The state could provide every defendant a line of credit with a limit roughly equivalent to the amount the state prosecution is spending. If the defendant wins, the balance is paid by the state. If the defendant loses, then the balance must be paid back by the defendant.

Sounds fair, but also kinda like the system we have. For one thing, all the evidence the prosecution pays for is supposed to be provided to the defense. Perhaps not the evidence the defense would like, but ideally the facts are all there and the court case is about telling a story that fits.

I don't want to take the number at face value because it includes the amount spent by guilty people trying to avoid jail at any cost. Kenneth Lay no doubt spent a pretty penny on his defense.

In the case of USA vs. A Swartz, there were already over a 100 filings and the case had not even gone to trial yet ( http://ia700504.us.archive.org/29/items/gov.uscourts.mad.137... ). All that back and forth requires billable hours from a very pricey attorney, the money adds up very quickly. I do not know enough about the legal system to determine how the discovery/pre-trial motion process could be made more efficient and cheaper for the defendant.