Although some criminal defense attorneys charge a flat fee for a specific type of case, for serious felony crimes most charge by the hour for all services, usually $100-$300 or more. To hire an attorney, you must pay an up-front fee called a retainer, which is based either on an estimated number of hours or on the flat fee.
Attorney’s fees will vary according to several factors. Some of the more important factors affecting an attorney’s rate include: The amount of time spent by the attorney in the criminal discovery process; Whether the attorney charges a flat fee or by the hour. Do Criminal Defense Lawyers Charge a Flat Fee?
Or the services of a psychologist may be required if the defendant is wishing to raise a defense of legal insanity. Expert witnesses and investigators require an average retainer fee of $2,500 and they may charge in excess of $300 per hour. Attorney’s Fees – Attorney’s fees vary depending on several different factors.
Due to the high cost of living in California, a criminal defense attorney for a San Diego misdemeanor will likely cost more than a lawyer for a similar situation elsewhere in the country. The typical criminal defense attorney’s hourly fee ranges from $100 to $400 per hour.
Typically, you can expect to pay $150 to $700 an hour for a criminal defense lawyer’s time. With an hourly fee structure, it is not uncommon for legal bills to get into the $10,000 to $15,000 range quickly.
Thus, if you have been charged or are under arrest for suspicion of having committed a crime, it is in your best interests to first consult an experienced attorney before you respond to any criminal prosecution.
Even if you wish to plead guilty or represent yourself “pro se,” it is extremely important to first consult an experienced attorney before you respond to any criminal prosecution. At a minimum, a criminal defense attorney will ensure that the charges brought against you are appropriate, given the facts of the case and advocate on your behalf to receive the lowest possible penalty.
Hourly fees are by far the most common type of fee arrangement utilized by criminal defense attorneys. As discussed above, attorneys often feel that flat fee arrangements are not a dependable way of measuring the various factors and costs associated with representing a client facing criminal charges.
Further, many attorneys will not agree to a flat fee arrangement, due to the varying nature of the criminal process. An attorney may also have a clause in a flat fee arrangement that allows them to increase the flat fee, should the case proceed to trial.
These may include jail time, creation of a criminal record, monetary fines, loss of future employment opportunities, or more. Therefore, it is often in your best interests to find and hire an experienced and well qualified criminal defense attorney to assist you with your charges.
There are several factors that can affect the overall costs of a criminal case, including: Defendant’s Income: Your income determines whether you are eligible for a court-appointed attorney, or whether you need to hire your own attorney.
If you are charged with a Second Degree Felony or First Degree Felony you should expect to pay a minimum of $10,000 for any criminal defense lawyer just to start representing you. Again, these charges can mean up to 20 years to life.
Petition for Exunpction & Order of Expunction – $1,500 (all filing fees included)
You and I will review this together. Criminal discovery is the police reports, probable cause affidavits, witness statements, video, photographs, etc…
The answer is that it depends on the type of charge or charges and the location.
It’s very normal for clients to have multiple criminal charges out of the same arrest or have many cases pending, in different Courts, at the same time. If you have multiple charges in the same Court I’m willing to offer you a discount, on the above flat fee, to represent you for each criminal charge after you hire me for the first.
If your case goes to trial, the costs can double. If your attorney is able to plea bargain for you, the cost will average $3,500 – $5,000. These prices do not include the initial retainer fee which will average $2,000 – $4,000.
Attorney retainer fees will run $2,000 – $5,000 (for a misdemeanor) and $5,000 – $10,000 (for a felony) and are not included in the costs below. For less serious charges of “recreational amounts” of marijuana, you can expect to pay a flat fee of around $900 – $1,500 if you are first offender.
For obvious reasons, these offenses are the most serious you can commit and you will most likely be facing prison time. Murder has a few different levels; first degree (capitol murder), second degree and felony murder. First degree murder is the most serious charge you can receive and means that it was deliberate, planned and premeditated. You thought about it before you committed it and causing death was the ultimate goal. Second degree murder means that you have killed someone with premeditation – such as getting into a fight, going into your car to get a gun, shooting and killing. Your intent with the altercation was not to kill. Felony murder is treated very much like second degree murder, but includes the commission of a felony when the murder occurred such as; committing robbery with a group and one of them kills an individual. Even though you did not kill anyone, the death happened while committing felony robbery. Conspiracy to commit murder means that you were part of the planning or commissioned someone to kill another individual. Conspiracy will be upgraded to murder or manslaughter if death occurs.
However, assault cases encompass any act that an individual commits that causes fear, injury or bodily harm to another. Charges will most likely be in one of the following categories; common or simple assault, assault with bodily harm, battery and assault on a police officer. Common or simple assault is defined as a threat of bodily harm and the ability to cause the harm. While it seems this type of assault carries an intent to harm, it is usually not tried in court this way and may only be heard by a magistrate.
For instance, if you are driving recklessly or under the influence and you hit and kill someone, you are likely to be charged with involuntary manslaughter. As noted earlier, these are all serious offenses, but with the help of good legal counsel, you could likely have charges or prison time reduced.
There are many offenses that are considered as part of criminal law. For the most part, they are what you may think such as murder, rape and assault. But you will also find a need for a criminal attorney if you are charged with drug offenses or even blackmail.
You thought about it before you committed it and causing death was the ultimate goal. Second degree murder means that you have killed someone with premeditation – such as getting into a fight, going into your car to get a gun, shooting and killing. Your intent with the altercation was not to kill.