George Zimmerman, the 29-year-old Florida man acquitted of second-degree murder charges in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, and his lawyers have now asked that the state of Florida remburse him for court fees accrued during the proceedings. Zimmerman's lawyers asked this week for at least $200,000 in expenses. Florida law states that any defendant acquitted of charges cannot be liable for court costs nor any fees incurred while detained in custody so long as a judge or clerk approves the refund. "We're probably going to ask for somewhere between $200,000 and $300,000," primary attorney Mark O'Mara said.
O'Mara said that it was unlikely that the requests would be rewarded. Costs that are eligible for rembursement include calling in experts, witnesses, travel expenses and transcript fees. The defense called upon several experts to provide testimony, which is estimated to have cost between $75,000 and $100,000. Attorney fees are not covered under the law. The practice is relatively commonplace in the state, with another high-profile defendant, Casey Anthony, filing a similar claim in 2011. O'Mara has not received payment from Zimmerman, who he would have normally charged somewhere around $1 million, he estimated. "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."
Zimmerman could have the opportunity to come into money sometime soon from other sources. He is currently unemployed, but it is speculated that he may write a book. There is also a possible defamation case against NBC News that he could move forward with. NBC News is accused of airing an inaccurately edited call from Zimmerman to non-emergency services and airing it in a broadcast February 26, 2012. Zimmerman was acquitted in the death of Martin in July.
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