The Wal-Mart of Public Defense: How Justice Gets Sold to the Lowest Bidder in Rural California

Date:  03-13-2026 Flat-fee contracts have been banned in other parts of the country. But, they have flourished in the Golden State

From Sacramento News Review: For three years, the fate of poor people accused of crimes in San Benito County lay in the hands of attorneys who barely spoke with their clients and seldom filed legal motions on their behalf. While defendants asked them to contest the prosecution’s evidence, to interview witnesses, to do anything, really, to challenge law enforcement’s narrative of the crime, they ushered almost all of them to plea deals instead, averaging just one jury trial for every 1,500 cases. The attorneys worked for Fitzgerald, Alvarez and Ciummo, the firm that San Benito paid to provide public defense. According to a 2024 state evaluation, they were not doing a good job. Two of the attorneys had inappropriate relationships with clients, another struggled with addiction. Continue reading >>>