It's The Law!

In Washington State,

Defendants who claim self-defense, and win their cases, are entitled to reimbursement for lost wages and other costs, a Washington state appeals court has ruled.

It's been the law in WA for a while that, if you successfully argued "self-defense" and won, you would be reimbursed for d=legal costs. Now the State Appeals Cpourt says you can be reimbursed for other costs as well, including lost wages. Defendant wins back wages, other costs in ‘stand-your-ground’ ruling | Local News | The Seattle Times

In its ruling, the appeals court leaned on an earlier Washington state Supreme Court case that said the reimbursement law was broadly meant to ensure that no “costs of defense” are borne by a person acting legally to protect his or her life. Thus, in Villanueva’s case, the Court of Appeals said, the lost wages “constituted lawful earnings he would have received but for being prosecuted.”

The court went on to rule that because Villanueva was also defending himself legally after the trial, through the appeals process on the monetary reimbursement question, he had piled up additional reimbursable defense costs since the verdict, the judges said.

“Therefore, we award him reasonable appellate costs,” the order said, in sending the case back to the trial court to determine what a reasonable added amount should be.

The original arrest was in 2010, he was acquitted in 2012, and the appeals court just made it's decision. Alas, that this counts as "swift" justice in today's America.

Hurrah that I live in a state with such a law, though.