California attorney on Casey Anthony's defense team can practice law in Florida

Judge grants Todd Macaluso permission
Sarah Lundy Sentinel Staff Writer
12:23 PM EDT, April 17, 2009

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Orange Circuit Court Judge Stan Strickland permitted a California attorney - who is on Casey Anthony's defense team - to practice law here once he pays filing fees with the Florida Bar, according to paperwork filed today in court.

Todd Macaluso joined the Casey Anthony team last month. He told reporters on March 2 that he excels at cross-examining technical experts."This is my world. I deal with the best experts in the world and I deal with the best attorneys in the world," he said after a court hearing last month.

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"And on a case such as this where I believe that she is innocent, I'm going to fight as hard as I can to prove that in a court of law."In January, Macaluso was accused of unprofessional conduct in California.

The complaint was filed with The California Bar because Macaluso didn't have enough money in an account to cover several business expenses totaling more than $170,000 between July 2006 and February 2007.

Macaluso responded in writing in February to the charges. He wrote that the financial mistake was due to his office staff supervising the account. He wasn't overseeing the account at the time because of the unexpected death of his brother. The mistake was not intentional.

The investigation in California is pending.