Why wealth matters

Riddle me this: Why does it anger so many people when a criminal defendant spends massive amounts of money? Do they not know how much money the prosecution spends? This story from CNN is illustrative:

Prosecutors in the Kobe Bryant case spent nearly $400,000 trying to get the NBA star convicted of raping a woman at a Vail-area resort last summer, documents show.

That includes nearly $75,000 for expert witnesses and travel, more than $78,000 to investigators and more than $35,000 for a broadcast news clipping service.

"When the government comes after you, the government comes with an open checkbook," said Larry Pozner, former president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. "There is no bill for the prosecutors' time, there is no bill for the sheriff's time."

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"This actually is a little less than you'd expect for something of this high profile," [PR rep] Flannigan said Tuesday. "It's typical for a first-degree murder case, even in our district."

My oh my how the prosecution hates a level playing field!

Once you factor in the salary and benefits for the investigators and prosecutors, the bill would likely reach 1 million dollars. Which is, by most educated guessors, what Kobe Bryant spent defending himself.

Spokeswoman Krista Flannigan, who earned $76,000 after she was hired to help District Attorney Mark Hurlbert handle media coverage, remains on the payroll. Lawyers in Hurlbert's office still are working on a request by Bryant's attorneys to seal all records and evidence.

Yes, you read that correctly. Eagle County Colorda District Attorney Mark Hurlbert allocated almost 100-grand for a PR expert.

Why wasn't it good enough for Hurlbert to save his case for the jury? Why did he need a PR manager? Could he have been trying his case before the media?

It gets worse.

He also paid Multivision Inc. of Walnut Creek, Calif., $35,451 to monitor broadcast news stories about the case.

What a sham. What a travesty. What a disgrace.