What Does A Criminal Defense Attorney Cost?

A criminal defense attorney cost varies depending on the specific details of your criminal case. Still, you may expect to pay $200-$1,000 a hour. If you have a hourly fee structure, it wouldn't take much time for a criminal defense attorney bill to surpass $5,000.

Criminal defense attorney costs will typically vary based upon various factors. These may include: the severity of your criminal charges, the notoriety or experience of your criminal attorney, the complexity of legal issues in your case, or whether your case would go to trial or not. Because of this, it is important when hiring a criminal defense attorney to discuss the attorney’s fees prior to entering into a written contract.

Some criminal defense lawyers may require you to make a payment to retain them.

Now, these criminal defense costs are only estimates. There's just no way to give an accurate estimate without knowing your criminal case.

If you'd like to get an accurate estimate on how much your criminal defense will cost you, contact us at 504-465-0101.

If you are looking to hire a criminal lawyer, you're likely in a difficult situation and need immediate assistance of a criminal defense attorney ASAP. If you're facing criminal charges, whether that would be a minor charge or a severe charges, it should be took as is a serious matter. When we say "serious," we mean it, you could face jail time, monetary fines, loss of future employment opportunities, and other criminal charges. In fact, you may have a criminal record built on you. Due to this, you should immediately find an experienced and qualified criminal defense attorney to help you with your charges.

It is the United States Constitution that guarantees you the right to counsel in criminal prosecutions. If you cannot afford to hire an attorney, the court will appoint a lawyer for you. However, if the court decides based on your income and assets that you can afford an attorney, you may be forced to hire a private attorney, although you may be able to represent yourself, but we wouldn't recommend that.

If a criminal claim has been brought up against you, you could be facing criminal penalties, which may include fines, jail time, possibly even both. If you've been charged or are under arrest for suspicion of having committed a crime, we'd recommend having a consult with an experienced criminal defense attorney before you ever respond to any type of criminal prosecution.

A decorated and experienced criminal defense attorney will be able to help you, they can guide you through the full length of the criminal legal process and help you with any criminal charges that have been brought up against you.

Most people are looking for a criminal defense attorney after you've been arrested, in police custody, or after you've been booked through the police system. Once these scenarios occur, you're usually given an opportunity to post bail before any arraignment is held, which would be where you'd be read the criminal charges brought against you. During the arraignment, you will likely be asked to enter your plea, and should there be no plea bargain, a preliminary hearing will be held where a judge will determine whether there is sufficient evidence to charge you with a crime.

As I'm sure you're seeing, these criminal procedures can be complex and confusing, down right scary at times too. However, I don't want you to be scared, but do make sure you get help. As an experienced criminal defense attorney with 22+ years in the book, I totally understand how you feel right now. If you can afford to hire a criminal attorney, I always recommend it, especially one with a proven track record of success.

I touched on this above, the costs of criminal defense lawyers are going to greatly vary, no two criminal cases are going to be the same. There will be a number of different factors that can affect the overall costs of a criminal case, these include but are not limited to:

Defendant’s Income - Yes, your income can determine whether you'll be eligible for a court-appointed attorney or whether you're going to need to hire your own attorney. Now, as it pertains to different jurisdictions, everyone place has their own set of rules. You'll find out that there's different qualifications to determine if someone can afford to hire their own attorney. If you do qualify based on your income, the court will appoint a public defender to represent you, it's paid for by the government and guaranteed in our Constitution.

Investigation and Experts - As I've touched on in this article, some criminal cases can be complex and large. In fact, some may require the need for additional resources, such as investigators and/or expert witnesses. In this case, criminal defense costs can jump quickly. Let me use an example to give you more clarity.

Let's say a defense attorney needs to hire an expert chemical tester, they're needed to contest or explain the results of a BAC analysis in a DUI trial. Perhaps, a psychologist would need to be hired if the defendant wanted to plead insanity. In such scenarios, additional money is needed for these request. There's another few dozen examples we could make, in the end, you just never know how much costs will be needed.

Defense Attorney Fees - Yes, criminal defense attorneys do not all cost a fixed amount of money. Attorney’s fees will vary according to several factors. Some of the more important factors affecting an attorney’s rate include:

• The experience of the attorney;
• The track record of the attorney;
• The skill of the attorney;
• The seriousness of the offense;
• The complexity of the legal issues in the case;
• The amount of time invested by the attorney;
• The delegation of tasks for law clerks, paralegals, etc.;
• Whether the case goes to trial or not;
• Whether the attorney charges a flat fee or hourly.

Although many criminal defense lawyers rarely charge a flat fee for certain criminal cases, it's possible that a some criminal defense lawyers may have certain scenarios where a flat fee would be charged. For example, if you need represented for a simple misdemeanor charge, an attorney may charge a flat fee of $1,500 to $3,000 to represent you.

Let's say you have a speeding ticket case and need a traffic ticket attorney. The criminal attorney may only charge you a flat fee to represent you. Important to note, a flat fee arrangement does not come with a guarantee of getting a specific outcome, so be sure to keep that in mind.

Lance J. Robinson is a New Orleans criminal defense attorney with over 22 years experience. If you've been charged with a criminal crime in New Orleans or Louisiana, be sure to reach out for help. Get a free initial consult right now by calling 504-465-0101 or click here for our contact form.