The multi-talented lawyer Jean Casarez has earned a reputation for her versatility. In addition to her professional career as a television anchor and legal correspondent, Casarez is a seasoned singer. She’s famous as a news correspondent for CNN and CNN’s true-crime basic cable network HLN.
With an impressive decades-long career, Casarez has established herself as a prominent figure in broadcast journalism. Jean’s reporting often focuses on high-profile court cases and criminal investigations, earning her a growing fanbase and criticism. For more about the lawyer and commentator, here are 7 things to know about Jane Casarez.
Jean Casarez Is From Long Beach, California
Although she spent her early career years in Nevada and Texas, Casarez, born Jean Ann LeGrand, was born in Long Beach, California, on April 20, 1960. The lawyer and commentator was also raised in Long Beach and attended High School in the state. She earned her BA and JD degrees from California-based universities.
She Had Always Had A Passion For Law
Growing up, Jean Casarez was fascinated with being a lawyer as a professional career. After High School, she wasted no time attending and graduated with a BA from the University of Southern California. She also obtained a Juris Doctor degree from the reputable Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles, a private law school.
As a student, Casarez participated in the statewide Moot Court competition and came out in first place. Not one to play in the shadows, Jean Casarez actively assisted in preparing a Writ of Certiorari for the United States Supreme Court. While in law school, Casarez clerked at Gallagher and Tratos, a Nevada law firm. Jean Casarez is also a member of the Nevada and Texas bars, licensed in the Southern District of Texas Federal Court.
Jean Casarez’s Early Career
One of Jean Casarez’s early jobs was at San Antonio, Texas KENS-TV (Channel 5). Casarez served as the City Hall reporter and fill-in anchor, as well as a producer of First Edition, a news magazine show. Later, she moved to Reno, Nevada, and served as a weekend anchor and legal reporter from January 2023 for Reno’s KOLO-TV Court TV.
Jean Casarez’s Musical Career
Besides her legal and political commentator career, Jean Casarez is also a talented singer. Although it has been over two decades she performed professional, she has recorded several albums. Jean Casarez performs under the stage name Jean LeGrand. Casarez performs Tejano music in Spanish, with her first credited album, Tirano, released in 1987. Her last album, Todo Para Ti, was released in 1994.
Jean Casarez Had Covered Several High Profile Legal Proceedings
Jean Casarez is famous for her decades-long work in Court TV, which she has done for several news networks. Long before joining CNN, Casarez had become popular for covering legal proceedings of cases like O.J. Simpson’s kidnapping trial, which began on September 15, 2008. She also covered the civil rights trial of Edgar Ray Killen, which was reopened 40 years after the crimes were committed. Thanks to reporters like Casarez, the nation watched followed the trail leading to his conviction.
Jean Casarez also covered the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case, the murder of Jon Benet Ramsey, and Scott Peterson’s sentencing verdict. She was also instrumental in covering the criminal trial of Brian David Mitchell, who kidnapped and molested 14-year-old Elizabeth Ann Smart. The nation watched the horrific trial that led to Mitchell’s sentencing, in which he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Jean Casarez’s High Profile Legal Proceedings For CNN
Jean Casarez joined CNN in September 2013, according to her LinkedIn profile. Casarez has worked extensively for the network as a legal correspondent and commentator for over a decade. Some of her high-profile trial proceedings for CNN include Conrad Murray, George Zimmerman, Anna Nicole Smith, Jodi Arias, Bill Cosby, and Harvey Weinstein. She not only covered these cases but also sometimes conducted exclusive interviews with their defense teams. Casarez interviewed Cheney Mason, Casey Anthony’s attorney, a night before the sentences. Casarez also interviewed Mark O’Mara and Don West, Zimmerman’s defense attorneys.
Jean Casarez covered Joran van der Sloot’s arrest in the murder of a Peruvian college student, for which she flew to Lima, Peru. She also secured interviews with the country’s Director of Prisons, as well as inmates of Castro Castro, the maximum security prison. Jean Casarez’s work through the years hasn’t only been to report and cover these legal proceedings. She has become a reliable source for many viewers to help break down legal terminologies and criminal and/or sentencing implications in each case.
Jean Casarez Broke the 2017 Mass Las Vegas Shooting
Besides her many accolades as a reporter and journalist, she became the leading name in the report of the 2017 mass Las Vegas shooting. Casarez, reporting at the Vegas Strip on the night of October 1, 2017, broke the news to the nation. 64-year-old Stephen Paddock opened fire on the crowd attending the Route 91 Harvest music festival. With over a thousand rounds fired, approximately 867 people were wounded, with 60 people killed. Casarez was also the first to report on the R. Kelly court verdict. If you enjoyed reading about Jean Casarez, read about Michael Jackson’s ex-wife, Debbie Rowe.
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