Kelsey Smith Act Signed Into Law

TOPEKA, Kan. – Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson signed a bill Thursday that will make it easier for law enforcement to get cell phone “ping” information from service providers.

Rep. Rob Olson (R-Olathe) introduced the measure after learning about the frustration Kelsey Smith’s family and law enforcement experienced when trying to get Kelsey’s wireless carrier to provide location information about her cell phone.

Kelsey, 18, was killed in May 2007 after she was abducted from an Overland Park Target store near her home. Authorities eventually used the ping information to determine where her cell phone had traveled in the hours after her disappearance and found her body in a wooded area of Longview Lake four days after her disappearance.

Edwin R. Hall, of Olathe, has since pleaded guilty to her abduction, rape and murder and is serving a life sentence in a Kansas penitentiary.

“It took four days to get the wireless provider to release Kelsey’s cell phone location information,” Olson said. “This act will ensure no other family will go through the agony of waiting that the Smiths did.”

The Kelsey Smith Act requires wireless telecommunications companies to release the location information of a missing person’s cell phone in a timely manner to law enforcement in emergency situations.

“When a loved one is abducted – time is of the essence,” Olson said. “Law enforcement officers respond quickly because they know the window of opportunity to find that missing person closes quickly. The Kelsey Smith Act gives investigators a tool that will help them in their response and that will save lives.”

The new law also directs the Kansas Bureau of Investigation to oversee the collection of the contact information for all wireless telecommunications carriers doing business in Kansas and then to disburse that information to public safety answering points (PSAPs or 911 call centers) on a quarterly basis or anytime a change in the information occurs.

Olson said he has been contacted by legislators from a number of other states who are considering similar legislation.

“It is gratifying that other states understand the importance the assistance the Kelsey Smith Act provides investigators in finding missing loved ones quickly and safely,” Olson said.

Missey and Greg Smith, Kelsey’s parents, testified before both the House Energy and Utilities and Senate Utilities Committee in support of the bill.

“I want to thank the Smiths for their unwavering support of the Kelsey Smith Act. Their willingness to share their heartbreaking story helped convince lawmakers to vote for the bill. They are a true inspiration,” Olson said. “I also want to thank the Kansas Legislature and Gov. Parkinson for their overwhelming support of this important legislation.”

The Smiths have said in the past that even if the new law would have been in place when Kelsey was murdered, it would not have saved her life.

Casey Anthony's Lawyer, Jose Baez, Rejected By Florida Bar On First Try

His defense of a young mother charged with killing her toddler has transformed José Ángel Baez into one of the best-known lawyers in America.

For eight years after he graduated from law school, however, the board that screens prospective attorneys in Florida would not let him practice law. The Florida Supreme Court agreed with the decision, issuing an order in 2000 that cataloged unpaid bills, extravagant spending and other "financial irresponsibility" up to that time. Justices reserved their strongest condemnation for his failure to stay current on support payments for his only child.

His overall behavior, they wrote, showed "a total lack of respect for the rights of others and a total lack of respect for the legal system, which is absolutely inconsistent with the character and fitness qualities required of those seeking to be afforded the highest position of trust and confidence recognized by our system of law."

He worked instead as a paralegal for the Miami-Dade public defender and then taught Internet research to lawyers and started four business ventures, including two bikini companies. Before Florida Bar officials admitted him in 2005, he had to demonstrate that he had rehabilitated himself.

Today, as lead defense attorney for Casey Anthony — the Orange County woman charged with killing her 2-year-old daughter— 40-year-old Baez has become the sort of instant celebrity monitored by TV, newspapers, tabloids and the Internet.

He is a Bar member in good standing, his office spokeswoman reminded the Orlando Sentinel in a prepared statement. She also questioned the motives behind the newspaper story.

"Based on your questions and actions," she wrote, "this profile you are writing has nothing to do with Jose Baez's representation of Casey Anthony and appears to be a sensationalist persecution of a Hispanic lawyer who has been targeted by a newspaper lucky to find itself at the center of a national story."

The Supreme Court order, which the Sentinel found in public records, shows that nearly a decade ago, he could not satisfy the character and fitness standards Florida requires of prospective lawyers.

It identifies Baez by his initials, J.A.B. — standard procedure in cases in which prospective lawyers challenge their denial of a law license at the state's highest court. Using other public records and interviews, the Sentinel matched many details in the document to Baez, however.

For instance, the lawyer listed as representing J.A.B. was Manuel Alvarez, an attorney with the Miami-Dade Public Defender's Office, where Baez worked at the time.

The office confirmed that Alvarez helped Baez with his Bar application. Supreme Court records show J.A.B.'s is the only case involving the Bar that Alvarez has handled in the state's highest court.

Alvarez would not comment, but Executive Assistant Public Defender Rory S. Stein said that Alvarez wrote a legal brief on behalf of Baez in 1998, the year after he graduated from law school. Stein called it "a friendly gesture" to a staff member who needed help with his lawyer application.

In an interview last year, Baez described his eight years out of law as a personal choice, saying he could earn more money in other fields. He would not be interviewed for this story but commented on the court order in the statement issued through Marti Mackenzie, his office spokeswoman:

"The ruling you claim that was made about a lawyer with the initials J.A.B. has nothing to do with Mr. Baez's current status as a member in good standing with The Florida Bar. Many people, including lawyers, have monetary misunderstandings, disputes and child support disagreements that have no effect on their ability to represent clients."

[more on this douche here]