[wozniacki]

Could you prepay your attorney(s) / legal team in the form of retainers like they (seem to) do in the television show "The Wire"?

The cost of any future trial could be anticipated ahead of time and paid upfront by the perpetrating party. Right?

That way there is no burden on the accused, to prove how the cost of the trial will be borne. Right?

The state (DA) must know that there is certainly no way "Stringer Bell" or "Avon Barksdale" can afford a high priced lawyer (Maurice Levy) from the proceeds of a legitimate yet small-time printing business - an obvious front operation for their drug dealing syndicate, which constituted the lion-share of their earnings.

Right?

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stringer_Bell http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avon_Barksdale http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Levy_(The_Wire)

[mistercow]

I think that is correct. If so, it's also screwed up because it actually favors the guilty. An innocent person who believes in the justice system would think that they have no reason to retain a lawyer in advance. A smart criminal would do so as an obvious precaution.

[jrockway]

The goal is to convict someone of a crime, not to convict someone guilty of the crime.