So in the Zimmerman case if there were 30 witnesses called to the stand, let’s say at least 25 of them were deposed. I generally estimate each deposition to cost on average $2,000, excluding attorney fees. That would amount to at least $50,000 just to depose the witnesses. You can add at least another $50,000 for attorney fees and you are at $100,000 just in deposition expenses. Let’s stop here for a moment. How many individuals do you know who can afford this type of legal expense? What ends up happening is that most witnesses are not deposed and in some cases are not even thoroughly interviewed. Additionally, we’ve seen a number of experts testify to date. Experts can be very expensive. Most experts will require a retainer, which can be as low as $1,500 or as high as $20,000 and up. In addition, there’s cost for the experts to attend depositions and/or trial. Some experts can charge up to $500 per hour to appear at depositions and/or testify at trials. Again, how many people have that type of money just sitting around? What ends up happening is that an innocent person does not have the proper experts to clear him/her of a crime and in most cases are convicted because the state will have experts. I imagine that the legal fees in the Zimmerman case have exceeded a million dollars for both sides before the trial even started. Once the trial started there’s a cost for the all of the individuals sitting at the table in the courtroom. The state has at least three attorneys arguing its case and the defense has 2. Now add the costs for the exhibits, copy costs, housing, meals, etc. and you can imagine what’s been spent to date. There’s no doubt in my mind that if Zimmerman did not have the legal representation he has he would not stand a chance. We all remember the “Dream Team” O.J. Simpson assembled to represent him in his murder trial. Without Johnnie Cochran and the dream team, O.J. would have probably been convicted of murder. There’s a presumption of innocence yet most people can’t afford to maintain their innocence. A Public Defender simply does not have the time or the resources to put the same efforts into a case that George Zimmerman is getting from his private attorneys. I truly feel if a person is charged with a crime, adequate resources should be given to them to prove their innocence otherwise they are simply unable to match the resources the state is able to put into a case with taxpayers’ money. What happens is that our money is being used to convict innocent individuals in a number of cases. It’s really an unfair advantage in most cases. Perhaps, there should be law enacted that will require the losing parties to reimburse the winning party, his/her attorney fees. I think this will be a deterrent to a number of the frivolous cases being litigated. The system needs to change or we will continue to read about individuals being released from prison after serving 20 years for a crime they did not commit. If you don’t believe me, check out this article. pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/jan-june13/prisoner_04-03.html .
Posted on: Sat, 06 Jul 2013 01:17:32 +0000
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