LOS ANGELES COUNTY : Cost of Simpson Trial Reaches $2.4 Million

The trial of O. J. Simpson has cost Los Angeles County more than $2.4 million, already making it one of the most expensive cases in county history, according to the latest tabulations released Wednesday.

In the first figures to reflect jury sequestration, the county’s expenses increased $718,519 in January. The cost of housing, feeding and protecting the jury, which has been sequestered since Jan. 11, totaled $197,814, according to Auditor-Controller Alan T. Sasaki.

A breakdown of the expenses in the Simpson prosecution show that the district attorney’s office has spent $1,439,321; the Sheriff’s Department, $515,455; the courts, $596,534, and the coroner, $28,682.

In addition, Sasaki has spent nearly $7,500 to add up the costs.

The county has been able to recover $114,500 through rental of the Hall of Justice parking lot to the media.

The January totals move the Simpson case past the $1,811,260 spent on the trial of so-called Night Stalker Richard Ramirez in the 1980s. The most expensive case in county history was the childabuse prosecution of members of the McMartin family, which cost more than $13 million.