Imperfect Justice_ Prosecuting Casey Anthony - Jeff Ashton [105]
“What do you want to resolve this?” he asked as Jose sulked in the corner.
I told him that I first wanted Baez to file a pleading in court detailing what he intended to challenge, in compliance with the court’s original order. I suggested that it was as easy as repeating the language he had spoken in open court. Also, I wanted an apology for the personal attacks Jose had made on me.
“If that is done, I will withdraw my request to find Mr. Baez in contempt of court,” I told Mason. “But Jose must apologize in open court, and I will be happy to withdraw the contempt request.” I’d had enough. For two years I’d been putting up with his abuse, while he said whatever he felt like saying. He was going to apologize to me in the same place where he had attacked me so many times before.
I had to hand them a copy of the transcript of the prior hearing, and Dorothy Sims wrote out in longhand on a piece of yellow legal paper exactly what Jose had previously said in court on the matter. The handwritten paper served as the new motion. It was presented to Judge Perry, and Baez, as the lead defense counsel, signed it. I looked it over and said I was fine with that.
Back in court before Judge Perry, I explained to all the people present, “Judge, we’ve resolved the matter. We have agreed that if Mr. Baez apologizes and complies with the original order, we will agree to drop the contempt motion. The defense is going to file a pleading in compliance with the court’s order.”
Baez then presented Judge Perry with the signed yellow piece of paper, which documented that Baez would limit the scope of his challenge to Dr. Vass. He stood before the court and apologized for what he had said about me, crediting it to the deep passion he felt for his client. While it hadn’t started out as much of an apology, he did acknowledge that the things he’d said were not appropriate or true. I accepted his apology and shook his hand, thinking the issue was resolved. I could now prepare for the Frye hearing knowing exactly what the issues were. Or so I thought.
When the Frye hearing came along in early April 2011, I experienced the most bizarre episode in my thirty years in court. As the hearing progressed, Baez began to challenge everything Vass had done, as I had originally feared he would do. He completely abandoned the limitations he himself had placed on the issues when he’d signed that handwritten piece of yellow legal paper. I was dumbstruck, and so was the judge. After two or three attempts to broaden the scope of the issue were denied, Baez actually complained that he had been coerced into signing the yellow piece of paper that Dorothy Sims had given him, and that he should not be held to what it said. He even claimed that I had coerced him into signing it.
My jaw dropped. He had lost that little battle of wills with the judge and me a month earlier, and now he stood in front of the court to whine about it. Words escape me at times like these, but they did not escape Judge Perry. “Well, I guess I can’t trust any stipulation you get,” Judge Perry said.
In the end, the court ruled that Dr. Vass’s opinions were based upon generally accepted scientific principles, so Vass would be permitted to testify. It was an important victory for us, but we didn’t have too long to savor it. The trial was a little over a month away—more than enough time to get one final, massive curveball thrown our way.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
THE NUCLEAR LIE
Eight weeks before trial, Linda, Frank, and I were reviewing every defense action that Jose and his dream team might come up with. We had long expected what Linda would call the nuclear lie, the big one. Our job was figuring out what that might be.
With Caylee’s remains found and the crime scene tied to the Anthony home through