A straightforward misdemeanor resolved by a plea deal usually costs a few thousand dollars once attorney fees and court costs are added up. A serious felony that goes to a full jury trial commonly runs $25,000 to $100,000 or more, and federal cases can exceed that on defense costs alone. So the honest answer to how much a criminal trial costs is that it depends on the charge, the complexity of the evidence, and whether the case settles or is fought to verdict.
The numbers below are the pieces that make up that total.
Attorney Fees Are the Largest Line
Legal representation is the biggest single expense in almost every criminal case. How your lawyer bills depends on the case type and the arrangement you sign.
Flat Fees
A flat fee is one lump sum covering everything from arraignment through resolution. It’s most common for misdemeanors, where the scope of work is somewhat predictable. Flat fees for misdemeanor defense typically fall between $1,500 and $5,000. Felony flat fees range from roughly $5,000 to well over $25,000 depending on the charge and likely trial length.
Hourly Rates
When attorneys bill hourly, rates run from around $150 for a less experienced lawyer to $700 or more for a veteran trial attorney handling a complex case. A misdemeanor might require 10 to 20 hours of attorney time. A contested felony can easily consume 30 to 100 hours or more. At $300 an hour, a middle-of-the-road rate in many metro areas, a felony requiring 50 hours produces a $15,000 legal bill before any other costs.
Retainers
Many defense attorneys require a retainer upfront. It goes into a trust account and gets drawn down as the attorney logs hours. Retainers for misdemeanors typically range from $1,500 to $5,000. Felony retainers can run $2,500 to $20,000 or more. If it runs out before the case is over, you replenish it. If it isn’t fully used, you get the difference back.
If You Can’t Afford a Private Lawyer
The Sixth Amendment guarantees court-appointed counsel in any criminal case where incarceration is possible.1Constitution Annotated. Amdt6.6.3.1 Overview of When the Right to Counsel Applies That usually means a public defender. The representation itself comes at no direct charge, but “free” is misleading. A majority of states have laws allowing courts to bill defendants for the cost of appointed counsel after the case ends, and 18 states charge an upfront application fee just to request a public defender.2National Legal Aid & Defender Association. State Laws Authorizing the Assessment of Public Defense System Fees Recoupment costs vary widely but can add hundreds or thousands to what a defendant ultimately pays.
Pass-Through Expenses
On top of the fee for legal work, most attorneys pass through out-of-pocket expenses: copying, postage, mileage, long-distance calls, and filing fees. Each line looks small, but they accumulate over months. Your retainer agreement should spell out which expenses get billed separately. Read it before signing.
Bail and Pretrial Release
Bail is often the first financial hit, and it lands before a lawyer has done real work on the case. A judge sets the amount based on the charges, your ties to the community, and the perceived risk that you won’t appear. Lower-level misdemeanor bail might be a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. Felony bail commonly starts around $5,000 to $10,000 and climbs steeply for violent or serious offenses.
Most defendants who can’t post the full amount use a bail bondsman, who charges a non-refundable premium of roughly 10 percent. If bail is $20,000, you pay a bondsman about $2,000 and never see it again, even if the charges are dropped. Post the full amount in cash yourself and you get it back when the case ends, assuming you attend every hearing. Few people have that kind of liquidity on short notice.
Some jurisdictions also impose electronic monitoring as a condition of release, and defendants frequently pay for the equipment. Those fees can run $5 to $15 per day depending on the jurisdiction and device.
Investigators and Expert Witnesses
An attorney’s skill only goes so far without facts to work with. Building a defense often means paying other professionals to develop the evidence.
Private Investigators
An investigator might track down witnesses, photograph a scene, run background checks, or find surveillance footage before it gets deleted. Hourly rates generally fall between $75 and $275. A case that takes 20 or 30 investigative hours adds several thousand dollars to the defense budget. Not every case needs one, but for felonies with disputed facts, skipping the expense is risky.
Expert Witnesses
Many criminal cases turn on technical evidence a jury can’t evaluate without help. Forensic scientists, DNA analysts, medical professionals, toxicologists, and psychologists all command substantial fees, often several hundred dollars per hour for review and preparation, plus a separate fee for courtroom testimony. A single expert might bill $3,000 to $10,000 or more by the time they’ve reviewed the evidence, prepared a report, and testified. Cases involving multiple experts can push expert costs alone into five figures.
Court and Transcript Fees
The judicial system charges its own fees, separate from anything your lawyer bills. These include fees for serving subpoenas on witnesses, obtaining certified copies of documents, and hiring a court reporter to transcribe proceedings. Individually most of these are modest, often $20 to $100 each, but they add up across a case that stretches over months.
Transcript fees deserve special attention because they can be surprisingly expensive in a long trial. In federal court, the Judicial Conference sets maximum per-page rates ranging from $4.40 for a standard 30-day transcript up to $8.70 for a two-hour rush.3United States Courts – Eastern District of California. Transcript Rates A single trial day can produce 200 or more pages, so a multi-week trial needing expedited transcripts can generate thousands of dollars in transcript costs alone. State court rates vary but follow a similar structure.
Why Two Similar Cases Can Cost Very Different Amounts
The severity of the charge is the biggest driver. A first-offense DUI resolved by plea might cost $3,000 to $5,000 in total legal expenses. A contested felony assault that goes to a two-week jury trial could run $50,000 to $100,000 or more. Federal cases tend to be the most expensive because they involve heavier prosecutorial resources, more complex evidence, and longer timelines.
Whether the case goes to trial matters enormously. A plea bargain typically resolves within a few court appearances, and the attorney’s work is mostly negotiation. A full jury trial requires extensive preparation: witness interviews, motion practice, jury selection, and days or weeks in the courtroom. Every additional trial day adds attorney time, expert fees, and transcript costs. This is where the cost curve gets steep.
Geography plays a role too. Attorney rates in major coastal cities run significantly higher than in smaller markets. A lawyer charging $500 an hour in New York or Los Angeles might charge $200 for similar work in a mid-sized Southern city. The case doesn’t change, but the price tag does.
What Conviction Adds to the Bill
Everything above is the cost of fighting the charge. If you’re convicted, a second wave of costs begins.
Fines
Criminal fines are set by statute and vary by offense level. A misdemeanor fine might be a few hundred dollars. Felony fines can reach tens of thousands. These are punitive.
Restitution
Restitution is different from a fine. It’s money paid directly to the victim to cover losses caused by the crime: stolen property, medical bills, lost income, counseling costs, and similar expenses.4United States Department of Justice. Department of Justice Criminal Division – Restitution Process Many jurisdictions make restitution mandatory for violent crimes and property offenses involving theft or fraud. In federal court, the judge must consider the defendant’s financial resources, projected income, and existing obligations when setting a payment schedule.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3664 – Procedure for Issuance and Enforcement of Order of Restitution If the defendant has no realistic ability to pay, the court can order nominal periodic payments. Restitution orders in the hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars are not unusual in federal cases, and full repayment is rare.
Mandatory Surcharges
Nearly every conviction triggers a layer of mandatory surcharges that have nothing to do with the specific offense. They go by different names, court assessments, docket fees, privilege taxes, but they’re imposed automatically, usually without any consideration of the defendant’s ability to pay. Stacked together, they can add hundreds or thousands of dollars to a sentence.
Probation and Supervision
A probation sentence sounds cheaper than jail, but it carries ongoing expenses. In most states, people on probation pay monthly supervision fees commonly ranging from $20 to $120, depending on the jurisdiction and whether the conviction is a misdemeanor or felony. A three-year probation term at $60 per month produces $2,160 in supervision fees alone.
Courts frequently order additional conditions that generate their own costs. Mandatory drug testing, court-ordered counseling, community service participation fees, and alcohol education classes all come with price tags the defendant pays out of pocket. DUI convictions commonly bring an ignition interlock device requirement, with installation and monthly leasing fees averaging roughly $72 to $105 per month.
The Long-Term Financial Damage
The expenses above are the ones that show up on bills and court orders. The indirect damage is harder to quantify and often larger. Every court appearance, attorney meeting, and hearing means time away from work. Defendants held in jail awaiting trial, sometimes for months, lose income entirely during that period. No statute reimburses lost wages if you’re acquitted, with very narrow exceptions in a handful of states.
A conviction creates lasting financial effects that persist long after the sentence is served. Research funded by the Department of Justice found that formerly incarcerated individuals earn roughly 40 percent less annually than they would have otherwise, an average earnings loss of nearly $179,000 by age 48. Federal law bars people with felony convictions from employment at FDIC-insured institutions, and states routinely deny or revoke professional licenses, from barber’s licenses to architecture certifications, based on criminal history.6Office of Justice Programs. Collateral Consequences of Criminal Convictions Judicial Bench Book Drug felony convictions can trigger loss of eligibility for federal student loans and, in some states, a permanent ban on public assistance benefits. A criminal record also commonly disqualifies people from public housing.
The trial expenses are the price of the fight. The long-term financial damage is the price of losing it.