New York Criminal Defense Lawyer
If you are charged with any type of crime in New York, you may face significant penalties such as jail or prison time, fines, and the loss of professional licenses. Depending on the circumstances of your case, you may face charges at both the state and federal level, which may add a layer of complexity to your proceeding. Therefore, it’s critical that you hire a firm like The Criminal Defense Firm to ensure that the government respects your rights throughout the legal process.
The Importance of Hiring a Criminal Defense Attorney
State authorities generally don’t have time to waste talking to people who haven’t done anything wrong. Therefore, if you are contacted by the government for any reason, it’s likely because they have reason to believe that you’ve committed a crime. In fact, there is a chance that agents have already talked to your friends, family members, and others who you associate with.
Typically, a request for an informal conversation in your kitchen or in a conference room downtown is meant for you to put your guard down and feel as if you can talk freely. However, you should assume that anything that you say will be used against you. This may be particularly true if you say something that contradicts information that you don’t know has already been collected.
The sooner that you hire a criminal defense attorney, the less likely it is that you say or do anything that might undermine your ability to obtain a favorable outcome in your case. An attorney may be willing to accompany you to an initial interview to minimize the risk that your rights are violated in any way.
It’s worth noting that anything that you say to your attorney at any point in the legal process is typically considered to be privileged information. This means that you can feel free to speak openly and honestly to this person in confidence without fear that it might hurt your chances in court. The reason why private conversations with your attorney are confidential is because you need to share as much information about your case to help your attorney do his or her job properly.
Put our highly experienced team on your side
Brian J. Kuester
Former U.S. Attorney
Former DA
Amanda Marshall
Former U.S. Attorney
Local Counsel
Joe Brown
Former U.S. Attorney
& Former District Attorney
Local Counsel
John W. Sellers
Former Senior Trial Attorney
U.S. Department of Justice
Local Counsel
Linda Julin McNamara
Former Chief, DOJ Appeals
Local Counsel
Joanne Fine DeLena
Former Assistant U.S. Attorney
Local Counsel
Aaron L. Wiley
Former Federal Prosecutor
Local Counsel
Roger Bach
Former Special Agent (OIG)
Chris Quick
Former Special Agent (FBI & IRS-CI)
Kevin M. Sheridan
Former Special Agent (FBI)
Ray Yuen
Former Supervisory Special Agent (FBI)
Dennis A. Wichern
Former Special Agent-in-Charge (DEA)
What Types of Cases Do We Handle?
The Criminal Defense Firm handles most types of criminal cases such as tax evasion, real estate fraud, and bankruptcy fraud. We can also help if you’ve been charged with DUI, assault, or other crimes. As a general rule, if you are accused of violating New York state law, we will be there to help. If you have already been convicted of a crime, we may be able to help you navigate the appeals process.
We Have a Track Record of Success
Our legal team consists of former Department of Justice (DOJ) trial lawyers, federal prosecutors, and former members of various federal agencies such as the IRS, OIG, and DEA. Therefore, we generally have a good idea of the process that the government goes through when it decides to charge someone with a crime. Furthermore, we can typically gather clues about the relative strength or weakness of the case against you based on the charges the government decides to pursue.
Our experience allows us to find potential weaknesses in the government’s case that may be exploited for your gain. Of the several hundreds of cases the firm has handled in New York, more than 90% have been resolved without any charges being brought against our clients.
Defense Strategies We May Employ
Let’s say that you were charged with a crime based on evidence that was obtained during a search of your home. We may be able to have that evidence suppressed by asserting that it was obtained in violation of your Fourth Amendment rights. This may be true if a search was conducted without a warrant and without a valid exception to the warrant requirement or if there were issues with the warrant itself.
If you are charged with a drug crime, we may raise chain of custody issues in an effort to raise reasonable doubt in your case. If authorities can’t prove that controlled substances seized from a drug house or from another location actually belonged to you, it may be grounds to have a case dismissed.
In many cases, you can’t be convicted of a crime unless you knowingly and willingly break the law. Therefore, we may be able to argue that you simply made an error when submitting a state tax return or didn’t know that you were in possession of controlled substances after being stopped by the police.
Of course, there are a number of other strategies that we may be able to use in your case. The exact course of action taken in your matter will depend on numerous factors such as details of the case as well as your preferred outcome. For instance, we may need to take a more aggressive stance if you want a full acquittal as opposed to a favorable plea deal.
We Treat Our Clients Like People
One of the things that sets our New York criminal defense firm apart from the competition is our ability to address the totality of your situation. We understand that you are likely anxious about your future and want to resolve the matter in a timely manner.
Our team will do its best to be there for you from the moment you contact us until your case is over. During an initial consultation, we can answer a variety of questions such as whether you may be taken into custody or whether it’s safe to use your phone.
Although we can’t guarantee any type of result in your case, we may be able to give you some general guidelines about what to expect throughout the legal process. This may help to give you some peace of mind or at least help you better understand what is likely or unlikely to happen over the next several months or years.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should I hire a criminal lawyer?
Ideally, you will hire a lawyer the moment that you believe that you are the target of an investigation. The longer you wait to do so, the harder it will be to defend your interests. This is because there is a greater likelihood that you have said or done something that implies guilt in your case. However, it is worth noting that an attorney may be able to get evidence suppressed or take other actions that might undo some or all of the self-inflicted damage caused prior to hiring counsel.
Who will be handling my case?
You can rest assured that an experienced legal professional will handle your case as opposed to a paralegal or another junior associate. The person selected to represent your interests will be an individual deemed to be most likely to obtain a favorable result. A legal advocate will likely be chosen based on the information that you provide during the initial consultation.
What happens after I'm taken into custody?
After you are taken into custody, the government has a limited window to either charge you or dismiss the case. There is a chance that the case will go to a grand jury to determine if there is enough to take the case to trial. If the case is not dismissed, your options are to seek a plea deal or go to trial. It’s important to understand that this decision is yours alone and that we will fight for your interests whatever you decide to do.
Do I have to cooperate with authorities?
You have the right to remain silent from the moment you’re contacted by authorities until the moment your case is resolved. In fact, it’s generally in your best interest to say as little as possible as it limits the government’s ability to build a case against you. If you do decide to talk, it’s generally best to do so with your attorney present.
What happens after an initial consultation?
After an initial phone conversation, you will receive a proposal with information about fees as well as your rights as a client. An in-person meeting will likely be arranged within 24 hours of obtaining a signed copy of the proposal. From there, the firm will review documents and take other steps in an effort to best represent your interests.
Add Us to Your Legal Team Today
You can get in touch with The Criminal Defense Firm by calling 866-603-4540 or by contacting us online.