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The price of defending convicted murderer Ward Weaver ranks among Oregon's most costly capital cases in the past decade. So far, the state has spent nearly $500,000 on Weaver's defense, according to the Office of Public Defense Services.
The agency, responding to a request by The Oregonian, released expenses for 254 closed aggravated murder cases filed since 1993. Weaver's case ranks as the fifth-highest in terms of defense costs, though the price tag on the case may rise because his lawyers have not submitted their final bills.
Of the 10 most expensive aggravated murder cases, Weaver's is the only one that did not go to trial, according to the figures released by the state.
However, those figures are current only through March 2004, and do not include the case of Edward Morris, who earlier this month pleaded guilty to murdering his wife and three children in the Tillamook State Forest. In agreeing to the plea bargain, Morris avoided the possibility of the death penalty.
That same week, Weaver pleaded guilty to murdering Ashley Pond, 12, and Miranda Gaddis, 13, in 2002. The plea deal spared him a possible death sentence.
The most expensive defense in an aggravated murder case came with unusually complex legal issues that ultimately were argued before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The second most expensive case includes the cost of two trials.
The state has spent the most defending Conan Wayne Hale, who was convicted in 1998 of killing three teenagers and was sentenced to death. His legal bill: $902,170.
Hale's case gained national attention when jailers secretly tape-recorded his conversation with a Roman Catholic priest, an issue that was argued before the federal appellate court. Attorney fees alone amounted to $475,174, according to the defense services office.
Cesar Barone's case ranks second in defense costs. The expenses -- which amount to $551,061 -- were for two aggravated murder trials. Barone was sentenced to death in both trials.
By contrast, the cheapest case in which a defendant was convicted and sentenced to death by a jury was that of Jesse Compton, a Springfield man convicted in 1997 of torture-killing a 3-year-old girl. The state spent $48,680 on Compton's defense.
So far, defending Weaver has cost $282,703 in attorney fees and $200,254 in other expenses. The agency declined to release itemized bills for those expenses, saying only the total amount may be released under state law.
Peter Ozanne, executive director of the Office of Public Defense Services, said the cost of defending Weaver is not surprising since the case appeared headed to trial, and trial preparation is labor-intensive.
He said death penalty cases are high-stakes cases that require an enormous amount of work.
"A good, competent defense attorney has to leave no stone unturned," Ozanne said.
In Weaver's case, the state spent about $50,000 on attorney bills submitted by his first defense lawyers, Tim Lyons and Joe Watson. They were paid an hourly rate of $55, state officials said.
Lyons and Watson asked to be removed from the case eight months after they were appointed and were replaced by Corvallis-based defense attorneys Michael Barker and Peter Fahy.
Barker and Fahy are under contracts with the Office of Public Defense Services, officials said. Fahy is paid $82 an hour, and Barker is paid $86 an hour. So far, the pair have been paid a total of $233,230.
It is much more difficult to determine how much the state spent prosecuting Weaver.
Several police agencies investigated the case. The salaries of the two Clackamas County prosecutors assigned to the case already were built into the district attorney's budget. Alfred French, the senior deputy district attorney and lead prosecutor on the case, is paid an annual salary of $100,919, according to Clackamas County officials. His partner on the case, Deputy District Attorney Christine Landers, is paid an annual salary of $90,865.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Greg Horner pointed out that French and Landers handled the Weaver case as part of their regular caseload.
The district attorney's office spent $4,500 for expenses related to the Weaver investigation, Horner said. He said the office also budgeted an additional $50,000 in trial expenses for the year, but that includes expenses related to four aggravated murder cases, including Weaver's.
District Attorney John Foote said that while Weaver's lawyers "did their job as they were supposed to," he was critical of the costs related to the defense.
"I think any reasonable person would say that we need to do something about these escalating costs," he said. "I am not sure what that should be at this point, but I think something has to be done to rein them in."
Clatsop County District Attorney Joshua Marquis said that although the state spent a lot on Weaver's legal bills, that's expected in a death penalty case.
"I am not saying that's a bad thing," he said. "If you are going to seek to put someone to death, you have to provide adequate counsel, and that is expensive. But it's important for people to understand when someone is charged with aggravated murder, the state of Oregon spends a boatload of money to make sure they have adequate counsel, if not the best."
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1096632345128131.xml
The agency, responding to a request by The Oregonian, released expenses for 254 closed aggravated murder cases filed since 1993. Weaver's case ranks as the fifth-highest in terms of defense costs, though the price tag on the case may rise because his lawyers have not submitted their final bills.
Of the 10 most expensive aggravated murder cases, Weaver's is the only one that did not go to trial, according to the figures released by the state.
However, those figures are current only through March 2004, and do not include the case of Edward Morris, who earlier this month pleaded guilty to murdering his wife and three children in the Tillamook State Forest. In agreeing to the plea bargain, Morris avoided the possibility of the death penalty.
That same week, Weaver pleaded guilty to murdering Ashley Pond, 12, and Miranda Gaddis, 13, in 2002. The plea deal spared him a possible death sentence.
The most expensive defense in an aggravated murder case came with unusually complex legal issues that ultimately were argued before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The second most expensive case includes the cost of two trials.
The state has spent the most defending Conan Wayne Hale, who was convicted in 1998 of killing three teenagers and was sentenced to death. His legal bill: $902,170.
Hale's case gained national attention when jailers secretly tape-recorded his conversation with a Roman Catholic priest, an issue that was argued before the federal appellate court. Attorney fees alone amounted to $475,174, according to the defense services office.
Cesar Barone's case ranks second in defense costs. The expenses -- which amount to $551,061 -- were for two aggravated murder trials. Barone was sentenced to death in both trials.
By contrast, the cheapest case in which a defendant was convicted and sentenced to death by a jury was that of Jesse Compton, a Springfield man convicted in 1997 of torture-killing a 3-year-old girl. The state spent $48,680 on Compton's defense.
So far, defending Weaver has cost $282,703 in attorney fees and $200,254 in other expenses. The agency declined to release itemized bills for those expenses, saying only the total amount may be released under state law.
Peter Ozanne, executive director of the Office of Public Defense Services, said the cost of defending Weaver is not surprising since the case appeared headed to trial, and trial preparation is labor-intensive.
He said death penalty cases are high-stakes cases that require an enormous amount of work.
"A good, competent defense attorney has to leave no stone unturned," Ozanne said.
In Weaver's case, the state spent about $50,000 on attorney bills submitted by his first defense lawyers, Tim Lyons and Joe Watson. They were paid an hourly rate of $55, state officials said.
Lyons and Watson asked to be removed from the case eight months after they were appointed and were replaced by Corvallis-based defense attorneys Michael Barker and Peter Fahy.
Barker and Fahy are under contracts with the Office of Public Defense Services, officials said. Fahy is paid $82 an hour, and Barker is paid $86 an hour. So far, the pair have been paid a total of $233,230.
It is much more difficult to determine how much the state spent prosecuting Weaver.
Several police agencies investigated the case. The salaries of the two Clackamas County prosecutors assigned to the case already were built into the district attorney's budget. Alfred French, the senior deputy district attorney and lead prosecutor on the case, is paid an annual salary of $100,919, according to Clackamas County officials. His partner on the case, Deputy District Attorney Christine Landers, is paid an annual salary of $90,865.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Greg Horner pointed out that French and Landers handled the Weaver case as part of their regular caseload.
The district attorney's office spent $4,500 for expenses related to the Weaver investigation, Horner said. He said the office also budgeted an additional $50,000 in trial expenses for the year, but that includes expenses related to four aggravated murder cases, including Weaver's.
District Attorney John Foote said that while Weaver's lawyers "did their job as they were supposed to," he was critical of the costs related to the defense.
"I think any reasonable person would say that we need to do something about these escalating costs," he said. "I am not sure what that should be at this point, but I think something has to be done to rein them in."
Clatsop County District Attorney Joshua Marquis said that although the state spent a lot on Weaver's legal bills, that's expected in a death penalty case.
"I am not saying that's a bad thing," he said. "If you are going to seek to put someone to death, you have to provide adequate counsel, and that is expensive. But it's important for people to understand when someone is charged with aggravated murder, the state of Oregon spends a boatload of money to make sure they have adequate counsel, if not the best."
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1096632345128131.xml
