Feb 27, 7:11 PM EST
Judge: Taxpayers should pay legal bills for former speaker
By WILLIAM MARCH
Associated Press
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Taxpayers should foot the legal bills a disgraced former state House speaker paid to defend himself against corruption charges that were later dropped, a Florida judge said Friday.
Leon County Circuit Judge Angela Dempsey didn’t say how much she would award former Speaker Ray Sansom, who sued the state to recover fees from his defense in 2011.
But Dempsey said she expected to approve most of the fees and costs Sansom and his former criminal defense attorney, Stephen Dobson, were seeking, and that she considered the evidence they presented to back up the total amount credible.