What Does a Criminal Defense Lawyer Cost in California?

The structures

Flat fees and hourly rates

Criminal defense in California is usually charged as a flat fee, an hourly rate, or a flat fee staged by phase. A flat fee covers a defined scope for a set price, which suits a case whose shape is predictable, most often a misdemeanor. Its advantage is certainty; its risk is scope, because a fee quoted for a case that resolves before trial does not cover a trial.

Hourly billing is more common in complex felony matters where the work cannot be predicted. Staged flat fees split the difference: one fee through the preliminary hearing, another if the case goes beyond it, another for trial. That structure is common and reasonable, and it should be set out plainly rather than discovered later.

Whatever the structure, ask what is included, what triggers an additional fee, and whether costs — investigators, experts, transcripts, laboratory re-testing — are inside the fee or billed separately. Expert and investigator costs in a serious case can rival the fee itself, and they are a legitimate expense rather than an upsell.

The alternative

The public defender, and who qualifies

Anyone facing a criminal charge who cannot afford counsel is entitled to appointed counsel, and the court must advise them of it. In Los Angeles County that is the Public Defender, or the Alternate Public Defender where there is a conflict. Eligibility is decided by the court on a financial declaration, not by the office.

Public defenders are experienced trial lawyers and are frequently excellent. The honest difference is caseload, not competence. California used to allow courts to bill a represented defendant for part of the cost of appointed counsel under Penal Code 987.8, and older material still says so. Assembly Bill 1869 repealed that fee along with a group of other criminal administrative fees, effective 1 July 2021, so courts no longer have authority to impose or collect it.

Sources: Penal Code 987 — the right to appointed counsel and the duty to advise of it; Assembly Bill 1869 (2020) — repealed the Penal Code 987.8 public-defense fee and other criminal administrative fees, effective 1 July 2021; Los Angeles County Public Defender.

This office

How to find out what your case would involve

The consultation at the Law Offices of Patrick S. Aguirre is free, and it is the conversation where the charge, the exposure, and the likely shape of the work get explained. Fee arrangements are discussed directly and set out in writing before any work begins; no figures are published here, because a number quoted without knowing the charge would be meaningless.

Patrick S. Aguirre has practised criminal defense in Long Beach and across Los Angeles County for nearly three decades, with offices in Long Beach and Downey. The office speaks Spanish.