Criminal Law

Depending on your prior record and other factors, many of these charges carry penalties of jail, can be charged as probation violations, or could endanger your ability to hold a driver’s license.

Violent Crime
Murder, homicide, manslaughter
Attempted murder
Assault and battery, aggravated assault
Assault with a deadly weapon
Weapons possession and firearms charges
Hit and run, vehicular assault
Other violent driving offenses
DUI
A DUI arrest can cost you thousands of dollars in fees and fines, so it’s a good idea to have a DUI lawyer on your side.
A DUI lawyer will have the legal know how necessary to help minimize the damage your DUI charge could cause.
Domestic Violence
Spousal abuse
Assault of a domestic partner
Family abuse
Child abuse or striking a child
Violation of a restraining order
Defending a motion for a restraining order
Terroristic threats
Drugs
Methamphetamine or crystal meth
Cocaine and crack cocaine
Marijuana
Heroin, Ecstasy and club drugs
Unauthorized prescription drugs and painkillers
Crimes Against Property
Car theft, grand theft auto
Unauthorized use of a motor vehicle
Receiving stolen property
Vandalism, criminal trespass
Graffiti charges
Shoplifting or retail fraud
Burglary or breaking and entering
Misdemeanor traffic defense
Hit and run
Leaving the scene of an accident
Driving on a suspended license
Reckless driving
Careless driving

DUI: a criminal prosecution for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and an administrative proceeding to suspend your driver’s license.

For the criminal charges, he will thoroughly investigate every aspect of your arrest, including the arresting officer’s reasonable suspicion or probable cause for the traffic stop, to see if all evidence of the alleged offense can be suppressed.

Familiarity with the technical details of the breath test can also represent an advantage in disproving the results. He can show how poor calibration, improper use, or interactions with authorized medications can result in an inaccurate Intoxilyzer or Breathalyzer reading.

He also understands the importance of fast action to protect your driver’s license.

Failure to request a DMV hearing within ten days of the arrest results in the automatic suspension of your license for four months.

Warrants and probation

By ignoring outstanding warrants or probation obligations, a minor problem can escalate rapidly into a serious one. If you’ve been arrested on a bench warrant, or if you’re aware of outstanding warrants but don’t know what to do about them, contact Joe Malley. He will be able to explain your options and work toward reasonable bond terms, or better yet, release on your own recognizance. Most of all, he can help you take the initiative on dealing with the charges underlying the warrants. Confusion and fear of the unknown are perfectly reasonable excuses for not dealing with outstanding warrants when you know you’ve failed to attend a court hearing on any charge, and as time goes on, it’s easy to assume that nothing further will happen. As a practical matter, however, you’re always better off when you contact the court before an arresting officer contacts you. You’re much likelier to get acceptable bond terms, because you won’t be marked as a high risk to miss the next court date. You’ll be considered for release on your own recognizance. And it will be easier to deal with the criminal charges that resulted in the issuance of the warrant in the first place.

The sooner you deal with unresolved warrants the better off you’ll be, and no matter how much time has passed, you’ll fare better if you make the first move instead of having the warrants turn up on a traffic stop.

The same considerations apply to persons who are on probation or other conditional release, but have failed to report to a probation officer. If you are arrested for a probation violation, you have no right to a jury trial to determine whether or not you’re subject to revocation and return to prison. The judge simply needs to find it more likely than not that you have violated your probation.