When in his closing argument yesterday afternoon in Florida v Anthony defense attorney Jose Baez pointed to Jeff Ashton, I turned to my companion and said, “Yes.” Only minutes earlier I had seen Ashton’s smirks and eye-rolling and said,” The jury’s going to see that and not like it.”

Why? Because a lawyer’s smirks are an insult to the jury, especially when “The State” is trying to execute one of the jury’s peers—and get them to sign the death warrant.

If “The State” shows no respect to one of our fellow citizens like that, we are all in “Big Trouble.”

I think I recall during voir dire that at least one potential juror said he did not have a high opinion of law enforcement and that at least one other had some sort of background issue for which she had “paid her debt to society.” I am sure that if these citizens made the cut and were sitting in the courtroom yesterday when Baez’s indignant finger whipped out at Ashton, they silently said, “Yes,” along with me.

If you didn’t see it, in brief here is what happened:

Baez was reminding the jury of George Anthony’s schizo testimony—when answering Baez’s questions he said one thing; when Ashton’s the opposite. Ashton was laughing behind his hand. Baez called him out. Judge Perry shut the courtroom down and even sent the reporters and videographers outside.

I thought for sure Judge Perry was going to berate Baez, but when the cameras were turned on, the judge asked Ashton why he shouldn’t be held in contempt of court and expelled from the trial. Apparently there are rules of decorum in Judge Perry’s court that prohibit lawyers from making faces and gesturing so that the jury can see it.

Ashton’s smirking, eye-rolling, and heavy sighs during the defense closing elicited this comment from my companion: “That must mean his case is in trouble.” It doesn’t take an expert rhetorician to understand this concept. That’s exactly what Ashton’s behavior and Drane-Burdick’s week-long, sullen pout had made me think, too.

This morning I thought about writing to praise Jose Baez’s extraordinary closing, but truthfully Jeff Ashton’s face says it all.

Read the Bill of Rights.