BOSTON (AP) -- Aaron Hernandez has hired the lawyer who famously won an acquittal for Florida mom Casey Anthony to represent him in his upcoming double-murder trial.
Former New England Patriots football tight end Aaron Hernandez stands during a bail hearing in Fall River Superior Court in this June 27, 2013 file photo taken in Fall River, Mass. An associate of former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez said he was told Hernandez fired the shots that resulted in the death of a semi-pro football player, according to documents filed in Florida. The records say Hernandez associate Carlos Ortiz told Massachusetts investigators that another man, Ernest Wallace, said Hernandez shot Lloyd in an industrial park near Hernandez's home in North Attleborough. (AP Photo/Boston Herald, Ted Fitzgerald, Pool)
The former New England Patriots star has retained Florida-based attorney Jose Baez. The legal team will also include Harvard law professor Ronald Sullivan and New York City lawyer Alex Spiro.
Spiro has confirmed the arrangement to The Associated Press.
Hernandez is awaiting trial for a 2012 double murder in Boston and has pleaded not guilty. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison last year in the 2013 killing of a man who was dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancee. His lawyers in that case, James Sultan and Charles Rankin, tell the AP in a statement that they "wish Aaron the best."
Baez gained fame during Anthony's 2011 trial on charges that she murdered her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee. The case garnered national media attention after photos showed Anthony partying in the days after her daughter's disappearance.
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