Legal Defense Funds: From George Zimmerman to "predator" priests
(CBS) CNN correspondent Martin Savidge reported today that many people were "surprised" to learn that George Zimmerman, the man who claims he shot teenager Trayvon Martin in self-defense, has set up an online legal defense fund. But soliciting public donations to pay expenses incurred from being charged with a crime is far from rare.
Last month, the family of Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, who is accused of killing 17 Afghan civilians, announced they would be taking donations for assistance in covering his defense. On March 9, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker issued a statement saying he was setting up a defense fund to collect money for legal fees he may accrue if he is charged in an ongoing probe into activities at his office when he was county executive of Milkwaukee County.
And on March 29, the Archdiocese of Boston had to apologize after a pastor posted a notice in his parish bulletin about where to send donations for the legal defense of Rev. John Mendicoa, a priest accused of molesting children in the 1980s, reports the website Wicked Local.
Although attorney fees vary widely, according to Brian Tannebaum, the former president of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, if Zimmerman is criminally charged in Trayvon Martin's death, his defense is likely to cost at least $500,000 to $1 million.
As the spokesperson for Sgt. Bales' family told the Bellingham Herald, that kind of fee is "way beyond the means, to put it mildly" of the Bales - and most Americans.
Zimmerman has set his fund up so that donations can come through PayPal, while people wishing to donate to the Bales fund have been asked to send money to a Seattle post office box.
Zimmerman is being represented by attorneys Hal Uhrig and Craig Sonner. He has not been charged with a crime related to Martin's death, although Florida State Attorney Angela Corey's office is currently investigating the case.
"A case like this turns a lawyer's life upside down," says Tannebaum. "He hasn't even been charged and his attorneys have already spent hundreds of hours on his case."
From communicating with
prosecutors, police, and family, to legal research and fielding constant
media requests, "they're not working on anything else."
But even if they aren't getting paid their normal fee, Tannebaum says some attorneys are willing to take on a client like Zimmerman precisely because of the publicity.
"Take Casey Anthony - that was a million-dollar defense," but according to ABC News, her attorney, Jose Baez, billed the state of Florida - which paid for her defense - for just under $150,000.
Still, it was probably worth it: "Now he is respected and sought after," says Tannebaum.
