Q: Who paid for Casey Anthony’s defense and how much did it cost?
Jim Rhinehardt, Atlanta
A: Anthony received these amounts toward her defense: $200,000 from ABC News, for family videos and photos, $70,000 from a California attorney who had been on the defense team and $5,000 from a private donor, the Orlando Sentinel reported in June. Anthony was declared indigent last year, with a judge ruling that taxpayers must pay her defense costs, excluding lawyer fees. Her attorney, Jose Baez, told the paper that Anthony paid him about $90,000 and the remainder was used for other expenses by the defense, such as equipment, travel, investigation and a media consultant. Some other attorneys involved in the case have been working for free, the paper reported. The defense team, as of June, had billed $127,280.74 in expenses to the state Justice Administrative Commission, the paper reported. The largest costs are associated with investigative work and mitigation.
Q: Has Georgia set up a fund for people to contribute to help in its fight in court with regard to the illegal immigration law such as Arizona set up?
Diane Dane, McDonough
A: No, the state does not have a fund, Lauren Kane, spokeswoman for the state attorney general, told Q&A on the News. The state is appealing Federal Judge Thomas Thrash's June ruling that blocked parts of the new illegal immigration law from taking effect. An executive order by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer in May last year established the governor's border security and immigration legal defense fund.
Lori Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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