Legal Question in Criminal Law in California
Are retainer fees to a criminal atty refundable? What are the standard retainer fees? I'm asking about a criminal case involving sexual abuse of a minor where the accuser is pleading Not Guilty and where there are no charges. This case is being pursued by the Air Force and even though the AF is providing an atty, I'd like to look into having a civil atty as well. Also, is there any way to check the cases of attys to see if they've ever tried a similar case?
1 Answer from Attorneys
The question of the retainer fee depend upon the contract (Agreement) that you have signed. Generally the retainer fee of a criminal defense attorney depends upon many factors such as type of charges, etc.
In your matter, the charge(s) are serious. You also mentioned although is handled by AF, you want a criminal attorney to look into it. Please note this is NOT a civil matter, rather is criminal.As to inquiry regarding whether or not the attorney has handled similar cases, you can simply inquire it directly from the attorney and evaluate.