Need a Queens Criminal Defence Lawyer Now? What Fast Help Looks Like

The office is at 118-21 Queens Boulevard, Suite 504 in Forest Hills — a short distance from the Queens criminal courthouse at Kew Gardens, and near the Forest Hills–71st Avenue station on the E, F, M and R lines. Proximity is not the point of this article. What follows is.

The first hour

A call in the first hour is worth more than a call the next morning. Not because the case is decided that quickly, but because the first hours are when information is fresh, when documents have not been lost, and when the people deciding what happens next have not yet formed a view. It is also when a family is least able to think clearly, which is the whole reason to have someone else think on your behalf.

What I do on that first call

1. 1Establish the charge, the location and the custody status, and get the next court date.
2. 2Establish what the person is actually charged with, as opposed to what was said at the time of arrest. They are often not the same.
3. 3Establish whether there is a warrant, and what it covers.
4. 4Advise on what to say, to whom, and — importantly — what not to say.
5. 5Address bail rather than waiting for it to be set.
6. 6Start looking at what the case actually is, which is often not what the arrest suggested.

What “fast” actually means

I would rather describe it accurately than use the word loosely. It means establishing the facts quickly, knowing the court calendar, being in a position to act at the first appearance rather than after it, and telling you early whether the charge looks serious or is more contained than the arrest suggested. It does not mean anyone can make a case disappear, and I would be doing you no favours by implying otherwise.

What to have ready

• The person’s full name and date of birth
• Where they are, and whether they are detained
• The charge, if known
• The date and place of the arrest
• The court name and date from any paperwork
• Any prior convictions or pending matters, which almost always become relevant and should be raised early

Not knowing some of this is fine. A name and a date is enough to start.

Why former prosecutorial experience is useful here

I was an Assistant District Attorney in Queens County from 1978 to 1981. That is four decades ago, and no prosecution has changed in the way that matters: cases are still built the same way, from the same kinds of evidence, and the decisions about whether to charge, what to offer and when have not fundamentally changed. Knowing how a case is put together is worth something when you are deciding whether to take a plea.

It is not a guarantee and it is not a strategy for winning. It is a practical advantage in judging what a case is worth, and that judgement is usually worth more than any argument at the last minute.

If you are not in New York

The practice also handles matters in Nassau County. If someone has been arrested further afield, call and ask before travelling — the first conversation can usually establish whether help is worth getting to you.