The best Brooklyn criminal defense lawyers and Brooklyn criminal attorneys are the ones on call when it happens.

At Brooklyn Criminal Court, 120 Schermerhorn Street, on the 1st or 5th floor. Brooklyn arraignment parts run seven days a week, from 9:00 AM until 1:00 AM. You move from the arresting precinct to Central Booking to the arraignment courtroom - typically within about 24 hours of the arrest.

120 Schermerhorn Street is Brooklyn Criminal Court - every arrest is arraigned there, and misdemeanors and violations stay there in the all-purpose parts. 320 Jay Street is Kings County Supreme Court, Criminal Term - once a grand jury indicts a felony, the case moves there for hearings, trial, and sentencing. The DA's office sits between them at 350 Jay Street.

New York law requires arraignment within about 24 hours of arrest. Because Brooklyn arraignments run until 1:00 AM seven days a week, most people arrested in the borough see a judge the same day or the next. That window between the precinct and the courtroom is exactly when a retained lawyer matters: we prepare the bail application, contact the DA's office, and stand next to you at the first appearance.

For most misdemeanors and non-violent felonies, New York law requires release without cash bail - the judge sets conditions instead. Bail can still be set on qualifying offenses: most violent felonies, sex offenses, order-of-protection violations, certain gun and repeat-offense cases. Since 2023 judges have wider discretion on those charges, which makes the arraignment argument matter more, not less.

A DAT means you were arrested, processed, and released with a date to appear for arraignment at 120 Schermerhorn Street - DAT parts run Monday through Friday. The charge is exactly as real as if you had been held overnight: a criminal conviction, a record, and jail exposure are all still on the table. Yes, you need a lawyer, and the time to involve one is before the return date, not after.

A public defender is a last resort. Nationwide studies have shown that 85% of all defendants charged in criminal cases rely on public defenders - which means overwhelming caseloads and sometimes only minutes per case. A private Brooklyn criminal attorney handles a few cases at a time, with investigators and expert witnesses behind them, and answers to you alone. We owe loyalty to only YOU.

It depends on the charge, the court, and how far the case has to go - a DAT misdemeanor is not an indicted felony headed for trial. What we can tell you up front: we work on flat fees, we offer flexible payment plans, and we quote the number at the consultation so there are no surprises. The consultation itself is risk-free and costs nothing - and you can ask us anything you want, including exactly what your case would cost.

The Kings County District Attorney - Eric Gonzalez - at 350 Jay Street, with specialized bureaus for guns, domestic violence, narcotics, and financial crime, and an Early Case Assessment Bureau that writes up every arrest before arraignment. Federal cases in Brooklyn are prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York at 225 Cadman Plaza East. We defend against both.

Criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree - a loaded firearm outside your home or business - is a C violent felony carrying a mandatory minimum of 3.5 years in state prison and up to 15, even with no record. The Brooklyn DA's office is known for minimum plea offers on firearm possession regardless of who you are - which is why these cases are won at the suppression hearing, attacking the stop and the search.

Yes. CPL 190.50 gives you a statutory right to testify before the Kings County grand jury considering your indictment, on written notice to the DA. It is a high-stakes decision - testimony can end a case before indictment, or hand the prosecution a preview of the defense. If the DA violates that right, the indictment can be dismissed on a motion made within five days of arraignment on it.

Under CPL Article 245, the prosecution's initial discovery is due 20 calendar days after arraignment if you are in custody, 35 days if you are out - body-camera footage, 911 audio, lab reports, witness statements. Compliance fights are technical, and they reward defense lawyers who actually litigate them: what the People failed to turn over is often the leverage that resolves the case.

The People must be ready for trial within six months on a felony, 90 days on an A misdemeanor, and 60 days on a B misdemeanor under CPL 30.30 - and if you are held on a felony complaint, CPL 180.80 forces indictment or release within about five days. Real-world timelines depend on the courtroom: a DAT misdemeanor at 120 Schermerhorn can resolve in a few appearances, while an indicted felony at 320 Jay with suppression hearings typically runs months longer.

Not necessarily. Under New York's Clean Slate Act, effective November 2024, eligible misdemeanor convictions seal automatically three years after sentencing or release, and eligible felonies after eight - provided you have no pending charges and are off supervision. Sex offenses and non-drug class A felonies never seal. Petition-based sealing under CPL 160.59 also remains available. Better than either: we fight to keep the conviction from happening at all.

A community court at 88 Visitation Place that handles cases from the precincts around Red Hook - one judge, one courtroom, and a problem-solving model built around programs instead of jail. For eligible cases it can mean a resolution with no conviction at all. It is one more door in the Brooklyn system that only helps you if your lawyer knows to ask for it.

Our Brooklyn office is at 195 Montague Street, 14th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201 - in Brooklyn Heights, three blocks from 120 Schermerhorn and 320 Jay Street - with our Manhattan office at 233 Broadway. We appear in Brooklyn Criminal Court, Kings County Supreme Court Criminal Term, the Red Hook Community Justice Center, and the EDNY federal courthouse at Cadman Plaza. Regardless of which courtroom your case is in, we can be there.