Why It Matters
California’s reliance on flat-fee contracts for public defense has created extreme caseloads that far exceed professional standards, affecting tens of thousands of poor people accused of crimes. The system creates financial incentives for private lawyers to minimize work per case, potentially compromising the quality of legal representation available to those who cannot afford attorneys.
What Happened
A review of nine California counties found that some private attorneys operating under flat-fee contracts carry caseloads more than three times larger than recommended standards. In Kings County, a single lawyer represented nearly 600 people accused of crimes in 2025—a figure that excluded the attorney’s private clients.
Flat-fee contracts, used by 24 California counties, pay private lawyers a fixed amount regardless of how many cases they handle or how much work each requires. This structure differs from other states and regions, where such arrangements have been banned or abandoned.
One firm, Fitzgerald, Alvarez and Ciummo, provides public defense services across five counties. The firm had served Madera County for nearly 40 years before county supervisors declined to renew its contract for the typical four-year term in June, instead extending the arrangement for six months only.
An investigation found that lawyers at the firm operating under flat-fee contracts were less likely to investigate cases thoroughly, challenge law enforcement evidence, or take cases to trial compared with other public defenders.
By the Numbers
600 — people accused of crimes represented by a single Kings County attorney in 2025
24 — California counties using flat-fee contracts for indigent defense
150 — maximum recommended felony cases per attorney annually
400 — maximum recommended misdemeanor cases per attorney annually
3x — multiple of recommended caseloads carried by some California public defenders
7 of 8 — counties with the highest jail and prison incarceration rates that employ flat-fee contracts
2 — number of states providing no state funding for poor people’s basic criminal defense (California is one)
Zoom Out
The problem reflects a broader national tension over how states fund public defense for poor defendants. Most professional standards recommend caseloads of no more than 150 felonies or 400 misdemeanors per attorney per year. Flat-fee models have been phased out in many jurisdictions because they create perverse incentives: lawyers earn the same fixed payment whether they spend minimal time on a case or substantial effort.
The link between flat-fee contracts and incarceration rates appears stark in California. Seven of eight counties with the state’s highest jail and prison incarceration rates rely on flat-fee contracts for public defense. Kings County, which both has the highest known caseloads in California and the state’s highest incarceration rate, exemplifies the concern.
Josh Schwartz, an analyst with the Wren Collective, described the structural conflict: “Flat fees place a financial conflict of interest in between the lawyer and the client. The fee is always going to be less profitable the more time and attention is spent on each case.”
What’s Next
The Madera County supervisors’ decision to sidestep a four-year renewal suggests growing scrutiny of flat-fee arrangements, though no statewide legislative action has been announced. Linette Lomeli of the Madera Coalition for Community Justice noted the shock of confronting the data: “I was in complete shock… It’s super hard to ignore once you see the data.”
Whether California moves toward state funding for indigent defense or restructures county contracting practices remains unclear. The state’s status as one of only two without dedicated state funding for basic criminal defense leaves the burden on counties operating under severe budget constraints.