallery. Sabrina was right behind the publicist and apparently was making faces in reaction to the obvious non-verbal communication between Cashmore and his publicist. That got a Marshall’s attention and Sabrina was asked to leave. She then asked Tom to join her outside the courtroom.

Now, in the Marshall’s defense; it’s hard not to notice Sabrina Scotto in any room, let alone a courtroom. She is a striking, Brazilian woman who often wears satin pants and tops that provide ample evidence Mrs. Scotto is guilty of attention grabbing without even trying. 

But as she stands, or sits by her man, it’s hard not to feel sorry for Mrs. Scotto. “Guilty” O.J. or “Not Guilty” O.J. it really won’t matter. We’ve all heard of guilt by association, but should it really extend from the best man at the wedding to the blushing bride?  

MJB