KEY POINTS:
David Bain's chief supporter, Joe Karam, is standing by his estimate that the defence will cost between $2.5 million and $4 million.
The Bain defence team is in dispute with the Legal Services Agency over cost estimates for legal aid.
The agency says the Bain team is asking for "an unprecedented number of counsel and level of funding".
But Mr Karam said the claims were about having a level playing field.
"We are not trying to be scaremongering, we are just saying that part of having a fair trial is you need to have some kind of equality of arms."
The Crown Solicitor had told the judge that the police had 30 detectives working fulltime on the case.
"If a detective's salary is $100,000 then that's $3 million just there," said Mr Karam, and he estimated the total cost of the trial could be $10 million.
Bain is facing retrial after the Privy Council in May overturned his 1995 murder convictions for killing five members of his family.
Mr Karam said a "very conservative cost" for the defence would be at least $2.5 million but could be $4 million.
At least 50,000 pages of documents relating to the case had been generated and the reading of these by legal counsel would cost thousands of dollars.
Between 60 and 80 witnesses from throughout New Zealand, Australia, Europe and the United States could be required for the trial - which would also increase costs.
"You have to communicate with the witnesses and brief them beforehand, then you have to fly all these people here, accommodate them and then send them home again," said Mr Karam.
* A heading in Tuesday's paper wrongly paraphrased Legal Services as saying the Bain defence cost claims were untrue. The word it actually used was incorrect. The Herald regrets any distress caused to defence counsel Michael Reed, QC, Mr Karam or Legal Services.
