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David Bain may find it difficult to get compensation for wrongful imprisonment because of the high standard of proof required, legal commentators say.
Bain was convicted and jailed in 1995 for the 1994 deaths of his parents and three siblings. He was acquitted after a retrial in June.
Supporter Joe Karam said Bain's legal team would seek compensation for the almost 13 years he spent in jail. The payout could potentially be a multi-million dollar sum.
However, lawyer Murray Gibson said Bain would find it difficult to get compensation because he was required to prove his innocence "on the balance of probabilities".
"It's an extraordinarily high test to have to achieve," Gibson told the Weekend Herald.
In 2001, Gibson secured almost $900,000 in compensation for David Dougherty, who was acquitted of the rape and abduction of an 11-year-old-girl on the basis of DNA evidence.
While Dougherty had science on his side, Bain would find it difficult to prove his innocence because his case rested on doubts as to who committed the crime, Gibson said.
Auckland University associate law professor Scott Optican said acquittal was a "far cry" from proving innocence on the balance of probabilities, because the burden of proof was now on Bain rather than the prosecution .
Bain would find it difficult to seek compensation unless he could find "a real silver bullet piece of evidence that could definitively establish his innocence," he said.
Karam said Bain would be able to prove his innocence and comments to the contrary were ill-informed .
"The evidence in the trial, I am saying, supports unequivocally that David Bain, on the balance of probabilities, is innocent of these crimes."
Bain must apply to the Minister of Justice for compensation, after which the matter may be referred to a Queen's Counsel for investigation.
Compensation takes account of the length of jail time served and the claimant's conduct. The base rate for each year served is $100,000.
Bain is also expected to try to claim his family inheritance .
