A criminal conviction in California brings a stack of financial penalties, not a single fine. The base fine is only the beginning, because state and county assessments, a restitution fine, and restitution to anyone harmed can follow it. Many people only learn the true total when the clerk hands them a payment printout after sentencing.
Those debts can follow you for years and strain your family’s budget long after the case closes. At Hurwitz Law Group, we treat the money side of your case as part of the fight, not an afterthought. You can reach our team today to talk through what your charges could cost and how we would respond.
Many financial penalties in a criminal case build on the base fine, the amount tied to the offense itself. The charge level sets the ceiling, which is why we fight over how an offense is filed long before anyone discusses payment.
Under Penal Code section 19, a California misdemeanor carries a fine of up to $1,000, up to six months in county jail, or both. That default applies unless the law for the specific offense sets a different amount. For example, a judge could impose a $750 fine on a standard misdemeanor, but not $1,500, unless the offense’s statute allows more.
We read the exact code section behind each count before discussing any plea. That review shows the real range the prosecutor is working with and where we can push back.
When an offense has no fine of its own, Penal Code section 672 lets the court add a fine of up to $10,000 for a felony, compared with $1,000 for a misdemeanor. That gap matters for wobbler offenses, which prosecutors can charge as either felonies or misdemeanors. Keeping a wobbler at the misdemeanor level can drop that fine ceiling from $10,000 to $1,000.
We raise the charge level early in negotiations, because every later calculation starts from it. A reduction at this stage can matter more than any argument made at sentencing.
The base fine is the number that grows. Penal Code section 1464 adds a state penalty of $10 for every $10, or part of $10, of a criminal fine. That penalty shrinks in proportion when a judge suspends part of the fine.
County and court assessments ride on the same base, and one superior court’s published bail breakdown lists the combined rate at $27 for every $10. A superior court misdemeanor bail schedule identifies several other charges that also apply:
Together, these add-ons explain why the printout at sentencing rarely matches the fine the judge announced.
On a $500 misdemeanor base fine, assessments at $27 per $10 add $1,350, the surcharge adds $100, and the flat charges add $70. The Legislative Analyst’s Office documented the same pattern in 2016, when a $390 base fine for driving under the influence (DUI) grew past $1,800. Offense-specific charges can raise that figure further, which is part of the full cost of a DUI conviction.
That math is why we argue over the base fine itself, since it drives several other financial penalties. Every dollar kept off the base fine removes more dollars from the final bill.
Restitution often appears twice among the financial penalties in a criminal judgment, and the two obligations work differently. Understanding both helps you see which numbers we can challenge and how.
Under Penal Code section 1202.4, California courts must impose a restitution fine in every conviction unless they state compelling and extraordinary reasons on the record. The fine runs from $300 to $10,000 for a felony and from $150 to $1,000 for a misdemeanor. Inability to pay cannot justify skipping it, although judges may weigh it when setting any amount above the minimum.
That rule makes the minimum hard to avoid after a conviction. Our advocacy focuses on keeping the amount at the floor rather than letting it climb with the seriousness of the offense.
When an offense causes economic loss, the court orders restitution to the person harmed, and the state’s restitution guidance calls for the full amount of that loss. The order covers actual crime-related expenses, and the court can set the amount after sentencing if the loss is not yet known.
A state Senate bill analysis confirms that a restitution order is enforceable as a civil judgment, like any other money judgment. For instance, a theft case involving a broken storefront window and missing inventory can produce a restitution order for the store’s documented losses, even when the fine itself stays small.
If a prosecutor has already raised fines or restitution in your case, call Hurwitz Law Group at (323) 244-4147 so we can review the numbers before they become part of a judgment.
Under Penal Code section 1465.9, balances for a long list of court-imposed costs became unenforceable and uncollectible starting July 1, 2021, with more added on January 1, 2022. Those costs include charges once tied to probation supervision, home detention, and work furlough programs. The same law wiped out unpaid civil assessments for missed court dates or payments imposed before July 1, 2022.
Restitution fines now have an expiration date. Since January 1, 2025, most restitution fine balances become uncollectible 10 years after the court imposes them, according to the state corrections department. That limit does not reach direct restitution orders, which remain collectible until paid.
If you still carry debt from an older case, we can check whether any of it falls into these vacated categories.
Penal Code section 1205 lets a California judge set a misdemeanor fine on a payment schedule. If you miss an installment, the statute directs the court to order your arrest and a hearing on why you should not be held in custody until you make the payment.
Missed dates and payments can also create new financial penalties. Courts can add a civil assessment of up to $100 under Penal Code section 1214.1 when someone fails to appear or pay without good cause. The assessment cannot take effect until at least 20 days after the court mails a warning, and a timely showing of good cause vacates it.
Unpaid restitution does not have to trap your record. Under Penal Code section 1203.4, an unpaid restitution order or restitution fine cannot be the reason a judge denies a discretionary dismissal. That means we can pursue an expungement petition while you continue making payments.
Hurwitz Law Group starts working on the financial side of a case at the first meeting. Our approach usually moves through the following stages:
Each stage gives us another chance to shrink what you owe before the judgment becomes final.
No. The State Controller’s distribution guidelines indicate that restitution fines are not subject to the state and county penalty assessments or the 20% state surcharge.
Penal Code section 1202.4 lets the court multiply the $300 minimum by the years of imprisonment and the number of felony counts. Under that formula, three years on two counts produces an $1,800 fine.
Yes. The restitution statute gives you the right to a hearing before a judge to dispute the amount, and we use that hearing to test every claimed loss.
It can. The State Controller’s guidelines note that restitution orders may carry interest at 10% per year, while restitution fines owed to the state do not accrue interest.
Yes. Under Penal Code section 1205, when jail credit or community service satisfies part of a base fine, the related penalties and assessments drop by the same percentage.
Yes. Court and county collection programs pursue unpaid court-ordered debt and can use various collection tools and sanctions, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office review.
If you are lying awake wondering how you would ever pay a court judgment on top of everything else, that worry deserves a place in your defense strategy from the start.
Brian Hurwitz brings 10+ years of criminal defense experience, and our firm has earned more than 100 five-star reviews. We examine the charges, the fine statutes, and every restitution request so you understand the real exposure before you decide anything.
Our team is available 24/7, and we also serve Spanish-speaking clients. We explain each option in plain terms and fight to keep the financial fallout of a conviction as small as the law allows.
Schedule a free case evaluation to discuss the financial penalties tied to your charges in California. Call (323) 244-4147 or reach us through our contact page today.
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