George Zimmerman is considering asking the state of Florida to pay between 200 thousand and 300 thousand dollars for the cost of the "expert" wittnesses that appeared in court for him. This does not include the costs of the two lawyers that represented him. By spending a half a million dollars, anyone can be found not guilty of just about anything. (might even be able to stay out of Hard Times)
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Florida statute 939.06(1) reads: “A defendant in a criminal prosecution who is acquitted or discharged is not liable for any costs or fees of the court or any ministerial office, or for any charge of subsistence while detained in custody. If the defendant has paid any taxable costs, or fees required … in the case, the payment of such costs … shall be refunded to the defendant.”
So money makes a difference eh? Well, martin's parents got over a million dollars, so what happened? What happened is, zimmerman is innocent, and should never have been put through a trial.
jt,
For you information, that is about the typical costs to defend yourself in a lawsuit. Actually it is pretty cheap considering the magnitude of the case and the powers aligned behind him. Wanna compare to what OJ spent to defend himself?
There is a tremendous cost in defending oneself in such cases. Expert witnesses are paid for their time, by the hour. They make good money for it as well. And they should, it is usually much less than the attorney who is representing the client is charging. If more people had to pay the fees associated with a lawsuit they file, if they lose the case, the system would not be so plagued with a back log of cases waiting to be heard today.
The state spent millions and their star witness couldn't read the cursive note she wrote so there you go.
The state spent millions and their star witness couldn't read the cursive note she wrote so there you go.
Incompetence at it's best.
Regardless of what I think about Zimmerman and the verdict, I do believe that if you a person is found innocent he should receive compensation from the state , because , well, if the state either didn't have enough evidence, or botched it so bad that they couldn't prove their case, then the individual should not have to suffer that financial burden.
I do wonder, however, if Martin's family will ultimately take Z back to court for a civil case . His troubles may not be over yet.
If Martin's family sues Zimmerman and loses they should be responsible for all of the court costs associated with it. And any lawyers who take it on contingenecy should be just as liable for costs incurred by the defendant in such cases. This would stop a lot of the nonsense. The HOA already settled with the Martins before the trial in order to relieve themselves of further indebtness, so my guess is that they cannot be sued for more money.
The Martin's should take the music industry and BET to court for turning their son into a thug.
If Martin's family sues Zimmerman and loses they should be responsible for all of the court costs associated with it. And any lawyers who take it on contingenecy should be just as liable for costs incurred by the defendant in such cases. This would stop a lot of the nonsense. The HOA already settled with the Martins before the trial in order to relieve themselves of further indebtness, so my guess is that they cannot be sued for more money.
I agree, not only in this case, but all civil lawsuits, and I think (no research ) that is the case in most states.
BTW, Tey, do you ever check your dialog box ?
SW, No, I never check it, but I will go and do so.
To Teytates; About your first post, to me, a half a million dollars is not cheap. About your second post, I agree with you about the costs of frivolous lawsuits.
Sorry, you should have seen my sarcasm font, but the truth is that it is not cheap. Unfortunately, the medical profession has dealt with this for years. about 80% of lawsuits brought against doctors and hospitals are either dismissed or won by the defendants. Despite that fact the costs in defendig oneself can often be as devastating as a guilty verdict and can often times bankrupt the defendant despite having liability insurance. Liability insurance does not cover everything and most have limits. When an expert witness is called to testify, or counter expert testimony from the plaintiff, it can costs as much as $500 an hour, and believe me they count every minute of time including travel.
Zimmerman should get every penny back for his defense aaginst the state of Florida, however it should be paid out of the funds from the corrupt AG who was pressured into bringing the suit, despite the fact that the local establishment found they did not have enough evidence to prosecute.
The local district attorney refused to prosecute because of lack of evidence. The governor appointed another more zealous DA who bypassed the grand jury because of lack of evidence. Payment should come from that DA's funds, or the governor's discretionary fund.
Zimmerman was found innocent...because Zimmerman WAS innocent...of the charge of MURDER.
Despite the "media trial" and the rantings of the race baiters...Jackson, Sharpton, Obama.
Zimmerman WAS guilty of the charge of stupidity...which, fortunately, is not a sentence yielding crime, else there would be A LOT of people convicted.( sound familiar QuailDung ??)
Florida’s legal system seems confusing. But this may help.
This is Angela Corey, the District Attorney appointed by the governor to handle the prosecution.
This is Pam Bondi, the Attorney General. I didn’t know she had anything to do with the case.
Yowsa!
Florida statute 939.06(1) reads: “A defendant in a criminal prosecution who is acquitted or discharged is not liable for any costs or fees of the court or any ministerial office, or for any charge of subsistence while detained in custody. If the defendant has paid any taxable costs, or fees required … in the case, the payment of such costs … shall be refunded to the defendant.”
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An acquitted defendant is not liable for the STATE's cost of prosecuting him. A convicted defendant IS liable for such costs. George Zimmerman will not have to pay such costs. The bold highlighted part of your post has to do not with defense costs, but with reimbursement of costs incurred by an acquitted defendant in conjunction with qualifying for indigent defense. See http://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2013/27.52 It has nothing to do with costs of expert witnesses or other costs of the defense borne by the acquitted defendant. It is not relevant to Zimmerman's case, since he did not qualify for indigent defense. In attempting to qualify, Zimmerman and his wife were found to have misrepresented their financial status and as a consequence of this deception, Zimmerman's $150,000 bond was revoked and he was hauled back to jail. The courts do not take kindly to this kind of LYING. Read about all this here:
