Yonkers Criminal Defense Lawyer

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Nothing turns your world upside down like an arrest. All it takes is one accusation—perhaps even one that’s completely false. Next thing you know, you’re in handcuffs facing serious criminal charges.

If you or a loved one has been arrested by the Yonkers Police Department or contacted by them to come in for questioning, the time is now to speak with a trusted criminal defense lawyer. 

The Law Office of Michael J. McConnell is available to take your call 24/7 if you or someone you know has been arrested in Yonkers. All you have to do is call (914) 810-0510.

When you hire Michael J. McConnell, you get a dedicated local criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor who understands what is at stake for his clients and how to protect them.

Don’t wait to contact us for a free and confidential consultation. Your freedom and your future are too important.  

The Law Office of Michael J. McConnell aggressively defends people in Yonkers and the surrounding area who are facing serious criminal charges such as gun possession, drug crimes, robbery, domestic violence offenses, sex crimes, assault, grand larceny, and more. 

We have successfully defended a wide range of clients from all walks of life from felony and misdemeanor charges. This includes individuals with prior felony convictions on their record to those who have been arrested for the first time. 

Having a former prosecutor as your criminal defense attorney is widely considered among respected legal industry insiders to be a major advantage for individuals accused of criminal offenses because: 

1. We understand how prosecutors review cases.

2. We know firsthand what strategies they use at trial.

3. We can identify where the weaknesses are in their case.

4. We recognize what matters most to them when considering a plea deal.

5. We have experience with how law enforcement conducts investigations and where they tend to make mistakes or cut corners. 

All of this significant knowledge, training, and experience from having been on the other side as a prosecutor can be leveraged by a criminal defense lawyer to benefit their clients. 

For example, being able to predict the DA’s next move because you have been in their shoes makes it easier to come up with a game plan that is built to withstand whatever they throw at us. 

As a former prosecutor turned criminal defense lawyer, Michael J. McConnell has experience handling most of the common felony and misdemeanor offenses from both sides of the courtroom. He regularly draws on his insights from his days as an assistant district attorney to build strong and strategic defenses that are designed to win in court.

So if you’re looking for a local criminal defense lawyer in Yonkers with prior experience as a prosecutor, you can give the Law Office of Michael J. McConnell a call today at (914) 810-0510. 

Clients who hire Michael J. McConnell as their criminal defense lawyer are typically looking for an attorney with prior experience as a prosecutor who can commit to providing thorough and proactive legal representation that includes regular communication throughout the case so that the client is fully informed every step of the way. 

He has a strong and proven track record of delivering for his clients according to 5-star reviews on Google and other platforms. 

Among the top reasons clients have praised criminal defense attorney Michael J. McConnell include things such as his thorough and aggressive advocacy, highly proactive approach, professionalism and transparency, clear communication, and prior experience as a prosecutor.  

It is always recommended that you contact a local criminal defense attorney immediately if you’re contacted by law enforcement. 

You have a right to remain silent and to have a lawyer. If you speak to detectives without seeking legal advice first, you risk having your words twisted against you in court to make you look guilty—even if you’re actually innocent. 

In fact, according to the nationally renowned Innocence Project, false confessions are a common reason for wrongful convictions. A big reason for this is police trickery and deception, which is why having a lawyer by your side before agreeing to speak to police or turn yourself in is critical.  

The cops will bring you back to the precinct for arrest processing (fingerprinting, etc.). How things proceed from there can vary depending on what you’re accused of.

In some cases (generally misdemeanors), the Yonkers Police might give you a Desk Appearance Ticket (“DAT”) that tells you when to show up in court for your arraignment. 

In other cases (particularly more serious felonies as well as various misdemeanors), you will be held in custody until your arraignment in Yonkers City Court, which typically happens within 24 hours or so.  

The arraignment is the first court appearance on a criminal case in Yonkers City Court located at 100 South Broadway, Yonkers, NY 10701. This is when you will be informed of the charges you’re facing, and the judge will decide whether to release you or set bail. 

Whether the judge releases you on your own recognizance (ROR) or with conditions as opposed to setting bail will depend on several factors, including the exact charges, your prior criminal record and bench warrant history, and an overall assessment of your likelihood to return to court if released. 

Under CPL § 510.10, a defendant must usually be released from custody after arraignment unless the offense is considered a “qualifying offense” making it bail-eligible, which then gives the judge discretion to set bail.

For most misdemeanors and non-violent offenses in New York, a defendant is often released on their own recognizance (ROR) or with conditions, but there are exceptions. 

For more serious offenses—such as violent felonies and others listed in CPL § 510.10(4)—the judge might set bail or remand the defendant to custody. 

If bail is set, once it is paid you can be released. If you’re remanded, you will be in custody unless or until a judge finds there has been a change in circumstances to justify release or to set bail. 

One of the worst mistakes to make after an arrest is to assume that you or your loved one will be released. With so much at stake, it is important to reach out to an attorney before the case gets into court.

The next step after your arraignment in Yonkers City Court depends on whether your case is a felony or misdemeanor. 

If you’re charged with a felony, the case might be adjourned for a preliminary hearing (sometimes referred to as a “felony hearing”). 

If you’re charged with a misdemeanor, the case might be adjourned about a month or so for the prosecutor to turn over discovery (i.e., the evidence against you) to your lawyer or for other routine purposes. 

Here is a basic outline of the process in many criminal cases in Yonkers:

Pre-Indictment and Preliminary Hearings (Felony Only) 

This is a very critical window in a felony case. This hearing isn’t a trial, but it is a chance for your lawyer to challenge the DA’s case. 

The purpose of the felony hearing is for the judge to decide whether there is “reasonable cause” that you committed a felony. This is a low standard compared to what is required at trial (“proof beyond a reasonable doubt”), but if the evidence is totally lacking it’s possible to get the charges dismissed or reduced to misdemeanor. 

Even if the judge finds “reasonable cause,” the hearing is a great opportunity for a skilled defense attorney to pin down witness testimony early and expose weaknesses in the case. For that reason, this pre-indictment stage is often a good opportunity to gain leverage for plea negotiations if you’re seeking a favorable deal. 

Grand Jury (Felony Only)

The purpose of the grand jury is for a group of citizens to decide whether there is enough evidence to indict you for a crime. The standard is very low (“reasonable cause”), so it doesn’t take much to get an indictment.

The grand jury is also a secret proceeding by design in New York. It is just the prosecutor, the grand jurors, and a court reporter. There is no judge present. Neither the defense attorney nor the defendant will be there—with the only exception being if the defendant chooses to testify, which is a major strategic decision that must be made carefully. (And even then, the defendant is only present during the time he or she testifies—not for the rest of the GJ presentation.)

If you’re indicted, that means your case will proceed in Westchester County Court in White Plains.

It’s also important to know that a grand jury indictment doesn’t mean you’ve been found guilty. It’s simply a necessary step the prosecutor must take on a felony before they can even get to the trial stage.

With that said, an indictment is a sign that things might start moving very fast on a collision course towards trial, which makes it critical to have an attorney at this point who is truly on top of your case and communicating with you about what the expected next steps are. 

Discovery, Motion Practice, and Hearings

This pre-trial stage applies to both misdemeanors and felonies in New York. 

Discovery is when the Westchester DA’s Office sends your attorney the evidence against you, which might include things like:

· Body camera footage from the Yonkers Police Department

· Witness statements

· Police paperwork

· Lab reports and DNA results

· Medical records

· Search warrants

· Video surveillance footage

Motion practice is where a defense attorney will file written legal arguments challenging things like the validity of the stop, the arrest, the collection of evidence, the voluntariness of any statements you made to the cops, suggestive identification procedures, and more. 

Pre-trial hearings might be ordered by the judge following motion practice to resolve certain issues before trial. 

Here are a few helpful examples of what these pre-trial hearings might address:

· In a gun possession case, there might be a hearing on whether the police violated your 4th Amendment rights by conducting an illegal search of your vehicle. 

· If you’re accused of an armed robbery, there might be a hearing on whether the alleged victim’s pre-arrest identification of you was tainted by unfair and suggestive procedures. 

· If you’re accused of stabbing someone, there might be a hearing on whether your supposed “confession” to police was unlawfully obtained in violation of your Miranda rights.

These hearings can be really important because if certain evidence gets suppressed (i.e., “thrown out”), the DA might no longer have much of a case—which can sometimes lead to a dismissal.

Negotiations with the DA’s Office

It’s always best practice for a criminal defense attorney to have early and consistent contact with the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office throughout the case. 

Sometimes talking with prosecutors early can lead to a dismissal, reduced charges, diversion (only applies in limited situations), or a favorable plea offer. 

If both sides reach a resolution that works for everyone, that’s great. However, whether to take a plea deal is always the client’s decision.

The key is that a good criminal defense lawyer will always make sure the client is fully informed of their options, the strength of the case, the consequences of the plea, the possible risks and rewards of going to trial, and much more. 

Trial

Criminal defendants have a constitutional right to a trial by a jury of their peers. However, it can often take anywhere between several months to one or more years for a criminal case to go to trial. 

At trial, the DA cannot convict you unless they have enough evidence to prove your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt—which is the highest standard in our legal system. 

At the conclusion of the trial, the jury will have two choices: 

1. Guilty; or

2. Not Guilty

In other words, a trial is not about proving innocence. The burden of proof is entirely on the prosecution. If they don’t have enough evidence, the jury will be instructed to find you not guilty. 

Sentencing 

If you’re convicted at trial or if you plead guilty at any point, you will be sentenced by the judge. In some cases, jail or prison could be the sentence. In others, it could be probation or some other condition. 

A lot goes into sentencing, but factors that matter most are usually the type of crime you were convicted of as well as your prior criminal record. 

A thorough criminal defense attorney will diligently prepare for sentencing and advocate for a lower sentence by providing mitigating information to the judge where possible. 

This is among the most common and important questions clients ask their criminal defense lawyer, but every case is different and must be evaluated on its own terms. Only the attorney handling the case is in a position to evaluate something like this.

With that said, there are some general things to consider. For example:

· Misdemeanors carry potential jail time (e.g., 364 days maximum for a Class A misdemeanor), but there is no mandatory minimum. This means that if you’re convicted of, say, Assault in the 3rd Degree under PL § 120.00, the judge has discretion to give you up to 364 days in jail or no jail at all—perhaps something like probation or some other condition. While judges will likely consider your prior criminal record when sentencing you on a misdemeanor, they are not required to impose jail time just because you have past convictions. 

· Felony sentencing in New York is very complex. In some cases, a prison sentence is mandatory upon conviction even if this is someone’s first arrest (e.g., most violent felonies, certain sex offenses, and high-level narcotics charges). In other cases, it’s possible to avoid incarceration for a felony conviction such as certain non-violent offenses—particularly if you don’t have a prior record. The biggest concern for possible incarceration comes when someone has a prior felony conviction that makes them a predicate or “second felony offender” for sentencing purposes as New York’s sentencing laws significantly restrict plea bargaining in these situations, which often makes prison mandatory and for lengthier periods.

It’s vital to have an attorney who takes the time to explain to you how New York’s sentencing laws might apply to your particular case so that you can make fully informed choices about major decisions such as whether to go to trial versus taking a plea deal. 

It is always important to have thorough conversations with your attorney from day one about the details of what happened before, during, and after any stop and frisk that led to an arrest for possessing a firearm or narcotics. Here’s why:

If your 4th Amendments were violated by an illegal stop and frisk, your attorney can move to suppress that evidence. If the judge agrees, that evidence can be precluded at trial, which in effect could lead to a dismissal of your case. 

The Law Office of Michael J. McConnell regularly handles firearms and narcotics charges that result from both pedestrian and vehicle stops by police. From his experience as a prosecutor and now as a criminal defense lawyer, he is very familiar with the tactics, tricks, and sometimes outright lies that cops use when conducting stops and frisks. 

For example, cops have been known to “tailor” their police reports and testimony to provide a basis for the stop and frisk that didn’t really exist. Some of the specific things Michael J. McConnell will look for in these cases include:

· Cops claiming they saw an “L-shaped bulge” from a distance and vantage point that would have made such an observation physically impossible. 

· Officers asserting—contrary to their body worn camera footage—that they observed the driver of the vehicle making “furtive movements” that they then used to justify a search.

· Cops claiming they pulled a car over for a traffic infraction that is clearly contradicted by other evidence—including sometimes nearby video surveillance. 

The bottom line is that it’s important to understand that even if the cops find something incriminating on you such as a loaded gun or bricks of cocaine, there are still ways to fight these cases by challenging how they found evidence. Having the right criminal defense attorney who is willing to carefully scrutinize every step the police took can make all the difference. 

The overall cost for a criminal defense attorney in Yonkers will vary significantly based on factors such as the seriousness of the charges, the amount of work anticipated, whether the case is likely to go to trial, and the attorney’s level of experience and expertise. 

Additionally, every attorney will have a different fee structure, which could vary on a case-by-case basis. Some offer flat or fixed fee options while others do retainers. Hybrid structures may be used as well, including some instances where an attorney might accept a payment plan. 

At the Law Office of Michael J. McConnell, we offer personalized fee structures on criminal cases in recognition that each case and client is unique. We take all common methods of payment, including credit cards, which can often make it easier for our clients to pay for quality legal representation.  

So if you want to know how much hiring a local criminal defense lawyer will cost, the best move is to give us a call at (914) 810-0510 for a free consultation where we can learn more about your case and provide you with a personalized quote for legal services. 

The best way to hire a local criminal defense lawyer after an arrest is to request a free consultation. 

At the Law Office of Michael J. McConnell, we offer free consultations and are available to take your call 24/7 if you are arrested in Yonkers. 

If you schedule a consultation with us, you will speak directly with attorney Michael J. McConnell. He will listen to you carefully, explain how he can help, and give you a personalized and transparent quote for the cost of legal representation.

Page last updated 2/19/26.