When you need a criminal defense lawyer in New York you can choose a top-rated law firm with years of experience. Here at The Blanch Law firm we understand the importance of your case and will work hard to get the results you deserve.
The Blanch Law Firm has a team of experienced attorneys with years of experience prosecuting and defending New York State criminal cases. Our team of experienced attorneys have worked on countless New York state cases. If you are charged with violation of a New York law you need a law firm with the correct experience to help defend you.
If you are under investigation or charged with a crime in New York understanding the charges or potential charges is extremely important because a charge could range between a small fine to life imprisonment. You should contact an attorney to understand what you are being charged with. Working with the District Attorney’s Office, the police, judges, and juries can be a tricky process so you need a law firm that understands how to best handle your case.
At The Blanch Law Firm, you get experienced lawyers with a proven track record of success. When it comes to defending against criminal convictions in New York contact the experts at The Blanch Law Firm (212) 736-3900.
Who We Are
Here at the Blanch Law Firm, you are paying for excellence in the field of criminal defense. When you are a suspect of a crime we understand what is on the line for you so we approach every case as if they are our only case.
Our firm was founded in 2003 by Ryan Blanch and has since grown to one of the most reputable firms in New York. Our title as one of the top firms comes from the history of countless cases that we have won.
Working with our well-established firm also means that you will have a team that has worked with and formed relations with judges, prosecutors, investigators, and the police. These relations and being able to work in the system is instrumental in helping you with your case.
Our title as one of the best law firms comes from all of the awards and recognitions we’ve received for our work.
Some of our awards include:
- Top 100 Trial Attorneys
- AV “Preeminent” Rated (5.0 out of 5.0)
- Rated 10.0 ‘Superb” – AVVO
- Super Lawyers – Super Lawyers Magazine
- Top Attorney – American Registry of Business Excellence
- Blanch Selected List of Top Rated Lawyers in NY
- Super Lawyers
- Avvo Client Choice Award
Our clients also have rated us extremely well because we treat our clients like they are family.
Our Approach to Your Defense
When your case comes to our firm your case will be handled by our highly dedicated staff of experts. We understand that being charged with a crime in the state of New York is a serious matter. We will work hard on your case to make sure you get the best defense possible.
Our firm follows a hands-on approach to all of our cases. From the time we get your case, we will work with you each step of the way. A criminal case does not start when you are on trial, rather it starts with an investigation. From the time you are under investigation until the end of your case, we will treat each step as an opportunity to get a positive result.
While other law firms work on volume we work on the idea of quality. At some other firms, your case may be one of several overlooked cases. We, however, keep a small number of cases to make sure that each case is handled with the care necessary to provide the best defense for you.
State Crimes
Our firm has the knowledge and experience needed to successfully represent you in your New York State criminal case. In New York, you may get charged with several levels of infractions including violations, misdemeanors, and felonies.
Felonies and Misdemeanors are broken down to different classes between A to E. Felonies are further broken down by violent or non-violent felonies. Every crime in the state of New York comes with its own unique penalties. If you are charged with a crime in New York State, you should contact us to help you defend against your charges. Some of the more common criminal convictions that we handle in New York include; larceny, robbery, drug charges, domestic violence, aggravated assault, murder, manslaughter, and DWI.
Larceny and Robbery: The charges of larceny and robbery are two of the most common crimes committed in New York. Both crimes involve the stealing of other’s possessions but for a robbery charge, there needs to be a use of force or a threat against someone to steal or maintain the goods. Our firm knows how to successfully defend against these allegations because we have experience handling larceny and robbery charges.
Drug Charges: Drug charges in the state of New York usually come in two forms, either simple possession or trafficking. The trafficking of drugs involves the attempt to sell or manufacture drugs illegally. The drugs involved in these charges are known as controlled substances and include some common drugs such as; cocaine, meth, marijuana, heroin and certain prescription drugs like Vicodin or Oxycodone.
DUI / DWI / DUAI: f you are arrested for driving while intoxicated you may face up to a year in jail, several fines, possibility, of an ignition interlock device, and suspension of your license. Our firm understands that the charge of driving while intoxicated may seriously impair you, your family and your ability to work, which is why we will work hard for you to defend against these charges.
Domestic Violence: Domestic violence cases usually bring up charges of assault, battery, or even endangering the welfare of a child. Domestic disputes at home can result in the police on the spot placing you under arrest and usually pressing a variety of charges against you. Our firm will work with you to try and ensure the correct stories get told and that you are not being overcharged for any offense you may have committed.
Aggravated Assult: Aggravated assaults, which involve the purposeful attack of another. There are usually several reasons why altercations occur, so in defending an aggravated assault case it is important to work with the facts of the altercation. Our firm has experience investigating and working with clients to help defend against the charge of aggravated assault.
Murder and Manslaughter: Murder or the lesser charge of manslaughter both involve the killing of another. Manslaughter usually involves killing someone unintentionally or only with the intent to hurt someone, while murder is the intentional killing of another. In New York, there are varying degrees of these homicide crimes and here at The Blanch Law Firm, we know how to defend against these charges and to negotiate charges.
Stages of Defense
Your case deserves a strong defense from the start to the finish. Our firm believes strongly in the notion that a case can be resolved at every step from investigation even up to appeals. We will be with you helping to guide you each step of the way.
- Gathering of Evidence: In New York, most criminal cases begin with investigations where they try and find evidence of a crime. It is important to know that during a criminal investigation you can and should have an attorney to solve any problems before charges are even filled.
- Questioning of Suspects and Witnesses: One of the most critical phases of an investigation for you to have a lawyer is during any questioning. Either the police or a New York agency may have officers conduct an investigation and most investigations involve questioning potential witnesses. During any questioning, you should have your attorney present to help defend you against common police tactics to get incriminating evidence.
- Indictments and Criminal Charges: Once the District Attorney’s office feels there is enough evidence against you they will press formal charges against you. Depending on the type of case you may face a grand jury hearing where they decide if you are going to be indicted. Also, there will be a hearing to determine if you will be held in custody until trial or if they will set bail for you. During all of these steps, we will be there with you to help you resolve the case against you.
- Plea Deals: You may address any charges with a plea deal, however, it is highly advised before you make any deal with a prosecutor to first speak to an attorney. Here at the Blanch Law Firm, we have years of experience on both the defense and prosecution sides negotiating plea deals, so we will most likely get you a much better plea deal.
- Trial and Litigation: If your case goes to a trial it is important to have a strong oral advocate in your corner that knows the law and how to work with the judges and juries in courts in New York. Our firm has tried many cases and we are ready to handle even the most complicated criminal trials. At the end of your trial or if you plead guilty we can also handle appeals of your conviction.
Pre-Trial Hearings
The number one rule of trials is no surprises. To the extent possible, both parties have to agree and litigate on evidence that is admissible or that is potentially admissible at trial.
Certain testimony at trial may relate to statements that the defendant made, property that was recovered, how the defendant was identified, why the defendant was stopped, or why the defendant was searched. Many of these very common questions involve legal determinations on whether or not the actions of the police or lawful.
The jury that hears this evidence at trial cannot make legal conclusions as to whether something was legal or not legal. The proper venue for making that determination is in a pretrial hearing that is conducted by a judge well in advance of trial.
How Do You Obtain a Pre-Trial Hearing?
In order to obtain a pre-trial hearing, the defense has to show through their motion papers that there potentially exists of violation of someone’s constitutional rights or a defendant’s constitutional rights within the case.
Defense attorneys in their motions have to establish that there is a possibility that the police have acted unlawfully when it comes to recovering the property obtaining a statement or conducting identification procedure.
If, upon reviewing the motion, the judge agrees that there may be a factual dispute about what happened and how certain evidence was obtained, the judge is going to order a pretrial hearing.
What Happens During Pre-Trial Hearings?
During a pretrial hearing the prosecutor presents witnesses (mostly police officers – but in some situations, civilians as well) to testify before the judge as to what actually happened.
The defense attorney gets an opportunity to cross-examine these witnesses in a pretrial hearing. That testimony can later be used at trial (if the case goes that far) in the event the police officer or any other witnesses testified inconsistently with their statements at a pretrial hearing. That is called impeachment material.
What Are Examples of Pre-Trial Hearings?
The hearings in the state of New York all have different names that are based on previous cases In New York state and in the United States Supreme Court that are precedents for litigating certain types of issues.
#1. Dunaway Hearing:
Dunaway hearings are held on a motion to suppress proof that the police obtained from an illegal arrest and is named after the Supreme Court ruling in Dunaway v. New York, 442 U.S. 200 (1979). These hearing involve litigation of:
- whether the police have obtained an individual’s statement;
- whether the statement that was made was voluntary (and not coerced);
- whether the person also understood that they had a right not to incriminate themselves;
- whether the person understood that they had the right to request an attorney during questioning; and
- whether or not police had probable cause to arrest someone.
The Dunaway hearing is never conducted by itself because usually there has to be another legal issue that has to get litigated. If the only issue is whether or not the police had a right to arrest someone, that is not something that gets litigated before trial – unless there was also a secondary issue that was involved with the case.
Dunaway hearings are always held in combination with a Mapp, Huntley, or Wade hearing.
#2. Mapp Hearing:
A Mapp hearing is very common and is held on a motion to suppress physical evidence on the grounds that the police seized the evidence during an illegal search. This hearing involves the recovery of property like the recovery of illegal contraband seized by police. Mapp hearings are named after a United States Supreme Court ruling from the 1960’s called Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643 (1961).
#3. Huntley Hearing:
Huntley hearings are held on motions to suppress a defendant’s statement on the ground that the statement was illegally obtained. Here, an attorney may argue that:
- your statement was made against your will due to trickery, threats, or physical abuse;
- you were not properly advised of the right to remain silent and the right to counsel; or
- Your statement was the product of an illegal arrest.
#4. Wade Hearing:
Wade hearings are held on motions to suppress proof of an out of court police-arranged identification of a defendant. Grounds for this motion requires that the physical lineup or photo lineup was held in an illegal or suggestive manner.
For example:
- Was the identification suggestive in any way?
- Did the police say something that was improper that made the person know who to identify?
- During a lineup, did the police use some sort of suggestive procedure when they were showing an individual’s mugshot?
- How were the mugshots displayed?
Essentially, a Wade hearing involves the litigation of any sort of improper police conduct that may make it more suggestive as to who the complainant should identify.
There are other hearings involving identifications that do not necessarily involve the police. For example, if the prosecution and the defense disagree on what is the level of knowledge of that two individuals the person that was identified and the person doing the identification.
In this case, the court may order an inquiry to determine whether someone really knew an individual from prior to this incident and can correctly identify them – even if there is an issue with the actual police identification.
#5. Ingle Hearing:
Another common hearing is called an Ingle hearing. An Ingle hearing is similar to a Dunaway hearing – except for the individual being in a car.
What an Ingle hearing does is it determines:
- Why did the police pull a car over?
- Why did the police approach the motorist?
- Why did the police conduct the car stop?
Essentially, an Ingle hearing is used to determine if the stop of a vehicle by police was legal. Ingle hearings are common in DWI cases that involve a sobriety checkpoint.
#6. Donnelly Hearing:
Donnelly hearings are common in DWI cases when there is a refusal to take the breathalyzer test at the precinct. It also applies to any sort of coercive conduct that may be based on a sworn statement of the defendant or based on the review of the police officer’s body cam footage.
In this case, a judge may order what’s called a “refusal hearing” to establish whether the defendant understood that by refusing to take the breathalyzer test the person was fully advised of certain rights that they would be giving up.
In the state of New York, by refusing to take a breathalyzer test you could still get charged with a DWI so long as the police are able to establish that you were intoxicated based on:
- your demeanor;
- your erratic driving;
- their observations of you;
- their noticing that you smell like alcohol;
- their noticing that you have bloodshot eyes; or
- their noticing that you had an open alcohol bottle in your car.
So, even without the breathalyzer test, you could still be prosecuted based on you refusing to take the test in combination with the observations of the police officers.
If this happens, a refusal hearing is conducted to make sure that you understood that you can refuse to take this test. However, your refusal may be subsequently used against you.
#7. Sandoval Hearing:
A Sandoval hearing is a pre-trial hearing to limit the prosecution’s freedom to impeach a defendant’s credibility through cross-examination concerning his “prior specific criminal, vicious or immoral acts.”
Additionally, the ruling established that trial courts should exercise discretion in determining what evidence of misbehavior should be admitted for the sake of impeaching credibility.
Therefore, a defendant’s decision regarding whether or not to testify at trial is made on a more informed basis.
To learn more about Sandoval hearings and how they can help you get a fair trial, visit our “Getting a Fair Trial in New York” page.
Our New York Criminal Cases
Our firm has a history of achieving successful results for our clients in state cases. Some of our most prominent New York State cases include all of the following:
- We had a client come to us saying they were under investigation for a domestic violence assault case. Our firm decided to meet with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office about this case. After the meeting, we got all assault and domestic violence charges dismissed for our client.
- Our firm also conducts investigations of our cases and does not just rely on the evidence handed to us from the District Attorney’s Offices. We had a client come on endangering the welfare of a child charge. A month after getting this case we obtain video surveillance that proved our clients innocence and we got all charges dropped.
- One client came to us for criminal possession of a firearm. We worked with the client to get this case dismissed before it even reached the grand jury by meeting with the District Attorney’s office with our client.
- Our firm is also skilled at the successful negotiation of plea deals. One client was offered a plea of 2 to 6 years imprisonment for smuggling contraband into a detention facility. After months of plea negotiation, we were successfully able to get our client a plea to a misdemeanor with 30 days in jail.
- The Blanch Law Firm represented a client for an administrative hearing regarding the misuse of about $20,000 of health care benefits. We were able to for our client secure that no charges were brought by the District Attorney’s Office.
- We also had a client that was charged with criminal mischief when they broke the window of a Fire Department of New York ambulance. Within a month of the incident, our firm successfully had the case dismissed and had the record sealed.
Contact us at (212) 736-3900
If you are facing any criminal charges in the state of New York you should have the experts at the Blanch Law Firm help you with your case. Our firm has years of experience defending against criminal convictions.
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