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Felonies are the most serious types of crimes. Conviction of a felony will usually involve a substantial prison sentence. Felony cases can be tried in Monroe County Court, New York State Supreme Court, or United States District Court. Misdemeanors and traffic infractions are lesser criminal charges but an adverse outcome can still have serious implications. |
| Questions
to Ask and Information to Obtain About your Prospective Attorney: |
| What
is your criminal law background?
Most but not all attorneys practicing criminal law started their
career in one of three places, as a prosecutor in a District
Attorney's Office or United States Attorney's office, or as
a public defense attorney in a Public Defender's Office.
Attorneys with these backgrounds will have had a lot of trial
experience in a relatively short period of time. Other
attorneys may have worked with more experienced criminal defense
lawyers for several years before handling their first case.
This is a reasonable area of inquiry if you are interviewing
an attorney to represent you or a loved one in a felony case
where prison time is a relative certainty if you are not successful.
It is less important if you are seeking representation on a
traffic infraction. |
| How
many cases of this type have you tried?
Not all cases go to trial. Some involve guilty pleas to
lesser charges. Others are dropped due to insufficient
evidence. But an experienced criminal defense attorney
will have gone to trial a fair number of times over his or her
career. If he or she has not, they are not likely to be
very experienced, or they have a tendency to plead guilty in
every case. This is something you may wish to consider.
Certain types of crime, insurance fraud or DWI for instance,
may involve specialized knowledge and it is helpful to find
an attorney with experience in that type of case. |
| What
will it cost me? Criminal lawyers
usually charge by the case or by the hour. The amount
varies by attorney and by the complexity of the charge.
Some if not most criminal attorneys will also want that fee
paid up front before they take the case. You need to be
clear on the fee arrangement before getting started. |
| Do
you belong to any specialty bar associations or committees relating
to criminal defense? This
is not essential, but if they do you can be assured that criminal
law is an important part of their practice. |
| Have
you ever been disciplined? Attorneys are strictly
regulated by the State of New York through the Attorney Grievance
Committee of each of the four Appellate Divisions. It
is completely appropriate to ask if an attorney has ever been
disciplined and if so for what. |
| Do
you have malpractice insurance? Attorneys make
mistakes because they are human like everyone else. Most
but not all attorneys carry insurance to protect clients from
the effects of any mistakes that are made. You should
hire one that provides this protection. |
