Inside the Vortex: The Pursuit of Justice in High Profile Cases

Dr. Michael Baden is no stranger to headlines. The veteran Medical Examiner has investigated a staggering number of high-profile cases: the death of funnyman John Belushi; civil rights leaders Medgar Evers and Martin Luther King, Jr.; the grisly slaying of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman; and perhaps the most high-profile murder in modern American history: the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

“I headed up the Forensic Pathology Panel for the House Select Committee on Assassinations,” Dr. Baden says casually. “There are a lot of old-timers still around with a lot of theories about the assassination.” Dr. Baden is soft-spoken but assertive, a no-nonsense kind of guy.

Dr. Baden, who many know from his prior work on the HBO series Autopsy, is now a forensic science contributor for FOX News and works regularly with the Innocence Project. He has also worked at the behest of human rights groups and private citizens to investigate deaths around the world, most recently the death of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

What you may not know is that Dr. Baden’s wife, Linda Kenney Baden, also packs a powerful legal punch, and you’ve probably seen her in action. A perfect complement to her soft-spoken counterpart, Mrs. Baden is vivacious and animated -- and she’s demonstrably thrilled to join the CrimeCon lineup. “My executive producer, Cathy, loves CrimeCon. She’s been trying to get me to go with her for almost two years,” says Mrs. Baden. “She doesn’t know yet that not only am I going this year, but that I’ll be presenting with Michael.” (Informant’s note: Now she knows! Hi, Cathy!)

Mrs. Baden began her career as Assistant Prosecutor for the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office where she was the lead attorney assigned to the Sex Crimes Investigative Unit. Her work now focuses on criminal defense cases that involve forensic discrepancies and cutting edge social issues like LGBTQ discrimination and civil rights violations. Mrs. Baden, too, does not shy away from headline-grabbing cases: she has served on the defense teams of Jayson Williams, Phil Spector, Michael Skakel, Aaron Hernandez, Casey Anthony, and socialite Gigi Jordan. She also serves as a host on Dan Abrams’s Law & Crime Network and has appeared on countless networks as a legal commentator.

Together, Dr. & Mrs. Baden will put their combined 80+ years of experience under the microscope as they reveal what what it’s like to work some of the most highly-publicized and controversial cases in recent memory. " A forensic investigator has to stay strong in the law and resist being pulled into the surrounding emotional vortex of public opinion, competing interests, and the media," says Dr. Baden. "We have to keep our heads straight while everyone else is losing theirs."

The increasing and overwhelming public interest in criminal cases and trial watching is a double-edged sword, says Dr. Baden, noting that while public interest can make the pursuit of justice more difficult, it’s also a powerful tool for correcting injustice itself. “I worked the Attica Correctional Facility Uprising in 1971,” he explains, referring to the infamous rebellion in which 43 people died when prisoners rioted to protest inadequate healthcare, food, and living conditions. “Forty years ago nobody cared about prisoners dying. Now we see the conditions at [Mississippi State Penitentiary] and people care. They call out for change.”

The Badens will be scheduled as part of the main programming lineup for CrimeCon Orlando (May 1-3, 2020). All levels of badgeholders will have access to this session.