Exclusively Criminal Defense in Westchester and Putnam Counties for More than 20 Years.

I can help you, too.

If you are like most people, you can't believe that you find yourself or a loved one accused of a crime and being sent to Criminal Court.  Maybe you don't know where to turn for help.  Criminal Court has never been a part of your life.  Criminal Court is not your world. 

As an experienced criminal defense lawyer, I have learned that in criminal cases, things are rarely as dire as they seem.  Especially if you have no criminal history or are accused of a misdemeanor offense, there are likely to be possibilities.  And if trial is what you want or require out of your case, I have the expertise gained from more than 20 years of an exclusively criminal defense practice to position you to have the highest possible likelihood of success.

Whether it is a relatively simple shoplifting or possession of controlled substance charge in one of the local Westchester or Putnam County Courts, or whether it is a serious Grand Larceny charge in White Plains County Court, or anything in between, the odds are that we have handled many similar cases already.  We can help you too.

Criminal Defense is all that I have ever done.  I have never prosecuted anyone. 

Phone

(914) 276-2585

DIRECT CELL / TEXT 

(347) 612-9830

EMAIL

jamesshalleylaw@gmail.com

Westchester Location

4 West Cross Street
Croton Falls, NY 10519
 

NYC LOCATION

80-02 Kew Gardens Road, Suite 702 Kew Gardens, NY  11415

If You Have Never Been Arrested...

Most people with little to no experience with the criminal courts panic out of concern that they are moments away from being dragged off to prison with a conviction that will leave them with a criminal record forever, cause them to lose their jobs, cause their career to go up in flames, and if not citizens of the United States, cause them to be deported.  Alas, many criminal defense lawyers don't do a great job of making much of an effort to calm these fears, judging from the dire warnings about potential prison time and such you find all over many criminal lawyer websites. 

The TRUTH is that if you have no prior criminal history and especially if you are charged with misdemeanor level offenses (many Driving While Intoxicated or Driving While Impaired cases, small level possession controlled substance, most marijuana offenses, shoplifting, most suspended license cases, assault in the third degree, and others) an experienced criminal defense lawyer is typically going to be able to navigate you toward a settlement that will neither send you to jail nor give you a criminal record. 

Of course, if you are interested in pursuing your case to trial, that is always possible too, but in my experience this is not a popular choice among people who are accused of crimes.

I have been helping people who have never been arrested or accused of anything since 1996.  I have always been there for people in your situation. 

Read more about coping with an arrest in Westchester or Putnam County when you have never been arrested before.

Petit Larceny (Shoplifting) Accusations 

One of the more common accusations in Westchester County and Putnam County criminal courts is Penal Law Section 155.25, Petit Larceny, which is often associated with the offense commonly referred to as "shoplifting".  Petit Larceny is an A misdemeanor in New York, and therefore is a criminal charge.  

Frequently, the people who contact me about these charges have never been arrested before, had no particular need to take anything from the store, and simply can't imagine how or why they find themselves accused of a crime and being sent to Criminal Court.  Often people in this situation were experiencing some emotional trauma in their lives at the time of the incident.  In fact, I have an enormous amount of experience representing people in this very particular circumstance. 

With me helping you, you can expect to be treated with compassion and to be advised truthfully and without exaggeration about your case.  

Read more about my approach to handling your petit larceny charge in Westchester Criminal Court or Putnam Criminal Court.

Criminal Possession of Controlled Substance in Westchester and Putnam Counties

The opioid epidemic has certainly emerged in Westchester and Putnam counties.  With it has come a disastrous rise in the number of people swept into Westchester criminal courts and Putnam County criminal courts.  The stories tend to follow similar patterns.  Whether it is younger kids who have managed to gain access to prescription medications of adults or whether it is middle aged and even older people hobbled by injuries who become addicted to pain killers and turn to the illegal market when the medical profession abandons them, the criminal justice systems in Westchester and Putnam are becoming inundated with people who might well never have been arrested for anything, let alone for illegal drugs.  I have the experience and compassion to understand these situations and find ways to navigate people caught up in this nightmarish web to the other side.  

Read more in-depth about defending Criminal Possession of Controlled Substance accusations in Westchester or Putnam County criminal courts.

Driving While Intoxicated Accusations

Driving While Intoxicated cases are common in Westchester County, with its many highly trafficked roadways.   

Every Driving While Intoxicated case is different and every client will bring to the case his or her own needs in terms of outcome.  Some DWI cases, especially first arrest cases where there is no accident and a breath test below a certain limit, can be settled relatively simply.  Other cases bring to bear complications of various sorts that can transform a "simple" misdemeanor DWI into a case that rivals a homicide in its complexity and longevity through the Court system.  There is no one size fits all or typical Driving While Intoxicated case, especially in Westchester or Putnam Counties, where the District Attorney Offices take these cases very seriously and prosecute them aggressively.

I have been navigating people in Westchester and Putnam County through the rough waters of DWI accusations for more than 25 years.  I can help you too. 

Read more in-depth about Driving While Intoxicated Cases in Westchester County and Putnam County New York.

Eagle's Eye - Westchester and Putnam Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

Visit the Eagle's Eye Blog to read articles related to the Westchester and Putnam criminal justice system, the criminal justice system in general, and other topics of related interest.