Jose Baez...the "Columbo" of the courtroom & Government Bureaucracies

Jose Baez...the "Columbo" of the courtroom!

I didn't follow the Casey Anthony case closely.

When I saw the prosecutor on The View yesterday I was taken by his sunny disposition and his emotional detachment on the death of this sweet two year old, Caylee. Then I read the article linked above that he giggled in front of the jury at the defense's opening statement and of his presentation of arrogance. Now he's pleasantly off to retirement on the taxpayers' dime.

As a Washington State government employee I witnessed that arrogance from my unelected bureaucratic managers starting in 2001. From being sent to the Basics of Supervision training to become a manager I learned it was not skills, experience, knowledge, intelligence, research, knowing the law, knowing the regulations or expertise that was important. It was loyalty.

Our newly promoted supervisor was a poor composer of the legal and written word.

She did not believe that my success rate in administrative hearings was due to my extremely dedicated, fair and hard work I put into my caseload and enforcement actions.

Her belief was we won just because we are the state. She brought a legal action against a day care provider that for some reason, not apparent to me, she and other managers didn't like.

I was sent along to be a witness to her licensor making a visit. The issues for the most part the supervisor was focusing on to me weren't violations of the regulations.

There was a supervision issue that had validity and follow up monitoring visits should have been done. I saw a major safety violation not addressed previously, and reported that to the supervisor upon returning to the office.

Months later that licensor was getting ready to leave the office to go to an administrative hearing regarding that day care provider. "About what?", I asked thinking it was the major safety violation we witnessed.

The licensor showed me the legal letter she would have to defend at the administrative hearing. I looked at that letter and said, "You guys are going to lose."

I asked about what happened to the major safety issue we witnessed. The licensor showed me the plan of correction form the state used; she had written it up, but the supervisor wouldn't let her issue it to the day care provider.

The department lost big time and should have for the sloppy work; and the arrogance of this supervisor believing we just win because we are the state.

So what did the state do with the sloppy arrogant supervisor who also ordered the alteration of records in licensing files and removed a document from a public disclosure request I processed? And after I reported these wrongdoings up the chain of command to the DSHS Secretary and to the State Auditor's whistle blower program? She was promoted to headquarters.

Thus without following the Casey Anthony case in detail the behaviors of the prosecutor are well known to this former insider and witness on how the culture of a bureaucracy works and/or doesn't work.

I respect juries. I was on a jury once as well as being elected the foreman of the jury. Jurists for the most part take this responsibility very seriously. This jury had, I believe, 36 pages of instructions to follow and they had to make their decisions based on "beyond a reasonable doubt". The prosecution should never have gone for the death penalty.

In my opinion, Casey caused the death of her daughter, likely not intentionally.

Casey's behaviors are so detached, in my opinion and from having worked with adolescents who were severely emotionally and behaviorally disturbed, I could guess Caylee had some normal two year old behaviors; and somehow Casey believed using a little chloroform and duct tape would stop those behaviors and keep her quiet.

Every kid we had in group care had been sexually abused. It is my opinion, some such trauma happened to Casey as a child.

A sad, sad case. Casey will never be free. And a beautiful two year old is no longer in this world.