Don Murray graduated from Williams
College in 1986. He graduated from The University of Florida
College of Law, with honors, in 1989. During law school
and briefly afterwards, Mr. Murray worked for William DeCarlis, a
prominent criminal defense lawyer in the Southeast. While
working for Mr. DeCarlis, Mr. Murray assisted in the defense of a
number of complex criminal cases, including an international drug
smuggling conspiracy case out of Atlanta, Georgia.
It was his work with Mr. DeCarlis that
sparked Mr. Murray's interest in and commitment to criminal defense.
In 1990, Mr. Murray accepted a position as a trial lawyer for The
Legal Aid Society, criminal defense division in New York City.
While a trial lawyer for The Legal Aid Society, Mr. Murray defended a
wide variety of criminal matters, and tried quite a few criminal
cases.
While a trial lawyer with The Legal Aid
Society, Mr. Murray published a chapter in the Matthew Bender series
of books Criminal Defense Techniques. The series is a reference
tool for criminal defense lawyers, and Mr. Murray's chapter analyzed
the law as it relates to cross-examination of witnesses with their
prior convictions.
In 1996, Mr. Murray, along with James
Shalley, founded the law firm
Shalley & Murray
and began practicing criminal defense in the private sector. Mr.
Murray currently handles a caseload of a wide variety criminal
matters.
Recently, Mr. Murray was retained by a
law firm in London, England as an expert in the field of New York
Criminal Law as part of an international defense of a person sought in
an extradition matter in which the defendant (in England) was wanted
by New York State.
Mr. Murray has also served as a faculty
member for the Cardozo Law School's intensive trial advocacy program
in the area of opening statements.
Mr. Murray published an article in the
Queens County Bar Association Journal about the despicable state of
discovery rules in criminal cases in New York State.
Mr. Murray is a member of the National
Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the Queens County Bar Association.