Casey Anthony Attorney Banned From Practicing Law

WDBO News- One of Casey Anthony's attorneys wants to be removed from the case after the State Bar of California took away his eligibility to practice law.

Todd Macaluso is best known for his claim in open court that the defense had evidence proving the remains of Anthony's daughter Caylee were put in the woods where they were found after Anthony was already in the Orange County jail. To date, the defense has not backed up that claim.

Macaluso has been under investigation by California's bar for months. On Monday, the bar issued an order making him an "inactive" member and unable to practice law. Wednesday, Macaluso filed a motion to withdraw from the Anthony case in Orange County court.

Anthony will be in court for a hearing Friday in front of the new judge on the case, Chief Judge Belvin Perry, Jr. He took over the case after the previous judge, Stan Strickland, removed himself. Defense attorneys argued he made inappropriate contact with a blogger.

Defense Argues Innocence of Casey Anthony, George Anthony Takes the Stand

Examiner- On Friday, Casey Anthony’s defense team revealed a portion of their strategy before the court.

They claimed their client was in jail when her daughter’s body was placed in the wooded area not far from her family’s home.

Casey is charged with the first-degree murder of 2-year-old Caylee Anthony, who is believed to have disappeared sometime in June of 2008. Her remains were discovered six months later, in Dec.

Mark NeJame, the attorney for Texas EquuSearch, the volunteer group that helped search for Caylee last summer, argued that the area in which Caylee was eventually found was never searched. In a news conference on Thursday, NeJame claimed this portion of land was underwater at the time the search team was looking for her. However, by the time Caylee’s remains were discovered, the water had receded.

Todd Macaluso, with the defense, argued that EquuSearch did in fact search the wooded area and should be subpoenaed.

The defense also argued that testimony from bounty hunter Leonard Padilla’s team should not be allowed during Casey’s trial. Attorney Jose Baez argued that such testimony should be quashed under attorney-client privilege, however the prosecutors thoroughly rejected this notion.

According to Bob Kealing of WESH 2 News, “Jose Baez said Casey did not confess to anyone. But at the same time, he’s trying awfully hard to quash testimony from the woman, Padilla’s employee, who spent 10 days close by Casey’s side last summer.”

Casey’s defense team also questioned her father, George Anthony, in an effort to demonstrate Padilla’s group acted as security for the family. Cale Ramaker of WOFL noted “Casey Anthony started crying when her dad unexpectedly took the stand.”

“What I saw clearly in the courtroom [was] Casey Anthony shedding big tears, sobbing instantly the second her father started talking. Four minutes later, when the camera turns to Casey, she had calmed down,” said reporter, Holly Bristow.

Judge Stan Strickland granted the defense team’s request for the phone records of Casey’s ex-boyfriend, Tony Lazzaro, from June 1 through Dec. 18, 2008.

Lawyer: Caylee Remains Put In Woods After Casey In Jail

WHO DIDN'T SEE THIS COMING?

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The defense team for Casey Anthony, who is charged with murder in the death of her daughter, Caylee, said in court on Friday that there is evidence that proves Caylee's remains were placed in a wooded lot after Anthony was in jail.

"There is substantial evidence that we've found ... that the body or remains of Caylee Anthony was placed there after Casey Anthony was locked up," said Todd Macaluso, a defense attorney. "It proves that somebody else placed the remains in the area."

Macaluso did not disclose the evidence.

Anthony's attorneys argued at the hearing that testimony should be taken from the head of Texas EquuSearch, Timothy Miller, about the search for Caylee. The searchers looked near the wooded area where the toddler's body eventually was found in December. They also asked to be allowed to review records on thousands of volunteers who participated in the searches for the little girl last summer and fall.

The defense team hoped that testimony would show it would have been impossible for Anthony to dispose of Caylee's body in the woods because she was arrested and in jail two months before the discovery of the girl's remains.

Anthony's father, George Anthony, took the stand during the hearing during a motion heard about the dealings the Anthony family had with celebrity bounty hunter Leonard Padilla, who posted Anthony's bond after she was arrested on child neglect charges last summer.

Casey Anthony cried while her father was answering questions.

Anthony's defense team wants to prevent Padilla and his team of bail bondsmen from testifying for the state about what she told them about the case.

Orange County Circuit Judge Stan Strickland did allow the defense team to have access to the phone records of an ex-boyfriend of Casey Anthony. Strickland said the defense can see Tony Lazzaro's phone records from June 2008 to December 2008.

Casey Anthony, 23, is charged with killing her daughter, who disappeared last summer. Anthony has pleaded not guilty. Her trial is scheduled for next year.

At a news conference on Thursday, Mark NeJame, who is representing Miller, released photos, which he claimed show why the group called off a search of the area where Caylee's remains were later located.

The photos were taken from a helicopter in November, one month before Caylee's body was found in the wooded area of Suburban Drive near the Anthony family home.

NeJame said the photos show "a green wall of foliage" which could have easily prevented a searcher from finding Caylee's body. NeJame stepped down as the Anthony family's attorney in October 2008.

"One could literally be within inches of an item and be blocked due to the thick and massive underbrush and foliage," NeJame said in a letter sent to the state attorney's office and Anthony's defense team.

NeJame also said the photos show "standing water throughout the area."

"When the search was conducted, the areas where Caylee's remains were found were still in water, which is why the search in that specific place was called off by Tim Miller," Nejame's letter said.

A meter reader found the remains on Dec. 11.

The pictures are relevant to the case, because if Anthony's defense team can raise doubts about whether Caylee's body was already in the woods in August, September and November as people searched nearby, it could help her case.

"These pictures are important for everybody, for justice, for seeking the truth," Nejame said during a news conference Thursday afternoon. He said he is not taking a side in the case.

Caylee's grandfather, George Anthony, made a surprise appearance at the news conference, and asked NeJame to step outside for a conversation.

NeJame told Local 6 that George Anthony was told by his daughter's defense team that it felt the release of the photos was improper and that he should demand that NeJame to stop releasing information.

The two spoke for more than half an hour, and said they resolved the issue.

"I think the conversation we've just had clarifies some recent miscommunication and we're all on the same path in that regard, and we all want to know what happened to Caylee," Nejame said.

Caylee was reported missing by her grandmother, Cindy Anthony, in July 2008. The toddler was last seen in June 2008.

Casey Anthony is being held at the Orange County Jail on no bond.