“My foremost belief as a practitioner is to act aggressively on behalf
of my client while treating the client himself with compassion.”
– MARTIN DOORHY
Circumstances can lead people to situations in which they are confronted with charges for criminal offenses, sometimes quite serious, against which they must defend themselves.
At that time the wise thing to do is work with a lawyer whose experience gives you confidence, and whose concern for you makes you secure.
Attorney Martin Doorhy has been achieving the highest level of results for his clients for over 25 years, first as a government prosecutor, and now as a defense attorney. Today 90% of Martin’s cases are in Cook and Will Counties, while almost 70% are concentrated in the Fifth District of Cook County (Bridgeview) and and the Sixth District of Cook County (Markham) courthouses. He is normally in Bridgeview and Markham three days per week, and is intimately familiar with the judges, prosecutors, and police departments in these southwest suburban criminal courts. Mr. Doorhy frequently appears in both the felony and misdemeanor courtrooms in these courthouses. In addition, a considerable amount of his caseload is Traffic, with extensive experience in DUI’s, Driving While License Revoked/Suspended, Leaving the Scene of an Accident, and Criminal Speeding. He also handles CDL matters, involving truck drivers in particular.
Martin has tried hundreds of criminal cases.
Mr. Doorhy offers the following advice regarding the Criminal Justice System in Cook and Will Counties.
—IF YOU ARE ARRESTED THERE IS LITTLE POINT IN DISCUSSING WHAT YOU DID OR IN TRYING TO “REASON” WITH THE POLICE. If they attempt to question you about your alleged offense while you are in custody, they will first provide you with your Miranda Warnings (name derived from the 1966 US Supreme Court case of Miranda vs. Arizona). Miranda Warnings mean quite clearly that it is time to say nothing at all, except for one thing: you want to speak with a lawyer. Do not merely state that you desire to remain silent, as that would enable another officer/detective to ask an hour later if you would desire to speak with him. Make it clear, repeatedly, that you want a lawyer, and that prevents any member of the department from questioning you about the offense. Also, bear in mind that Illinois is not a Jimmy Cagney movie in which “you are entitled to one phone call.” On the contrary, here you are entitled to a reasonable number of calls, which definitely means more than one, to both your attorney and a family member. This right takes effect within a reasonable time after the officer takes you to a place of detention, such as a police station. This does not mean that you can use the phone once you walk in the door, but it does mean that you cannot be deprived of the use of a phone for hours as the police continue to detain you while you repeatedly request to use the telephone until you are able to reach your lawyer and a family member. If you are moved to another place of detention by the police, these rights are renewed, even if you have already contacted an attorney and a family member. So be courteous, but persistent, in exercising this right at the police station if you wish to do is. It is your right, not a privilege and, again, it is not merely for one phone call, and not just for your lawyer.
–FOR MOST MISDEMEANORS, WITH THE NOTABLE EXCEPTION OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE WHERE ONLY A JUDGE CAN SET THE BOND, THE POLICE ARE AUTHORIZED BY LAW TO RELEASE YOU AFTER PAYMENT OF YOUR BOND. That is why it is critical at the time of your arrest that you ask where you are being taken so that you can notify any friend or family member who may be available and that person will then know where to go if you require bond money. Normally, the highest cash bond the police can set anywhere in Cook County is $500.00. For misdemeanors, after your bond has been posted (unless it is an “I” bond which requires no cash), an officer must provide a bond slip which indicates the date, time, and place of your first court date, and the offense(s) with which you have been charged. Once you have left and had an opportunity to relax, the sooner you contact an attorney you feel you can trust, the better. Consultations as a rule are free. Time is of the essence because the more of it you allow to pass, the less likely it is that you are going to remember events in the kind of detail which is often necessary. Moreover, any witnesses you have who are casual acquaintances are normally far more likely to come with you to see your lawyer within days of the event they witnessed than they are going to be weeks later. This could provide the attorney with invaluable information.
–BE CAREFUL OF ARRESTS IN CHICAGO The Department is massive but so is its jurisdiction and its number of arrestees. Fingerprint background checks, to insure you do not have a murder warrant out for your arrest before releasing you, have been known to take hours in Chicago. So be sure you contact someone and let him know where you are but that it could be quite a while before you are released.
–FELONIES ARE IN A SOMEWHAT DIFFERENT CATEGORY Here only a judge can set your bond, so be prepared often to spend the night where you are until you are brought before the bond hearing judge the next day. Do your best to have a family member present with plenty of cash (checks, cashier’s checks and money orders are rarely accepted, though in some jurisdictions credit and debit cards are) when you go to bond court. If your attorney (or public defender as will often be the case in bond court) can let the judge know there is someone there who has the bond money, the judge can place a hold on you so that you are not transported to jail and forced to be bonded out from there. In Cook County, this is especially important as cash bond posted in court could result in your release in a matter of hours, whereas the same money brought to Cook County Jail would, if you are fortunate, result in your release within a day. It often takes five or six hours to in-process at this jail, and an equal number of hours to out-process. So always try to have the person with cash in the courtroom. Then if his funds are inadequate, at least he knows precisely what is required and can rush to a bank or cash station for the remainder (some courts actually have cash stations) for the remainder, provided of course it is not so high that the funds are simply unavailable.
The Law Offices of Thomas W. Lynch & Associates, P.C.
9231 S. Roberts Road
Hickory Hills, IL 60457
TEL: (708) 598-5999 – FAX: (708) 598-6299
E-Mail: info@thomaswlynchpc.com
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