Baez Seeks Removal Of Prosecutors From Anthony Case

Lawyer Wants Attorney General To Take Over
January 28, 2009

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The attorney for Casey Anthony, who is charged with murdering her daughter, Caylee, filed a motion Tuesday asking a judge to remove prosecutors from the case.

Jose Baez -- in a rare move -- filed an emergency motion to recuse State Attorney Lawson Lamar and his employees from the case. Baez believes local prosecutors may be secretly trying to smear his reputation and, therefore, hurt Anthony's right to a fair trial.

Baez believes the Florida bar has been investigating him for ethics violations and suspects that someone from Lamar's office may anonymously be fueling the investigation by sending paperwork to the bar, perhaps in an attempt to descredit Baez, Local 6 News reported.

At a news conference last week, Baez denied any wrongdoing in the case. "I have absolutely no book deals or no entertainment deals or any contingency fees," Baez said.

Baez wants Florida Attorney General Bill McCullom to take over the case from Tallahassee.
Local 6 News reported that Baez cannot prove that the state attorney's office is trying to sabotage him but is hoping the judge will hold a hearing on the matter, so he can question state employees under oath to see if they complained about him to the bar.

The defense believes the ability to file anonymous complaints was not intended for a prosecutor's office to try to have an attorney for a defendant tainted by an investigation.

Calls to the state attorney's office were not returned.