Over a month after being acquitted for second degree muder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman is asking the state of Florida for help paying his legal bills. Like, $200,000 to $300,000 worth of help. Under Florida state law, Zimmerman will have to finance all of his legal expenses, save for the cost of his lawyers. That means travel expenses, photocopies, depositions, witnesses and the video his defense team utilized during closing arguments that depicted him being attacked by Martin.
Yesterday evening, Zimmerman defense attorney Mark O'Mara told the Orlando Sentinel that he's working on a motion to ask Judge Debra Nelson to approve the payments. The fee that Zimmerman would have to pay is in addition to the over $900,000 that public agencies spent on his trial.
The aforementioned motion would rely on Florida Statute 939.06, which says that a defendant who is acquitted will not be financially responsible for the case, should a judge or clerk give their approval. The money would instead come from the Judicial Administrative Commission, which pays all expenses except legal fees for defendants labeled indigent.
According to O'Mara, this is "where the fight is."
[via Orlando Sentinel]
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