''If I were the city attorney, I would be having a very lengthy conversation with my client,'' Jarvis said. Legal experts say that by paying the fees outright, Miramar would set a potentially costly precedent and open itself to criticism that it was spending taxpayer money on a special perk for a commissioner. For example, Hollywood paid for Commissioner Sal Oliveri's defense after he was named in a federal lawsuit based on his actions as a commissioner. There is some precedent for cities paying legal costs incurred by commissioners on city business.
Salesman said he was talking with Tropix Lounge owner Andrew Reed about permitting problems. on his way home from a local lounge, he had just concluded a discussion on city business.
Simple acquittal in a criminal case does not obligate the government to pay the defendant's legal fees.īut Salesman says that when police spotted him at 3:45 a.m. That's not how it works, said attorney Bob Jarvis, a law professor at Nova Southeastern University. The city owes me at least that much to consider paying my legal bills.'' I let the evidence speak for itself,'' said Salesman, 50, who returned to the commission dais last week, after a nearly two-year suspension. Police overtime to give testimony in the case cost $524.76.Īnd now, Salesman says he is asking the city to reimburse him $42,000 he paid an attorney for his defense. The city spent $61,901 to conduct a special election and paid John Moore about $60,000 to fill Salesman's commission seat after the April 2005 arrest.
Suspended in 2005 after his arrest, Miramar Commissioner Fitzroy Salesman wants the city to pay for his successful defense.Miramar City Commissioner Fitzroy Salesman's arrest and subsequent acquittal for drunk driving and fleeing police has cost city taxpayers about $120,000, and the tab could go higher. Commissioner Fitzroy Salesman wants to be reimbursed for legal fees in his criminal case, saying the charges stemmed from a wee-hours discussion about city business.īY NATALIE P.
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