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Archived Press Releases 2002 November 4th

Legal Aid Abused by Mikus Lawyer?

(4th November 2002)

The New Zealand Taxpayer must question the announcement of an appeal by defence lawyer for Jules Mikus, said the National Spokesperson for the Sensible Sentencing Trust

Is this simply another blatent abuse of the legal aid process?

If Mr Gill seriously believes his client is innocent, we challenge him to contribute his time at no additional cost to the New Zealand taxpayer, said Garth McVicar.

Many New Zealander's are volunteering their time free of charge as the community confronts this violent crime epidemic.

We accept that Mr Gill's motivation may be genuine; he may simply be driven by his desire to see that justice is done. If so he will accept our challenge.

Sensible Setencing Trust has been promoting a "Sliding Scale" of Legal Aid to replace the existing $100 million per year taxpayer funded scheme, said Mr McVicar.

The present system is being abused by more than just the convicted criminals, as can be seen by the huge escalation in budget.

Under our proposal, everyone would be eligible to apply for 100% Legal Aid for their first and second mistakes only, for any future offences the "Sliding Scale" would apply. This would be fair to all concerned and would be a disincentive for those abusing the present scheme, said Mr McVicar.

Regards,

Garth McVicar
National Spokesperson,
Sensible Sentencing Trust.