A judge has granted $10,000 to Dalia Dippolito's defense team to pay for trial transcripts from her second trial.
A new mom on house arrest, no income, and waiting for a third trial, Dippolito was not in court Thursday, but allowed her attorney to do the talking.
Dippolito's defense attorney Greg Rosenfeld asked the court for money to pay for transcripts that will help the defense team prepare for a retrial.
"We need them to properly prepare for the pre-trial motions, the transcripts are necessary for impeachment purposes. I mean no attorney goes into trial without having the transcripts," said Rosenfeld.
Judge Glenn Kelley granted Dippolito's defense team $10,000 to get transcripts from the second trial in December. Rosenfeld says the dollar amount is nothing compared to what it's going to cost to try the case again.
"We think the state of Florida, by trying this case again, is going to waste probably another $30,000 probably of taxpayer money, solely on defense expenses," said Rosenfeld.
Rosenfeld took on this case pro-bono. Still, with Dippolito declared indigent by the court, her expert witness testimonies, investigation fees and court document costs are paid by the court. That means Dippolito will be making more requests for money.
"The taxpayers are paying an exorbitant amount of money for the state to try this case a third time," added Rosenfeld.
A spokesperson for the state attorney's office says they don't keep expenses per case.
A public records request has been made to the court administration to see how much money taxpayers have already spent trying the case.
Dippolito's attorneys said Jan. 10 they will not seek a change of venue for her third trial.
On Jan. 20, a judge said her third trial in the case will begin on June 2.
