Baltimore Criminal Defense Lawyers

Baltimore Criminal Defense Lawyers

Baltimore criminal defense attorneys put out a solid defense plan, look into the facts, and represent their clients in court. They might bargain for plea agreements, refute evidence, and guarantee their clients a fair trial. They also try to get the best result for their clients within the confines of the law and provide advice on legal choices and probable outcomes.

 The costs for attorneys who practice criminal defense?

Fees for criminal defense attorneys can differ significantly depending on several variables, such as the attorney’s experience level, geographic area, case complexity, and kind of charges. When selecting a criminal defense attorney, you can run into the following typical fee schedules:

Hourly Rates: A lot of criminal defense attorneys bill by the hour. Depending on the experience level of the lawyer and the cost of living in the area, the hourly rate can vary greatly. The hourly rates can be anything from $100 to $500 or more.
Flat prices: For particular services, some solicitors charge flat prices. For instance, they might bill a certain fee to handle a DUI case or to defend a client in a bail hearing. Notched Fees give clients a predictable pricing structure.
Retainers: Upfront payments are frequently requested by criminal defense attorneys from their clients. The retainer is a down payment used to cover the attorney’s hourly or fixed fee charges. It can be necessary for clients to top up the retainer whenever it runs out.
Rare Contingency Fees:
In civil matters, as opposed to criminal defense, contingency fees—where the attorney accepts a portion of any settlement or court award—are more typical. Generally speaking, attorneys are not allowed to charge contingency fees in criminal matters because they could lead to conflicts of interest.
Hybrid or Blended Fees: A few solicitors employ a mix of fee arrangements. For example, they may bill at a reduced hourly rate but add a bonus or other payment if the case is successfully resolved.

Expenses: In addition to professional fees, clients are frequently obligated to reimburse the attorney for costs directly related to the case. Court filing fees, investigation charges, expert witness fees, and travel expenditures are a few examples of these.

Make sure you comprehend the fee schedule, what’s included in the attorney’s fees, and whether there are any other expenses you may be responsible for. Furthermore, find out from the attorney what happens to unearned portions of a retainer if the case is resolved before the retainer is depleted. To prevent misconceptions, the fee agreement should always be obtained in writing.

List of a few Baltimore Criminal Defense Lawyers

• Creston P. Smith
• Suzanne Houle
• Robert Benjamin Middleton
• Micheal Sprano

Creston P. Smith

As an experienced trial lawyer, Mr. Smith has defended thousands of clients in both State and Federal courts. Mr. Smith was a member of the Baltimore City Assistant Public Defender’s felony trial team before joining Silverman Thompson. Additionally, he worked as an Associate at Baltimore’s Schulman, Treem, Kaminkow, Gilden, and Ravenell, P.A.

Mr. Smith has conducted jury or judge trials in hundreds of instances. He is regarded as a “legal encyclopedia” by his peers and is actively sought after. Currently, he focuses his practice on civil forfeiture and criminal defense law.

Specializing in practice areas like Appeals & Appellate, Criminal Law, DUI & DWI, White Collar Crime, Domestic Violence, Arbitration & Mediation, and more, Creston P. Smith is an accomplished lawyer with a plethora of legal knowledge. He is presently a partner with Silverman Thompson. Creston, who speaks English fluently, provides free consultations and has been admitted to practice in Maryland since 1994 as well as the United States District Court, District of Maryland, since 2002. He has held positions as an associate at Schulman, Treem, Kaminkow, Gilden & Ravenell, P.A. as an attorney with the State of Maryland’s Baltimore City Office of the Public Defender. Creston received a B.S. with Cum Laude Honours from Boston University in 1988, as well as a J.D. in law from the University of Baltimore.

As evidence of his dedication to offering top-notch legal representation, Creston is an active member of the Maryland State Bar Association, Maryland Criminal Defence Attorney’s Association, and National Association of Criminal Defence Lawyers. He was named a Maryland Super Lawyer from 2011 to 2013 and again from 2015 to 2020.

Suzanne Houle

Attorney Suzanne Houle works for Cochran & Chhabra, LLC. Maryland, the District of Columbia, and the United States District Court of Maryland have all excluded Ms. Houle. Criminal defense, DUI/DWI defense, and serious traffic matters are Ms. Houle’s main areas of expertise. Ms. Houle has a strong commitment to both her clients and her cases, and she has earned a reputation as a compassionate lawyer who goes above and beyond for them.

Attorney Suzanne Houle focuses her business on DUI and DWI cases. She provides free consultations and takes credit cards for payment. She speaks Spanish fluently and has been admitted to practice in Maryland and the 4th Circuit since 2011 and 2012, respectively. In addition to her professional experience as a Criminal Panel Attorney at the Howard County Public Defender’s Office and a Criminal and Traffic Attorney at the Law Offices of Ali Kalarestaghi, Suzanne has held legal positions during her academic career as a Summer Law Clerk at the Maryland Court of Appeals and as a Student Attorney at the University of North Carolina School of Law Juvenile Justice Clinic. 2010 saw her graduate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a J.D. She also possesses a psychology bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland, College Park. A 2003 Howard County Bar Association Service Award recipient, Suzanne is a member of the Maryland State Bar Association, Inc.

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Robert Benjamin Middleton

Ben Middleton is a driven and industrious criminal defense attorney who is committed to helping people from all backgrounds. Ben grew up in a multigenerational legal family, but it wasn’t until he participated in national mock trial competitions with the University of Baltimore School of Law that his enthusiasm truly took off.

In 2015, he received his law degree from the University of Baltimore School of Law, where he focused on litigation. Ben practiced litigation law in Lutherville, Maryland, before joining Price Benowitz. There, he defended clients accused of assault, domestic abuse, wire fraud, and other crimes.

Ben is a firm believer in carefully constructing a strong defense with his knowledge, expertise, and personal investment to get his clients the greatest results. Ben’s compassion and commitment to justice, combined with his wealth of expertise, make him an effective lawyer. He is a member of the Maryland State Bar Association, the Maryland Association for Justice, the Maryland Criminal Defence Attorney Association, and the Baltimore County Bar Association.

The committed lawyer Robert Benjamin Middleton practices in several areas, including criminal law, where he focuses on drug and drug-related crimes, Expungement, fraud, gun and internet crimes, sexual offenses, theft, and violent crimes; cases involving DUIs and DWIs; white-collar crime; and issues with traffic tickets and suspended licenses. He is actively involved in professional associations as a member of the Maryland Criminal Defence Attorney Association and the Maryland State Bar Association, Inc. (Membership #54817).

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Micheal Sprano

Attorney Mike Sprano started his legal education at The Washington and Lee University School of Law after earning a double major in political science and history from Miami University (OH) and graduating with honors. Mr. Sprano took a lot of criminal and constitutional law classes throughout his time in law school. Additionally, he worked as an intern with the United States Attorney’s Office in Baltimore, Maryland, throughout the summer. He committed himself to serve in a criminal defense law clinic as a third-year law student, helping Virginia trial lawyers defend capital murder cases. Following his graduation from law school in 1998, Mr Sprano worked for a year as a law clerk at the D.C. Court of Appeals, where he conducted legal research and drafted opinions, mostly in the field of criminal law.

In 1999, Mr. Sprano started working as a public defender for the Fairfax County government. Before advancing to significant violent felonies, larceny, drug crimes, and sex crimes, he focused mostly on juvenile criminal defense and domestic violence cases. He served as managing partner and founding partner of Lopez, Meleen & Sprano, PLC. in Fairfax from 2002 until 2008, concentrating solely on criminal and traffic defense in all Northern Virginia state and federal courts.

Knowledge and Skill

Thousands of criminal cases have been handled by Mr. Sprano, including hundreds of bench trials (judge only) and nearly 50 criminal jury trials. In his experience with jury trials, attorney Sprano has handled all kinds of criminal accusations, such as DUI and reckless driving, domestic abuse, breaking, Robbery, drug and gun crimes, kidnapping, murder, and rape, among other sexual offenses.

Accomplished attorney Michael Soprano has devoted his career to criminal law, with a focus on violent crimes, drug crimes, expungement, fraud, gun crimes, computer crimes, sex crimes, theft, and criminal appeals. His areas of experience include juvenile law, white-collar crime, DUI and DWI cases, restraining orders, and criminal defense including domestic abuse. Michael, who has been admitted to practice in Virginia since 1999 and the 4th Circuit since 2009, offers free consultations and accepts credit cards. From 2002 to 2008, he was a partner in Lopez, Meleen & Sprano, PLC, exhibiting his dedication to criminal defense in Fairfax, Virginia. Before that, from 1999 to 2001, he was an associate in the Office of the Public Defender in Fairfax, Virginia, where he represented adults and children accused of a variety of crimes.

In 1998 and 1999, Michael worked as a law clerk at the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, where he performed legal research and wrote opinions for judges on the appeals court. He graduated Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, with a B.A. in History and Political Science from Miami University of Ohio in 1995 and earned his J.D. in Criminal & Constitutional Law from Washington and Lee University School of Law in 1998. His extracurricular accomplishments, such as cross-country running and studying in Luxembourg in 1993–94, were highlighted by his academic excellence.