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Casey Anthony's legal fees questioned

Reported by: Cary Williams
Email: cwilliams@abcactionnews.com
Last Update: 3/10/2009 8:40 pm

ORANGE COUNTY, FL -- The question of who's paying for Casey Anthony's defense may, or may not, soon be answered.

On Tuesday afternoon, Casey Anthony said in a court motion that she has signed and executed a retainer agreement with her attorney, Jose Baez.

Anthony says her agreement with her attorney contains no clauses which would allow him to sell the rights to her story.

The motion was filed in response to prosecutors asking that the financial agreement between Anthony and Baez be made available to them and the judge presiding over her murder trial.

On Monday, prosecutors asked for a special hearing with circuit judge Stan Strickland to find how Casey (photos) can afford her high-powered defense team.  They also want to know what, if any, financial arrangements are connected with nationally known defense expert Linda Kenney Baden and pathologist Henry Lee.

If Casey's attorney, Jose Baez, is managing her assets, it could constitute a conflict of interest, according to the state.

In their motion, prosecutors wrote, "The Defendant's seeming conversion from pauper to princess did not come from the sale of some tangible asset available to her prior to her initial arrest on charges related to this case."

Prosecutors say they're also concerned Baez could make decisions motivated by movie or book deals and might not be acting in Casey's best interests.

In addition, they say Casey could come back later and request a new trial based on Baez's handling of her affairs.

However, some legal experts doubt that Strickland will go along with the state's request.

Casey is accused of murdering her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee Anthony (photos).  The toddler's remains were found December 11 near Casey's home.

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