The problem with being a legend is that when you fall, the drop is extraordinary. Without a doubt, Dr. Werner Spitz has been legendary in his field for decades. And it seemed to me that On Saturday in the Casey Anthony trial he performed a kamikaze raid obliterating his reputation and credibility in a spectacular fashion. And he did it in a case where he still believed that the victim was kidnapped by Zanny the Nanny. Apparently, the defense team never informed him that they no longer believed in that scenario.
On direct testimony, Spitz said that the duct tape was applied to the skull of Caylee Anthony after her body had completely decomposed--that someone picked up the bare skull and applied the duct tape and laid it back on the ground where it was found. At first, I thought I heard him incorrectly. A double-check revealed that was his testimony. Really? You've got to be kidding me. It's about as believable as the Zanny lie.
That ludicrous scenario made him appear to be a hired gun whose testimony was shaped to suit the person who paid him. During the cross examination though, it appeared as if there were more at work than that. Spitz displayed an alarming level of professional jealousy toward Dr. Jan Garavaglia and her successful television career. He sounded like an old man at the end of his career who resented a colleague for her achievement--referring to the work she did on this case as a "shoddy autopsy."
He grew angry when his opinion questioned as if he didn't understand that's what opposing counsel is supposed to do. There was an undercurrent of defensiveness in his anger that reminded me of someone in the early stages of eldery dementia, angered by his own loss of clarity.
It was reinforced when the prosecution asked him about the number of media interviews he had given. He said one did one in Michigan that was also televised in Florida. When Jeff Ashton mentioned his interview with WKMG reporterTony Pippitone in Orlando, he did acknowledge that one but added that he did not talk about any forensic details. Ashton asked about his comments regarding brain dust and duct tape in interviews with the female reporter in Detroit. Spitz said he did not remember talking about that to her. Spitz also could not recall doing an interview about the case on the Today show. He could not remember his appearance on 48 Hours.
Then it got even worse, Spitz accused someone in the medical examiner's office of tampering with evidence at the discovery scene and in the autopsy room. He had no proof of those allegations--it was conjecture lacking in any factual basis--but it was his conjecture. In a transparent show of arrogance, he was angered that anyone would question it.
When he stepped down from the stand, he seemed confused and appeared to need instruction to find his way out of the courtroom. At that moment, I was actually embarrassed for him. It's sad to see a once vital mind now becoming intellectually impotent.
On the other hand, the more we see of Jose Baez, the more difficult it becomes to consider his mind as ever possessing vitality. He screwed up again with the witness that took the stand before Spitz. Baez overstepped the bounds of the court's established rules on expert testimony--rules put in place because Baez missed a critical court deadline. The violation happened when Baez attempted to elicit testimony from Forensic Anthropologist Dr. Bill Rodriquez about the duct tape.
The judge believed it was an intentional flouting of the rules on Baez's part. The judge took Rodriguez off the stand, ordered a deposition that afternoon and only agreed to allow him back to testify on Monday because he did not want to punish Casey Anthony for her attorney's behavior. He said he would decide on a Contempt of Court charge against Baez at the end of the trial.
It seems Baez will stop at nothing to keep his client from paying the price for her actions. Fortunately, the prosecution team has demonstrated a remarkable proficiency in cross examination--an ability that is needed to find justice for Caylee.
Amen, you said it all there. I was totally shocked at the old man's testimony. He ruined his own reputation; he is retired and he should stay retired.
ReplyDeleteJudge Perry was pretty peeved at Baez for trying to get testimony that wasn't in the deposition. I know he had to let it in (by giving them a chance to take a new deposition that afternoon) so as not to have a mistrial.
How many more blunders will Bozo Baez make??
Just my opinion,
Janice
When Baez opens his mouth there is always the possibility that a blunder will pop out. And the worst thing about that is his near perpetual smirk even when he screws up. Judge Perry's contempt of court comments did wipe the smirk off of his face for a short time, though.
ReplyDeleteDiane, how soon do you think we will see him interrogate George on the witness stand? Surely Baez will address his allegations of drowning and a coverup when he puts George on the stand.
ReplyDeleteOR..........he could not call George.
What do you think?
Janice
He sounded to me like a man with years and years of experience who was offended by someone who he felt did a poor job in performing the autopsy. He even said that. Please...You would have to do much more that this to make this man feel any kind of anger or ineptitude. Are you kidding me. You don't seem to understand the depths of his knowledge and expertise.
ReplyDeleteSmirky McSmirkison came off like a petulant child when Judge Perry was handing him his ass. He didn't even have the good sense to take his lumps and learn - he started to argue! Gads! What a disaster! Casey Anthony's legal team appears to have the Reversed Midas Touch. This is excellent news for the Prosecution!
ReplyDeleteFrozen Squid, I do know his knowledge and expertise and it is for that reason that his appearance in the courtroom saddened me. I watched both my father and father-in-law slowly descended into the hell of dementia before they died. At one point, Dr. Werner Spitz reminded me of my Dad in his early stages and that broke my heart.
ReplyDeleteIf he believed that an autopsy was shoddy, his anger was acceptable outside of the courtroom. On the stand, it was not.
Perhaps, Dr. Spitz is not in the early stages of a serious dementia. But everyone loses some of their sharpness and clarity as they grown older--it could simply be that.
He is a legend and will always be one but Saturday he reminded me of an old football quarterback who should have rested on his laurels instead of coming back for that final season.
Janice,
ReplyDeleteIt's difficult to predict what the defense will do next because there seems to be no logic in their strategy or decisions. If Jose Baez wants to honor the committment he made to the jury in his opening statements, he definitely will call George Anthony. Then if George does not admit to being a child molestor guilty of incest and responsible for disposing of his granddaughter's body, then Baez will have to put Casey on the stand.
But Baez has shown no interest in keeping his promise to the jury with a cohesive and consistent defense strategy so you can't count on him with this either.
Well I have no idea who he was before I saw him on the stand, as I assume most of the jury won't, and he came across poorly to me. I thought Casey looked distressed during his cross examination, knowing it was not going well for her. I also found it odd he said he had done 50,000 autopsies in his 56 years. I don't know how many autopsies one could do in a day but that works out to be almost 3 a day, 6 days a week, every week of every year. Given his other achievements this seems unlikely to me, a brag. I could well be wrong and he used to do 10 a day in his prime, but that was my impression. Forgetting the interviews, being so reluctant to acknowledge the circumstances around Caylee's disappearance, being inappropriately angry and then his theory looks as shoddy as the defence's. If I was on the jury I would be unimpressed so far by the defence's expert witnesses. I can understand creating uncertainty about the state's evidence but to try and attempt to make the evidence fit an even less plausible scenario seems risky. Why not work with the scientific facts?
ReplyDeleteLeah-Bogue,
ReplyDeleteI don't think he was aware of the circumstances. He spoke about Zanny abducting Caylee. I got the impression that the defense never informed him they ditched that scenario. But you would have thought he would have kept up with the news in a case in which he would testify.
That witness was pretty painful. On one hand, I didn't want Ashton to hammer him, but on the other, it's his job. It did seem that the "moving of evidence" idea was something that he came up with on the spot because he was angry
ReplyDeleteYou could be right about that, Gretablau. But I don't know that for a fact.
ReplyDeleteYou all must drink the same bathwater --- it is called the "fla. prosecutors are honest & honorable" brand. FYI -- national studies PROVE that Fla is 3rd in the USA (behind Tenn. and Texas) in proven cases of prosecutorial misconduct. Cheating ! Planting evidence!! Ask William Denton or Wilton Dedge or 16 others falsely convicted by "criminal" dishonest cops & prosecutors in the infamous "superdog" cases (1981 to 1993 ). All men were set up by planted & tampered evidence . WHY DO YOU THINK FLA WAS FORCED TO FUND AND CREATE ITS OWN INNOCENCE COMMISSION IN 2010. Look it up !! NOW for this case Casey Anthony-- the Current headline is THIS -- " Prosecution Panics as defense witnesses dismantle their jigsaw puzzle case." PUT yourself in the MIND of a juror; first, Some doubt was introduced about where the body decomposed (one -- a single fly leg -- in the car trunk) Ever see Gil Grissom on CSI Las Vegas ??? always bugs bugs and more bugs at each stage of decomposition !! THEN - CRITICAL - the last words that the jury heard from Dr Rodriguez just prior to "objection" was about duct tape not maintaining its adhesion. The prosecution appeared in a panic. The trial stopped. Spitz came on and was EFFECTIVE. The Judge told the jury that you will see Dr Rodriguez on Monday. Then Monday comes and goes with NO WITNESSES. A reasonable juror would be thinking " Holy crap -- that prosecutor freaked out about duct tape testimony; and now we DO NOT hear from Rodriguez on Monday, like the judge told us. Holy crap --- there must be something devastating to the prosecution case about this duct tape. I wonder if they are working on a plea deal? " Open your minds-- jurors are locked away in a room -- they do not hear the media cheerleaders. Jurors are left with IMPRESSIONS of events - some big, some small. The event that has seemed to scare the crap out of the prosecutor, and de-rail the entire trial (therefore a HUGE IMPRESSION) is defense witness testimony about duct tape. Prosecutors NEVER search for the truth. NEVER. They get fired if they lose too many cases. Prosecutors are ALL ABOUT keeping the TRUTH (facts) from entering the courtroom. And they cheat. And that is how Florida earns its ranking as number 3 in the USA for Corrupt prosecutors. Look up the info I have stated here -- it is on the googleNet. Not A. Zombie
ReplyDeleteI am not an automaton that lives and breathes prosecutors. Sometimes I do take the prosecutor's side, like in this case. But at other times, I do not. In fact, I have received the Defender of Innocents award from the Downstate Illinois Innocence Project and have delivered a keynote address at the Women and Innocence Project because of my work on behalf of the wrongfully convicted. I believe I have proven that I have a balanced approach to viewing both sides of a case.
ReplyDeleteAfter extensive study and analysis of the forensic evidence, I called the duct tape the murder weapon and named the chloroform as an accessory in my book published long before the prosecutors revealed their belief in the same.