Practice · Criminal Defense
The Toner Law Firm defends people charged with felonies, misdemeanors and violations in Nassau County: in the District Court in Hempstead, in County Court in Mineola, and in the town and village courts across Long Island. James E. Toner has tried criminal cases for more than thirty years, including homicide, narcotics and white-collar prosecutions. The first consultation is free.
After an arrest
Most people arrested in Nassau County have never been through this. Here is the sequence, and where the decisions that matter actually get made.
You are searched, photographed, fingerprinted and held while the paperwork is prepared. Anything you say during this period can be used against you. Asking for a lawyer is not an admission of anything. It is the one protection available to you before a judge is involved.
On some charges you are released with a Desk Appearance Ticket, a written direction to appear in court on a set date. A DAT is not a dismissal and not a finding of guilt. The case is real and it is pending. Otherwise you are held until arraignment. Eligibility depends on the charge, your record, and identification.
You appear before a judge, the charges are read, and the court decides the conditions of your release. For a warrantless arrest this generally happens within twenty-four hours. It is the first moment a lawyer can speak for you, and it sets the terms you live under while the case runs.
The prosecution must turn over its evidence. This is where a case is often won: suppressing a stop that had no legal basis, a search that exceeded its warrant, or a statement taken after you asked for counsel. Weak cases end here, before anyone reaches a courtroom.
A felony proceeds to a grand jury. If it indicts, the case moves from District Court in Hempstead to Nassau County Court in Mineola. You have a right to testify before the grand jury, a decision that requires a lawyer who has actually done it.
Most cases end in a plea. Some should not. The value of a plea offer depends entirely on whether the prosecution believes you are willing and able to try the case, which is why who represents you changes the offer itself.
Jurisdiction
Nassau County has one countywide District Court, not a set of numbered district courts. Where your case is heard depends on the level of the charge and where it is alleged to have happened.
| Court | Where | What it handles |
|---|---|---|
| District Court, Nassau County | 99 Main Street, Hempstead | Misdemeanors, violations, most misdemeanor DWI, and the opening stages of felony cases including arraignment |
| Nassau County Court | 101 County Seat Drive, Mineola | Felony prosecutions after a grand jury returns an indictment |
| Town, village and city courts | Across Nassau, including Long Beach and Glen Cove | Traffic infractions, local code violations, and misdemeanors arising in that jurisdiction |
| Traffic and Parking Violations Agency | 801 Axinn Avenue, Garden City | County parking and traffic matters assigned to the agency |
| NYS DMV safety hearings | 400 Oak Street, Garden City | Chemical-test refusal hearings, an administrative proceeding entirely separate from the criminal case |
| Federal district courts | Southern, Eastern and Northern Districts of New York | Federal prosecutions. Mr. Toner is admitted in all three. |
Charges
Violent and homicide
Property and financial
Drugs
Domestic and orders
Driving
Collateral consequences
Why this firm
Most criminal cases are resolved by plea, and most defense lawyers plead them. The offer you get depends on whether the prosecution believes the case can be tried against them.
James Toner won his first not-guilty verdict on a felony jury trial before he had finished law school, as a certified legal intern at the Miami-Dade County Public Defender’s Office. He then tried felonies and misdemeanors at the Nassau County Legal Aid Society. For three decades his office sat directly across the street from the Nassau County courthouse in Mineola. The practice is now in Garden City.
Full biographyPrior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case turns on its own facts.
Questions
Yes. A Desk Appearance Ticket means you were arrested and released rather than held. It does not mean the charge is minor or that it will go away. You have a real criminal case with a real court date, and a conviction carries the same record as one that began with a night in custody. The time before that first appearance is when a lawyer has the most room to work.
It can, and the risk is often worse than the sentence. Some pleas that look favorable in criminal court, including pleas to reduced charges, carry immigration consequences up to removal. If you are not a citizen, the immigration effect has to be analyzed before a plea is entered, not after. Tell your lawyer about your status at the first meeting.
Sometimes, and rarely without careful preparation. You have the right to testify, but you do so without your lawyer able to object, and prosecutors question you directly. It occasionally prevents an indictment. It can also lock in a version of events that becomes the centerpiece of the case against you. It is a strategic decision, not a moral one.
A warrantless search is not automatically illegal, and an illegal search does not automatically end the case, but it is one of the most common ways a prosecution falls apart. If the stop had no lawful basis, or the search went beyond what the law allowed, the evidence it produced can be suppressed. That argument is made in motions after discovery, which is why the early stages of a case matter more than they appear to.
It depends on the charge and what the case is likely to require. A misdemeanor resolved at an early appearance and a felony taken to trial are not comparable pieces of work. The firm discusses and agrees the fee before any representation begins, so you know what you are committing to. The initial consultation itself is free.
Reviewed by James E. Toner, Esq.
Last reviewed August 2026
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Primary sources
These links go to the official New York State and Nassau County sources so you can verify anything on this page for yourself. Court procedures change, and nothing here is a substitute for advice about your own case.
Speak with a lawyer
If you have been arrested or think you are under investigation, the sooner a lawyer is involved the more options remain open.
(516) 294-1133
Toner Law Firm
100 Garden City Plaza, Suite 400
Garden City, New York 11530
Attorney Advertising. Nothing on this page is legal advice, and contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
