What is the cost for a person to retain an attorney to defend him- or herself against domestic violence charges in Colorado? To greatly summarize the answer to this question: “It depends.”
Why is the answer so vague? A major complicating factor is that, in Colorado, there is no criminal charge called “domestic violence.” Instead, domestic violence is a sentence enhancer, subjecting a defendant to specialized and enhanced punishment. The label “domestic violence” is attached to the underlying criminal charges so that the accused person has notice that he or she may be subject to enhanced penalties.
Therefore, a defendant could be charged with a misdemeanor crime, such as third degree assault, and get tagged with a domestic violence sentence enhancer. Likewise, he or she could be charged with more serious felonies like second degree or first degree assault and the domestic violence enhancer will be attached to those as well.
It should come as no surprise that if a defendant is charged with more serious offenses, then a criminal defense attorney will charge more for handling the case. Cases with serious felony charges typically involve more discovery review, extensive motions practice, more in-court appearances, and prolonged negotiations with the prosecution if a plea deal is a potential resolution.
However, if the facts of a case are particularly bad (such as extensive injuries to the victim) or if the client has a lengthy criminal record, the prosecution may not be willing to negotiate and there may be a decent chance the case must proceed to trial. Trial work is expensive and the costs go up greatly in this situation.
With this information in mind, a very general guideline for how much a criminal defense lawyer would charge for domestic violence related charges is:
- if the criminal counts involve misdemeanor level offenses, expect to pay $3,000 to $4,000;
- if the criminal counts involve lower level to mid range felonies (such as third degree assault against an at risk person or second degree assault), expect to pay $5,000 to $10,000; and
- if the criminal counts involve more serious felonies (first degree assault, attempted murder, etc.), expect to pay in excess of $10,000.
Mile High Legal understands that the costs involved in effective criminal defense can appear daunting to the average person. We offer payment plans for our clients who are facing economic challenges and cannot afford the entire retainer at the initial consultation. Contact our offices and find out what arrangement can be made in your case.
[i] § 18-6-801, C.R.S.
