Terror Nine's $4.5m legal bill

Terror Nine's $4.5m legal bill | The Daily Telegraph: "NINE men facing charges over the manufacture of explosives for a holy war in the nation's biggest terror trial will have their legal bills of more than $4.5 million picked up by taxpayers.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal the trial will be a fees bonanza for the Sydney legal fraternity, with each of the charged individuals getting their own Senior Counsel, costing taxpayers $219,436, a junior counsel costing $135,202 and solicitors costing up to $90,164 each.

Legal Aid Commission documents outlining 'projected expenditure' for the nine men charged following Operation Pandanus raids in November 2005 show that taxpayers can expect future terror trials to cost dearly.

The total cost of the trials – $4,525,244 – is equal to a sizeable chunk of the $68 million in legal aid devoted to all criminal matters in NSW all last financial year."