BY JOE FANTAUZZI
Convicted murderer Richard Wills wants an appeal.
But the province is more concerned with re-couping some of the cost associated with his approximately $1.4 million trial.
Wills, a former Richmond Hill resident and Toronto police officer, convicted of murdering his lover Linda Mariani, is due before the Ontario Court of Appeal for a hearing in Kingston Nov. 17.
At the same time, a lawsuit announced by the province last February, aimed at recovering funds spent on Wills' defence is underway.
Mr. Wills liquidated his assets and transferred most of them to his wife and three children before applying for Legal Aid.
The total cost of his trial included fees for his defence counsel and law students, fees of friends of the court that worked on his case and costs for experts, Attorney General spokesperson Brendan Crawley said.
"There is no question that there needs to be more accountability on large cases," he said in a statement. "That is why we established a protocol and continue to work with Legal Aid Ontario on big case management."
But recovering any of the money spent on Wills' defence will be difficult, James C. Morton a lawyer with Steinberg Morton Hope&Israel LLP said.
Exploring if Wills' financial dealings before he was imprisoned were proper is valid but it may be difficult to even get a judgement, Mr. Morton said.
Wills was convicted of first-degree murder on Oct. 31, 2007.
Wills' trial lasted about six months and the associated costs are being borne by taxpayers, even though he is believed to have had a personal worth of more than $1 million at about the time of his arrest.
After Wills represented himself during his preliminary hearing, a court ordered the province to allow for special funding so he could retain an attorney.
The controversy, especially over the cost of the trial, that ensued following Wills' conviction may have put the government into a position where it had to act, Mr. Morton said. But, he doesn't believe the government's move to sue Wills is strictly political.
"There is obviously a desire to take proactive steps when you see there has been a problem," he said.
The Wills trial led to a significant reorganization of how public funds are used for defence, Mr. Morton said.
"There was never a case like Wills before," he said.
According to a 2008 report by Ontario Ombudsman Andre Marin, Wills had 13 lawyers, including seven publicly funded, two 'friends of the court' and one who worked pro bono. Three of his attorneys were paid for privately.
Mr. Marin called the case the result in many ways of "a perfect storm of mischief" and "misjudgment" and bemoaned the $50,000 cost estimate originally associated with it.
Meanwhile, in his notice of appeal, Mr. Wills claims he had an incompetent defence while also attacking the Crown and court staff.
"If I were arguing for Wills, I would do a very short, very focused appeal arguing that because of the way it shook out, his case wasn't effectively put before the jury," Mr. Morton said. "Beyond that, he doesn't have a chance. This was not a case that had any significant legal issues in it."
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
416 225 2777
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