Florida Officials Asking Casey Anthony to Pay Back Costs
Casey Anthony, recently acquitted of killing her 2 year-old daughter, will soon be back in the court room to discuss whether or not she will have to repay the state of Florida for investigating her case.
In a motion filed on Wednesday, the state is petitioning a judge for a hearing to determine exactly how much money Anthony will have to repay.
“The efforts and cost of the investigation were extensive and not immediately available and accordingly the State of Florida respectfully requests this court to set a hearing within 60 days to determine total cost,” the motion reads.
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The motion also mentions the “special cost of investigation law,” which allows the state to fine criminal defendants in an effort to regain money spent during the case.
Many people have however expressed outraged that the state of Florida would attempt to ask for repayment: “I think that is such a bogus move by the state”, CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said on CNN’s “John King USA”.
“Casey Anthony won and the state lost. The state’s got to deal with that fact. Maybe they should be better at their jobs; not trying to sue the winner of this case. I think that this is silly, trivial, demeaning to all concerned.”
However, Marcia Clark, a former prosecutor for the 1995 OJ Simpson trial agrees with the state of Florida and believes that Anthony should repay: “Look we’re all in dire straits financially and when a case cost undue amount of money and there’s extra costs, really should the taxpayer bear that cost?
“Why shouldn’t the defendant bear the cost? She was convicted, after all. She wasn’t completely acquitted.”
In addition to the state of Florida, there are other establishments seeking repayment; Texas Equusearch, the firm that helped search for Anthony’s daughter, also wants their money back.
“The company used 4,200 searchers and spent $112,000 looking for Caylee in Florida after the girl was reporting missing in July 2008,” CNN affiliate KTRK reported.
