[QUOTE="Ben Blaney"] The idea behind this is that it's a "fair" system, where people pay according to their means.[/QUOTE] I'm thinking of several high profile cases in the last ten years where the defendants had huuuuuge stacks of cash hidden away and got legal aid. [QUOTE] I'm merely pointing out that under this system - which I don't necessarily disagree with - there's a number of things that will mean that what people end up paying doesn't not truly reflect their means.[/QUOTE] It reflects how much they pay their tame QC and financial whizz kid. Hey I'm agreeing with Ben!