[Vision2020] Zimm's lawyer to ask Florida to pay up to $300, 000 in legal costs

Scott Dredge scooterd408 at hotmail.com
Tue Aug 27 15:57:57 PDT 2013


<It remains to be seen how Zimmerman's 
legal fund defense, which collected several thousands of dollars for his
 defense, will work now that some of those fees will be paid by the 
state.>

This is an interesting twist.  If a bunch of 2nd amendment supporters and worshippers of GZ have already donated money to his defense fund, then those dollars should already be counted toward cost 'reimbursement'.  GZ's defense fund site is stale with the last entry being posted on June 5th.

http://www.gzdefensefund.com/donate/

Date: Tue, 27 Aug 2013 15:22:50 -0700
From: rforce2003 at yahoo.com
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Zimm's lawyer to ask Florida to pay up to $300,	000 in legal costs

Yes (USA Today):

 The motion to recoup legal costs would be based on a Florida statute that declares that a defendant who has been acquitted is not liable for costs associated with his or her case and that anything paid would be
 returned, if approved by a judge or clerk, via the state's Judicial Administrative Commission.The Orlando Sentinel first reported that Zimmerman's legal team was preparing a motion to recoup some of their legal costs.
The money Zimmerman's team hopes to recover includes only legal expenses such as hiring courtroom experts, court reporter fees for witness depositions and some travel
 expenses.No Florida law allows attorneys to recover their fees from the state, Vincent said.In O'Mara's case, the fee would have been more than $1 million. He bills $400 an hour and worked 40 hours a week for 16 months on Zimmerman's case, Vincent said. Don West, a co-counsel on the case, bills $350 an hour."I believe to this day, they (O'Mara and West) have not been paid for any of their legal fees," Vincent said.O'Mara told The Orlando Sentinel that he will submit the costs to a judge for certification, but he anticipates that the Judicial Administrative Commission will challenge many of the expenses.It remains to be seen how Zimmerman's legal fund defense, which collected several thousands of dollars for his defense, will work now that some of those fees will be paid by the state. It's also unclear whether Zimmerman's attorneys will be paid for their time in the future.Ron Force
Moscow Idaho USA
        From: Wayne Price <bear at moscow.com>
 To: Scott Dredge <scooterd408 at hotmail.com> 
Cc: viz 2020 <vision2020 at moscow.com> 
 Sent: Tuesday, August 27, 2013 1:38 PM
 Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Zimm's lawyer to ask Florida to pay up to $300,	000 in legal costs
   
Scott,
I have to assume (There I go again!) that while it would NOT cover the attorney fees, it would cover "costs". Those would be witness fees, transcript costs, and those types of fees. I'd actually like to see legislation that re-imburses ALL of the costs and fees, including lawyers fees IF a defendant in a criminal case is found NOT GUILTY in a criminal case.
REMOVING any questions of this, or any other particular case, I can see where a defendant who doesn't qualify for a Public Defender, could be actually be forced into
 bankruptcy defending him or her self, and being found not guilty. In other words, being financially "punished" by a prosecutors office, even though they are both constitutionally innocent, and being found legally not guilty. Is this the kind of system we want in the US?
Wayne

On Aug 27, 2013, at 1:23 PM, Scott Dredge wrote:Do you know if attorney fees - had they been incurred -
 would be eligible for reimbursement?  The article is very vague and lists 'Zimmerman will rely on state law that allows a defendant who has been found not guilty to be reimbursed for costs associated with a case.'

And Wayne asking why this isn't uniform across all states and being charged to the AG's cost center is a good question.

CC: vision2020 at moscow.com
From: thansen at moscow.com
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Zimm's lawyer to ask Florida to pay up to $300, 000 in legal costs
Date: Tue, 27 Aug 2013 12:18:33 -0700
To: scooterd408 at hotmail.com

The "reimbursement" is not for attorney costs, as the attorneys (as hig-priced as they my be), donated their time and efforts pro bono.  
The reimbursement is for costs related to witness availability and other defense material costs incurred by the defendant. 

Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .
"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)http://www.MoscowCares.com  Tom HansenMoscow, Idaho
"There's room at the top they are telling you still But first you must learn how to smile as you kill If you want to be like the folks on the hill."
- John Lennon
 

On Aug 27, 2013, at 11:29 AM, Scott Dredge <scooterd408 at hotmail.com> wrote:

In Florida can you really put up a high priced defense and then get reimbursed when acquitted?  Sounds like a cash cow for Florida defense lawyers.

'Zimmerman, who is white and Hispanic, was found not
 guilty of murder and manslaughter on July 13 in Florida after a racially charged trial in the shooting of Martin, a 17-year-old African-American, in February 2012. Thousands of people demonstrated across the United States after the verdict.'

http://news.yahoo.com/zimmerman-lawyer-ask-florida-pay-300-000-legal-042625962.html


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