– I am surprised by the invoicing to the assistance lawyers, says Arvid Sjødin, who together with colleague Bjørn André Gulstad has been appointed as defender for Viggo Kristiansen.
A little over a year has passed since the 42-year-old convicted of double murder had his case reopened. The investigation was then moved to the Oslo police district and the public prosecutor in the capital.
It is still unknown what the outcome of the case will be.
TV 2 has been given access to the so-called fee statements of the lawyers in the Baneheia case from the reopening until the beginning of March.
They show how much money the five lawyers have earned in working on the case.
They have invoiced so much
Svein Holden, the lawyer who defends Jan Helge Andersen, states that on March 4 this year he had invoiced 238.5 hours, which gives a payment of 463,098 kroner.
Holden informs TV 2 that he has with him colleague Cecilie Krogh Fornes on the case, but that her work has been invoiced for his appointment.
– PROFILED: Lawyer Svein Holden has made himself known through several of Norway’s most talked about criminal cases. Photo: Ditlev Eidsmo / TV 2
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According to the Borgarting Court of Appeal, Sjødin and Gulstad, who are defending Kristiansen, have invoiced NOK 468,336 and NOK 125,534, respectively, for their work. That is a total of 593,870 kroner.
The assistance lawyers for the deceased girls’ four parents, Håkon Brækhus and Audun Beckstrøm, have invoiced work for NOK 493,309 and NOK 441,946, respectively.
Responds to the sum
This means that the three defenders together have invoiced work for NOK 1,056,968, while the two development assistance lawyers have invoiced work for NOK 931,434.
That makes Sjødin react.
During this period, we defense lawyers have worked hard to get Kristiansen released, had a dialogue with the police about the investigation and in addition been in several interrogations with a subsequent review of interrogations. The assistance lawyers do not have that, says Sjødin and continues:
– It may well be that they envisage that their role is not only to be assistance lawyers, but also to extend the prosecution from 2000 its persistent need to stigmatize and wrongly judge Viggo Kristiansen, at the same time as they have taken on the role of defending Jan Helge Andersen, he says.
– THE DAY IT HAPPENED: On 1 June last year, Viggo Kristiansen was released. Earlier in the afternoon, he was visited by his lawyers Bjørn Gulstad and Arvid Sjødin. Photo: Frode Sunde / TV 2
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Sjødin says that Beckstrøm and Brækhus themselves must clarify what they have spent their time on.
– Think it’s unethical
Over time, TV 2 has tried to get answers to questions from the development assistance lawyers. They are also presented with the statements from Sjødin.
In an e-mail to TV 2, Beckstrøm writes the following:
“I do not want to comment on anyone else’s or my own work in this matter now. I think it will be unethical ».
Brækhus has not answered TV 2’s questions in this case.
TV 2 has shown the figures of Susann Skogvang who is a judge in Hålogaland Court of Appeal and a member of the judges’ media group.
She emphasizes that she does not know the case or the lawyers’ specific time sheets.
– In general, I can say that the role of legal aid lawyer is important for safeguarding the interests of victims and survivors in criminal cases, even though the external role may appear to be “smaller” than that of the defense counsel. The assistance lawyers must familiarize themselves with all the documents in the case and must inform their clients, she says and adds:
– Normally, it is not uncommon for the assistance lawyers’ fee tasks to be somewhat lower than for the defense lawyers, but this case is far from normal.
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