ORLANDO, Fla.—The Casey Anthony murder trial in Orlando, Fla. is capturing the nation’s attention almost as much as the O.J. Simpson case did nearly two decades ago.

One of the most esteemed Florida attorneys is Mark Eiglarsh, who appears daily on HLN, CBS, CNN and Fox News. On Wednesday, I caught up with the famed jurist before he spent the hour with HLN’s “Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell.” Eiglarsh believes in the legal system, and he wants this case to be handled right, not just for Casey Anthony’s sake, but for what it means to our legal process as a whole.

“It’s very important that we not have the justice system that Cuba and some other nations have. We need a system where the rights of defendants are not violated by public opinion,” said Eiglarsh.

Famed Attorney Mark Eiglarsh

Eiglarsh was voted by his peers one of the Best of the Bar, and he was also named as one of Florida Trend’s Legal Elite, an honor given to less than 1 percent of the lawyers in the state of Florida. Eiglarsh also serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Miami School of Law, and he enjoys an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating obtainable. The Miami-born attorney also graduated from the University of Florida, with honors, acquiring a Bachelor of Science degree in telecommunication (radio and television production). He earned his law degree from Loyola School of Law in New Orleans, where he earned a scholarship by competing on the Moot Court National Team.

After graduation, he served as a Miami-Dade County prosecutor from 1992 until 1996. Eiglarsh is a member of many professional and community service organizations. He is a member of both the National and Florida Associations of Criminal Defense Lawyers, where he serves on the Board of Directors of the Miami Chapter. Additionally, he serves as an ambassador for the Miami chapter of Big Brothers/Big Sisters, previously serving on the Board of Directors (since 1998) and previously served as a mentor to an “at-risk” child. He served as past legal counsel to the agency and chair of the Volunteer Recruitment Council. Additionally, he is a Leadership Miami Graduate.

“I feel a desire to give back to the community. I have wanted to be an advocate and voice in the law my entire life. Ever since my mom put me up on stage to talk, I’ve been doing so and continue to do so, Tommy. I also enjoyed the debating team in my youth, and any time I can use my voice to fight to help others or to instruct others on their rights under our legal system, I’m going to do it,” said Eiglarsh.

I became aware of Eiglarsh when he commentated throughout the entire Michael Jackson trial; he provided daily legal analysis on both CBS and UPN affiliates. He has also made numerous appearances as a featured legal analyst on “The O’Reilly Factor” and was also interviewed on “60 Minutes,” “The Today Show” and on E Entertainment Television.

When it comes to the defense of Casey Anthony, Eiglarsh has been very critical of her lead defense attorney Jose Baez over the past three years, but admits he hit the opening statement out of the ballpark.

“Tommy, I think that Jose is doing the best he can at the level of awareness he’s at currently. Everyone does the best they can at the level they find themselves. I have not agreed with his representation over the past three years, but his opening statement was of the defense theory, which was very well thought-out and projected to the jury. Baez’s theory exploit’s the weakness in the prosecution’s case and focuses on the positives; there are a few of the defense. The best decision Jose made was hiring the very distinguished and experienced lawyers who are by his side in this case,” said the attorney.

When asked about the testimony of grandmother Cindy Anthony, which began last Saturday and concluded on Tuesday afternoon, Eiglarsh said, “She helped both the defense and the prosecution with her testimony. But don’t get me wrong, she really nailed the prosecution’s theory that Casey lied about her daughter being missing and lies about absolutely everything. She pointed out the frequency and extent of her daughter’s lies, but she also managed to help the defense in two significant areas. She testified the ladder to the pool was out and the gate was open, and she clarified that she did not literally smell the odor of a dead body, that it could have been garbage in the trunk of her daughter’s car.”

Defendant Casey Anthony

The attorney did, however, admit that the one person being vilified in the case by the defense is George Anthony. “I would not have wanted to be George Anthony for the past three years. The death of a grandchild must be horrific. However, I surely would not want to be him right now, being accused so graphically by the defense of being a pedophile. Obviously if he’s innocent, it’s terrible to be accused of what Jose Baez vividly described as ‘placing his penis in his daughter’s [Casey Anthony] mouth at age 13 and sending her off to school as if nothing happened.’ That’s pretty horrific to hear if you are innocent. But if he is guilty, obviously he has to deny it, or he takes a chance of being prosecuted for capital sexual battery, which there is no statute of limitation in the state of Florida, and that’s very serious,” said Eiglarsh.

The handsome defense attorney will continue to appear on television and in Canyon News offering his legal expertise over the next few months on this case, so I had to ask why Americans are so fixated on this case as they have not been nearly as interested in any case over the past 15 years.

“Lets be honest, Tommy. Obviously it’s a lot of things. It’s like a soap opera; it’s real life drama [but] the cast of characters you could not make up. It includes a mother, who is quite pretty, a beautiful little dead child, family drama and secrets, sex and every other element which makes soap operas popular to the public. If it was an unattractive woman, or a minority named Shaquanda and she had been poor, the media would not be interested. I’m not saying that’s right, it’s just the truth. But I still believe that justice and the process are much more important than this case or this defendant,” concluded Eiglarsh.

Photographs are Courtesy: Mark Eiglarsh by Eiglarsh Law Firm and Casey Anthony by Orange County Sheriff's Dept.