Criminal
Mar. 27, 2025
Bill to ban flat fees in indigent defense clears key committee
Legislation to prohibit flat-fee contracts for indigent criminal defense attorneys advanced unanimously in the Assembly Public Safety Committee, despite last-minute pushback from prosecutors who warned it could destabilize county-level systems.
A bill to ban flat fee contracts for indigent criminal defense has sailed through a key Assembly committee on a unanimous bipartisan vote. The bill's author, Assemblymember Nick Schultz, D-Burbank, said that barring flat fee and per case payments would take away the incentive private attorneys sometimes have to put little time and effort into these cases.
The California District Attorneys Association also caught flak for its late opposition to AB 690. The association submitte...
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