Casey Anthony Update: Defense Attorney Jose Baez Ordered to Pay $583.73 Fine
ORLANDO, Fla. (CBS/AP) The hits just keep on coming for the defense team behind Casey Anthony, charged with the 2008 capital murder of her 2-year-old daughter Caylee, after one of her lawyers, Jose Baez, was slapped with a $583.73 fine for failing to turn over information about expert witnesses.
The judge in the central Florida case also denied a request to view a blogger's photos, calling it "fishing."
PICTURES: Casey and Caylee Anthony, Personal Photos
Circuit Judge Belvin Perry said in an order released Thursday that the fine is the cost prosecutors spent in filing a motion about the experts' issue.
Earlier this week, the judge found that Baez had committed a willful violation of his order by missing a deadline on turning over reports from the defense experts. The judge also ordered that the experts must provide written reports about what they will say at trial. Anything not in the reports or in depositions will not be allowed at the May trial.
On Wednesday, Anthony's attorney attempted to have Perry order a former searcher and blogger to turn over any photographs he may have of the vacant lot where Caylee's body was eventually found. But the judge ruled against them, expressing concerns that the defense was going on a "fishing expedition," according to the Orlando Sentinel.
"I cannot give you a license to fish," Perry said just before issuing his ruling Wednesday.
The motion filed in court Wednesday stated that a Dec. 8 deposition of Joe Jordan, a state witness who also aided in the initial search for Caylee, showed that he was an online blogger, who visited and blogged on various websites discussing the Casey Anthony case and the search for Caylee Anthony, the paper reported.
Two sites, "Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community Forum" and "Scared Monkeys Discussion Forum" both posted photos taken by Jordan and linked to his personal website, the motion states, according to the Sentinel.
Perry said that he was not satisfied by the defense's argument that there was "tangible" evidence that the photos could provide for the defense, but he did deny the motion "without predjudice" which means that the defense could revisit the argument if they can discover more compelling evidence that the photos are relevant.
Anthony is jailed on first-degree murder charges in the death of her daughter, Caylee, whose remains were found in December 2008. Caylee was 2 years old when she was reported missing by her maternal grandmother in July of that year.
Anthony has pleaded not guilty and maintains that Caylee was abducted by her babysitter. The trial is scheduled to begin in May.