Any New York City Criminal Lawyer will acknowledge that criminal conduct in a city with millions of people – residents, tourists, homeless and undocumented visitors - is a given. The fact that New York City law enforcement officers make tens of thousands of arrests every year in New York City alone keeps Criminal Attorneys busy and increases the risk of innocent people being arrested. In addition to the situation that innocent people unfortunately are arrested there is another problem, the police often make arrests and “overcharge” defendants with a felony instead of the misdemeanor. There are many crimes that that can be charged as either a felony or a misdemeanor. Some examples of this are theft crimes, Petite Larceny which is a misdemeanor or Grand Larceny which is a felony. Assault cases as well fall into this area as there are both felony and misdemeanor assault charges.

It has long been the opinion of most New York Criminal Attorneys and the New York media that the New York City Police Department advance within the ranks according to the number of arrests they make, and the caliber of the crimes for which they make their arrests.

Every New York City Criminal Lawyer at the law firm of Stephen Bilkis and Associates believes that policy like this is misguided since it encourages law enforcement officers to take as many individuals as possible into custody, and charge them not with the misdemeanor they should be charged with, but rather with a felony.

Once they realize how dire their circumstances are, many people who have been arrested for a crime and are facing a New York Criminal Court need an experienced New York City Criminal Lawyer on their side. At the law firm of Stephen Bilkis and Associates, we defend people in cases throughout New York City including The Bronx, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Queens and of course, Manhattan. We are ready to defend anyone arrested for DWI or DWAI, domestic violence (normally a misdemeanor or felony assault,) drug possession including cocaine, meth amphetamine, marijuana and heroin, and sex crimes which include rape, sodomy and sexual abuse. Our Criminal Defense team is highly knowledgeable when it comes to handling complicated White Collar Crimes such as insider trading, insurance fraud, bank fraud and identity theft to name just a few.

Serious criminal charges such as these can lead to a stiff prison sentence if convicted of one or more of these crimes. The New York City Criminal Lawyers at the law firm of Stephen Bilkis and Associates are keenly aware of the consequences to a defendant’s business and personal life if convicted of a serious crime. The U.S. was founded on the standard that everyone is innocent unless proven guilty. Unfortunately many defendants are branded guilty before their cases even get to court. At the law offices of Stephen Bilkis and Associates, our New York City Criminal Defense Lawyers uphold the constitutional right that you are presumed innocent. Each of our experienced New York Criminal Lawyers will work to protect your rights with the District Attorney’s office in the borough in which you have been charged. We provide a free consultation with one of our skilled New York City Criminal Lawyer. Our Attorney will appraise your criminal case and explain the best legal route with which to proceed regardless of the type of criminal matter from arraignment to a trial or a gun crime to a sex crime. With offices in New York City conveniently located near public transit lines, our New York City locations include Manhattan (New York), The Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens. We also have offices on Staten Island and on Long Island in Nassau and Suffolk Counties as well as Westchester County.

Call the law firm of Stephen Bilkis & Associates at 1800-NY-NY Law (1800-696-9529) to speak with one of our experienced New York City Criminal Lawyers.