Casey Anthony`s Lawyer Asks to Move Case
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST (voice-over): Tonight, could the entire Casey Anthony trial have to pack up and move to a far-away city? Casey`s defense team goes on the attack, saying Casey will not get a fair trial in her home county. Now, the defense wants a change of venue. Also, Casey`s high powered attorney, Linda Kenney Baden, angrily lashes out at local cops and the media. Wait until you see her shocking accusations. Then, a family vacation becomes a hellish nightmare. Two years ago, adorable 3-year-old Madeleine McCann vanished from a resort in Portugal while her parents were out for dinner. Today, the distraught British parents spoke to Oprah in a desperate bid to bring more attention to their missing daughter. I`ll show you the heart-wrenching interview, and I`ll have an update on the search for Madeleine. Plus, is David Hasselhoff still battling alcohol? Conflicting reports say Hasselhoff was rushed to the hospital for alcohol poisoning after his daughter found him unconscious Saturday. Sources close to the "Baywatch" star deny the reports. I will straighten out the facts. Plus, swine flu has many in a panic. But all the attention gives us the chance to examine the jaw-dropping conditions in pig farms worldwide. I`ll tell you why the information everyone is ignoring is critical to your health. ISSUES starts now.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: A flurry of breaking news tonight in the murder trial of Casey Anthony, accused of killing her adorable little 2-year-old Caylee. Tonight, Casey`s defense team goes on the attack, using the media to slam the media and prosecutors. Famous defense attorney Linda Kenney Baden lashed out at Orlando`s local media, and what she calls tabloid media on NBC`s "Today Show" this morning, while simultaneously attacking the prosecution`s decision to seek the death penalty.</s>LINDA KENNEY BADEN, CASEY`S ATTORNEY: Yesterday, they announced, "We`re going to ask for the death penalty." We wrote a letter, "Where is the evidence?" We don`t have an autopsy for the child, for which they`re seeking to take this woman`s life for killing her. The local media rushes to take news leak sources. When you lose somebody or someone you love, you grieve differently.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: She pulled no punches during this fascinating interview. I will show you more of her shocking comments in just moments. Meantime, team Baez also making decisive moves on the legal front. They have just filed for a change of venue.</s>JOSE BAEZ, CASEY`S ATTORNEY: Our motion specifically requests that this trial be moved to south Florida. One, it has the largest population. And, combined with the seventh lowest coverage out of the ten media markets that Florida has. So if you combine those two aspects, south Florida, believe it or not, is actually the best place to find -- to have the opportunity to sit a fair and impartial jury.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, really? But isn`t Jose Baez himself courting all this media attention by constantly holding news conferences? Like he did, just there? The defense claims their client cannot get a fair trial in Orlando because Casey`s reputation has been irreversibly tainted by the local media. Would moving the trial really make a difference at this point? We will debate it. A lot to get to tonight. Straight to my expert panel: Tom Ruskin, a former NYPD detective and president of CNP Detective and Investigative Group; Judy Kuriansky, Dr. Judy, noted clinical psychologist; Jayne Weintraub, criminal defense attorney; Mike Eiglarsh, criminal defense attorney. Both of them out of Florida. And by phone, Rozzie Franco, reporter with WFLA 540 AM in Orlando. Plus, Karen Mills-Francis, host of "Judge Karen." Judge Karen, you are a former Miami-Dade County court judge.</s>KAREN MILLS-FRANCIS, HOST OF "JUDGE KAREN": I am a retired judge.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Well, congratulations. I`m sure you did a lot of hard work before you got there. That seems to be where Baez wants to move this case. I know there`s a lot of difference between South Beach and Orlando Beach. Do you really think dragging everybody to Miami, as much fun as that could be, will make a difference in this case?</s>MILLS-FRANCIS: Well, you know what? I ran two countywide races here. I had billboards up on 995. I had commercials on television, commercials on the radio. I have a TV show on every day of the week here. And I can go anywhere in Miami, and people don`t know who I am.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh!</s>MILLS-FRANCIS: In my own hometown. I live in Miami. I think that very -- there have been a lot of cases that have national attention in the state of Florida that ended up in Miami. Ted Bundy`s trial, it happened in Tallahassee. The trial was moved to Miami. Jessica Lunsford trial. It happened in Homosassa Springs, Florida. It was moved to Miami. The statute says that it has to be in a county with the same demographics as the county where the crime occurred. I think that means Miami. Orlando has a million people. Miami has 2.3 million people. So I think it`s going to behoove both the prosecution and the defense, if they want to get a fair jury, to probably move the trial here. And my bet is, the case is coming to Miami.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, Mark Eiglarsh, what is it about Miami that she can walk around all day and not get recognized, and people don`t care as much about Casey Anthony? I mean, is it so exciting down there? I`ve been to South Beach. It`s pretty darn exciting on a Saturday night. But is that why they just don`t care about Casey Anthony?</s>MARK EIGLARSH, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: She`s just being humble. We see her and we worship her. We love Judge Mills-Francis. Listen, if she was on "Nancy Grace" every Monday night, then maybe they`d recognize her.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: True.</s>EIGLARSH: Like Casey Anthony, you know? That`s the difference.</s>JAYNE WEINTRAUB, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: ... Jane.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: But look, I grew up in a big city, Manhattan. It can be very anonymous. And there`s a totally different mindset than in a small town like my first job in Fort Myers, Florida. You know, where everybody knew I was a little news girl. And it`s a completely different mentality. So is that big-city mentality going to help Casey Anthony`s defense team?</s>EIGLARSH: The defense -- the defense wants the case down here. Not for the reasons that Jose Baez stated. The No. 1 reason is because he thinks he can get an acquittal here, because we`ll definitely provide to him a more liberal jury down here in South Florida.</s>MILLS-FRANCIS: I disagree -- I disagree with you, Mark. Because this jury has to be death qualified. That means they`re going to be asked if the state proves its case to you beyond a reasonable doubt, can you impose the death penalty under the right circumstances? Studies show that conservative jurors usually will impose a death penalty. So it doesn`t matter whether it`s in Orlando or in Miami. Those jurors more than likely than not are going to be conservative because they have to be death qualified.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. There`s a lot of issues here. And part of it is the local media in Orlando. Defense attorney Linda Kennedy Baden didn`t hold back in her criticism of the local and what she called the tabloid media on NBC`s "Today Show" this morning. Listen to this.</s>KENNEY BADEN: Every single day, since I`ve been in this case, which was December 11, there has been a story, a story, a story. Even when there`s a non-story, there`s a story. So the Supreme Court`s recognized that you can`t get a fair trial a lot of times with the local media coverage. You, for instance, the national media, give us a fair shake.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The local media is not giving you a fair shake? Not giving you a fair shake?</s>BADEN: Absolutely not. Just by even printing the stories over, the local media rushes to take news leaked sources, "law enforcement sources say." A lot of times the evidence that law enforcement sources have leaked was improper. So they`re willing to overlook and question, where the national media does not.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: Linda Kennedy Baden, kissing up to "The Today Show" there. The defense says they slanted media is why they couldn`t get a fair trial in Orlando. But Linda Kenney Baden said, if you Google "Casey Anthony," you get seven million hits. Now, Jayne Weintraub, given that the Internet is obviously everywhere, isn`t she proving the point that there`s no point in moving the trial? Because this case has been viewed nationally, and you get seven million hits when you Google this young woman`s name?</s>WEINTRAUB: Yes and no, Jane. The answer is that you`re both right. And the reason is, the -- the problem here isn`t only the local media. The bigger problem is the community sentiment. And that is one of the reasons set forth in the statute that there is a change of venue, and it should be granted. The reason is, do you remember Sheriff Barry? Wasn`t he out there, yelling for people, "Please be calm, please be calm"? If the sheriff in the town has to calm these people down -- do you remember how the Anthonys were stoned at their house, the mom and the dad? I mean, this is a community that wants a conviction at all costs. This community is what has the potential jurors. No, they can`t get a fair trial. Neither can the state.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: You said -- you said the point that Jose Baez was making today. Jose Baez said people who live in Orlando have become so personally invested in this case, that that`s another reason to move it.</s>WEINTRAUB: I think that`s true.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: Listen to this.</s>BAEZ: We have thousands of volunteers who have gone out to search for Caylee`s body. You combine that with the hundreds of people who attended both the vigils and possibly 1,000 who went to the memorial. This case has become deeply imbedded in this community.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: You know, Dr. Judy Kuriansky, I agree with Jose Baez here. And a lot of times I disagree with him. I mean, a lot of people spent many of their weekends, month after month, searching for this child, only to find out that prosecutors alleged Casey killed her within days of her going missing. Now, wouldn`t these community members that you see here just going through, you know, on horseback, on their -- literally, their lawn mowers they were looking for this child. They`ve got to resent that.</s>JUDY KURIANSKY, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: I agree with you totally, Jane. And psychologically, it makes sense to want to move the trial. But guess what? From the psychological point of view, you could move this trial anywhere. And we have all watched what has happened. We`ve read it. We`ve seen it on TV. And there are people all over this country, whether we move that trial to Colorado or Minnesota. There will be people who are going to be emotionally charged about this and already have in their mind that she`s probably guilty. They`re horrified by it. I have worked with lawyers on jury selection. People have emotional reactions, especially to the Haleighs and the Caylees and all these young girls who are snatched and murdered.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: Of course. Because it`s so horrifying.</s>KURIANSKY: Exactly. So it doesn`t matter. There`s always going to be bias.</s>WEINTRAUB: Isn`t the community invested and have a potentially fair jury there?</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let`s save that question for the next segment. More on this legal drama in a moment. Don`t forget, Nancy Grace up immediately following this program at 8 p.m. Eastern. She will have the very latest on all the latest developments in the Casey Anthony case. And here on ISSUES, I will be taking your calls right now. Should the Casey Anthony case be moved to Miami? Call 1-877-JVM-SAYS, 1-877-586-7297. Let me know. It`s been two years, meantime, since beautiful 3-year-old Madeleine McCann went missing while on a family vacation in Portugal. I will have an update on the desperate search. First, Casey Anthony`s lawyers don`t think Casey will get a fair trial, thanks in part to media coverage. Here is Jose Baez taking a shot at the media, even as he holds yet another news conference for the media.</s>BAEZ: There are those of you who are much more -- have much more integrity than others. And there are those of you who just simply don`t care. You know, you`ll be dealt with in -- at its proper time and place. But right now I`m focused on my client.