28 Apr 2012

Bain legal aid was $3.3 million

12:03 pm on 28 April 2012

The total legal aid bill for David Bain was $3.33 million, which is the highest amount for an individual in New Zealand legal history.

Mr Bain was originally convicted at a trial in 1995 of murdering five members of his family, before the convictions were quashed by the Privy Council in 2007.

He was found not guilty of the murders at a retrial two years ago.

The Ministry of Justice says the final figure for Mr Bain's defence was $3.33 million.

It says the retrial alone cost the legal aid system $2.33 million.

Of that figure, almost $1 million was paid for expenses in the retrial like research, investigators and forensics.

Lawyer's fees throughout the High Court, Court of Appeal and retrial process amounted to $1.77 million of the total bill.

Mr Bain's lawyer, Michael Reed QC, says most of the costs of the retrial were to pay for overseas experts.

The ministry says Mr Bain is not receiving legal aid in his bid for compensation.