Zimmerman Wants Florida to Pay Legal Bills

He wants to be reimbursed for up to $300,000 after his acquittal in the death of Trayvon Martin

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George Zimmerman wants the state of Florida to pick up the tab for his legal defense, just weeks after he was acquitted in the high-profile trial of Trayvon Martin’s death.

Zimmerman, who was found not guilty of murder last month in a case that riveted the nation and sparked pitched conversations about race, will ask that Florida foots a legal bill of up to $300,000, his lawyer told the Orlando Sentinel.

State law requires that Florida cover all legal expenses — except lawyer’s fees — for an acquitted defendant, from expert witnesses to the 3D videos shown to jurors. Zimmerman is still preparing a motion that will ask for between $200,000 and $300,000, according to his lawyer.

Taxpayers have already shelled out an estimated $902,000 on the second-degree murder trial that ended July 13, the newspaper reports.

[Orlando Sentinel]