Legally, public officials have the right to have their administrations (Palma town hall in this instance) guarantee their legal defence if their work is shown to have been legitimate. Acquittal will do this, and so they will be able to benefit from this provision. Compensation demands by lawyers will reflect the duration of the investigation of the case and of the trial prior to charges being dropped.
The town hall has already had to pay out some two million euros for police officers who did not go to trial and the cost of their defence. In addition, there was the compensation for the long periods during which they were suspended from employment and salary.
Following the initial arrests of police officers, the town hall presented itself as a private prosecutor but in a very secondary role. For that part of the investigation which ended up being the Cursach case trial, the town hall was not involved.
The initial accusations maintained that Palma police officers had persecuted various nightlife establishments in collusion with the Cursach Group. Their defence lawyers have proved that their actions were supported by numerous complaints by members of the public, mayoral decrees and other administrative means.
The chance that these costs will be met by those who have pursued private prosecutions is limited, as the businesspeople concerned have made clear during the trial that their financial situations are poor, so the main financial risk lies with the town hall.
The national ministry of the interior is another administration that is likely to be pursued for costs because of acquittals.
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