Casey Anthony’s Lawyer Was Once Denied a Law License
The lawyer for Casey Anthony has become something of a celebrity, but his path to success wasn’t without some hurdles.
Lawyer José Ángel Baez was denied a law license for eight years, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Baez represents the Florida woman accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter Caylee Anthony.
The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the decision denying a law license to Baez in 2000, according to the story. The state supreme court cited unpaid bills, unnecessary spending and other “financial irresponsibility” by Baez, including his bankruptcy and his failure to pay child support. He also failed to tell the bar that he had written a bad check and entered a pretrial program to avoid conviction, according to the supreme court order cited by the newspaper.
The court said the behavior showed “a total lack of respect for the rights of others and a total lack of respect for the legal system.” The court’s order did not name Baez, identifying the bar applicant only as “J.A.B.” The newspaper says it matched many details in the court document to Baez through interviews and other public records.
Baez was admitted to practice in 2005. In the eight-year interim, the story says, he worked as a paralegal for the Miami-Dade public defender and taught Internet research to lawyers at Lexis-Nexis. He also started four business ventures, including two companies selling bikinis.
A spokeswoman for Baez told the Orlando Sentinel that its story “appears to be a sensationalist persecution of a Hispanic lawyer.” In an interview last year, Baez said he did not practice law after law school because of a personal choice.
“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,” the spokeswoman said. “Many people, including lawyers, have monetary misunderstandings, disputes and child support disagreements that have no effect on their ability to represent clients.”
