| For most people, choosing the right lawyer (or | | | | someone local appear for them. Unlike with an |
| doctor, or accountant, etc.) is difficult. Our work is | | | | associate, there is little quality control. |
| highly specialized, so it's hard for regular people to | | | | For minor cases like traffic tickets, where the lawyer |
| know what questions to ask. Below are five | | | | will simply be negotiating a plea deal, this may not |
| questions you should ask criminal lawyers before | | | | matter as much. Easy for me to say since we do |
| hiring them. There are plenty of other questions to | | | | that. But I don't feel comfortable having an outside |
| ask, but there are good ones. | | | | lawyer do substantive in-court work for me on a |
| 1. What will you do if the prosecutor refuses to plea | | | | serious criminal case, even on a DWI (which I think is |
| bargain and insists on a plea of guilty? | | | | pretty serious). |
| The right answer is that your criminal lawyer will fight | | | | 4. How many cases like mine have you handled? |
| the case. In this situation, a defendant has nothing to | | | | In general, you want a lawyer who's seen something |
| lose from fighting. The worst that can happen if you | | | | similar in the past. If you are facing a DWI, you want |
| fight is that you will be found guilty after a trial - the | | | | a lawyer who's handled a few before. If it's a federal |
| same result as if you plead guilty. Practically, it's | | | | drug case, you want someone with that experience. |
| possible that the sentence would be worse in this | | | | An attorney with no experience in that area is going |
| situation, but in my experience there is either no | | | | to miss some details. I'm a much better DWI lawyer |
| difference or a better result. Plus, you might actually | | | | now than I was four years ago. I've seen more, |
| win. A follow-up question to ask on this is how much | | | | done more, and learned more. |
| it will cost for the fight. | | | | Every once in a while I get a call from someone with |
| 2. How many jury trials have you done? | | | | a really odd case. If you're in that situation, you're |
| The answer, hopefully, is at least five. For more | | | | not going to find a lawyer who's had ten of them |
| serious cases you'd want someone with 10 or more | | | | before. You should be looking for someone with |
| trials. If the answer is zero, then you may not want | | | | general criminal defense experience and something at |
| that lawyer. I've had over 40 jury trials (maybe over | | | | least vaguely related. |
| 50 - I've lost count). Most of my trials have been in | | | | For traffic cases, this can matter a great deal. Our |
| personal injury cases, but I have had a few criminal | | | | firm represents many out-of-state drivers, and the |
| jury trials. On that thought, a good follow up question | | | | deals we try to get for them are sometimes |
| here is to ask how many criminal jury trials the | | | | different than what we do for NY drivers. We have |
| attorney has had. | | | | direct access to not only the NY DMV database, but |
| For felonies, you may also want to ask how many | | | | also the NJ MVC because we get so many New |
| felony trials. I'm ambivalent about this one, because | | | | Jersey clients. Make sure the attorney understands |
| I've only had to show up for one felony trial and the | | | | your circumstances and knows how to deal with |
| prosecutor agreed to dismiss it before we picked a | | | | your particular situation. |
| jury. All of my other felony cases have been | | | | 5. Do I have to come to Court? |
| resolved long before we got to trial, most of them | | | | Our clients rarely come to Court with us. Most of our |
| favorably. | | | | appearances are routine and nothing of significance |
| Similarly, if it's a federal criminal case, you should ask | | | | happens at them. It is a waste of time for our clients |
| about federal trials. Around here those are a lot rarer | | | | to come, and it can be quite stressful for them. By |
| and it's probably hard to find an attorney who has | | | | saving them the trip and stress, we are providing a |
| done a lot of them. | | | | real benefit. |
| 3. Who will handle my case? | | | | Even for most hearings and even some trials, we do |
| Most criminal lawyers are solo practitioners or work in | | | | not bring our clients. They are certainly welcome to |
| small offices, and they handle their own cases. Our | | | | come, and in some cases their participation is |
| office has grown and I have associates who handle | | | | important, but we usually don't need them. Pre-trial |
| substantial work. I generally review their paperwork | | | | hearings are mainly about what the police have to |
| and do most of the hearings and so far all of the | | | | say. Clients rarely testify at this stage. |
| trials. I'm confident that having associates do part of | | | | An exception is complex cases or white collar crime, |
| the work is actually better for the client. You get | | | | where the client's presence can be critical. Even if |
| different sets of eyes looking at things and there's | | | | they don't testify, they can provide insight to the |
| more chance of picking up key details. | | | | attorney that helps with cross-examination of the |
| The thing to worry about is that some lawyers have | | | | prosecution witnesses. |
| a "business model" that may not be good for you. | | | | Those five questions are a good start. You should |
| It's pretty rare, but some lawyers who advertises | | | | have more, based on the details of your case and |
| heavily end up doing almost no work on your case. | | | | your situation. Choose wisely and you will be a lot |
| They accept cases far from their office and have | | | | happier with your criminal defense lawyer. |