George Zimmerman Trial Expenses Could be Covered by the State of Florida
George Zimmerman will ask the state of Florida to reimburse him for some of his legal fees, which are estimated to be over $1 million.
Lawyers for Zimmerman, who was acquitted of second-degree murder in the killing of Trayvon Martin, revealed that while they don't expect to be reimbursed for the entire amount they are planning to seek around $250,000 from the state.
Under Florida law, an acquitted defendant cannot be held liable for court costs or any charges while detained in custody, as long as petition for reimbursement is approved by a court clerk or judge.
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"We're probably going to ask for somewhere between $200,000 and $300,000," lead attorney Mark O'Mara said as reported by the Orlando Sentinel. The costs associated with the reimbursement stem from expenses for expert witnesses, travel expenses and also fees for transcripts.
However, O'Mara is not convinced they will receive any type of refund and under the state's law attorney's fees are exempt from such a refund.
"We're not going to get it. The case law here is quite limited. Even though we're going to ask for it, the amount that we'd most likely get is significantly less."
Such a request is fairly standard in the state. Casey Anthony, who was found not guilty in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, filed a similar request in a Florida courtroom in 2011.
O'Mara revealed that he has not seen any payment from Zimmerman and that the actual costs for his defense could be close to $2 million when other attorney fees are calculated, but the lawyer added that it was the materials associated with the defense the was the most expensive.
"I haven't gotten one penny in fees," O'Mara said. "I do have an agreement with George that if he comes into money, I would get paid."
"We had to bring in four to five experts on the voice issue. That was as much as $75,000 to $100,000," O'Mara said, with transcripts running approximately $20,000.
