(These news items covered our criminal defense partner Jon Katz's legal analyses of  the Washington sniper trial, the Sami al-Arian trial, the Kobe Bryant trial, drug defense, child pornography defense, and obscenity defense; and Jon Katz's defense in the Plowshares case.)

HOMICIDE PROSECUTIONS CALL FOR AGGRESSIVE DEFENSE. The stigma of a homicide charge -- and the sentencing risks in the event of a guilty verdict -- can be tremendous. Marks & Katz, LLC, moves beyond that stigma to present the best possible defense for trial, appeals, post conviction and habeas corpus proceedings. 

Marks & Katz's Criminal Defense section is led by partner Jon Katz, who has been fighting for criminal defendants since 1991. Jon has advocated for over 2000 criminal defendants, and has defended over one hundred fifty criminal trials to conclusion. He has defended a wide variety of clients, including those accused of murder, sexual assault, drug offenses, child pornography, and drunk driving. Marks & Katz, LLC, provides one-stop service to non-citizens, not only to advise them on the immigration risks of certain convictions and sentences, but also for seeking a more immigration-favorable conviction and sentence when the chance of obtaining an acquittal looks too remote to our client. 

Criminal defense partner Jon Katz's usual days are consumed with defending ordinary people against a wide range of criminal accusations, slugging it out for the fighting advantage, and defending people against the landmines of injustice. While Jon is particularly familiar with courthouses in Maryland, Northern Virginia, and the District of Columbia, he is first and foremost a persuasion lawyer who, like Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver, will go "anytime, anywhere" to fight for justice in the state and federal courts throughout Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. For samples of our criminal trial work, click here. 

MARKS & KATZ'S APPROACH TO FIGHTING FOR CRIMINAL DEFENDANTS

    A person is rarely in more time of need than when s/he is arrested for or suspected of a jailable crime. We go to the mat for our criminal defense clients, with caring, a passion to win, and with partner Jon Katz's many years of in-depth criminal defense experience. 

    When a client is suspected of a crime, but not yet arrested, we provide our client a full risk analysis, and advise not to speak with law enforcement authorities. We try to make the matter go away either by letting it disappear on its own, or by trying to persuade the investigators and prosecutors that their time on the case is not worthwhile or not justified. If a client learns of a pending arrest warrant, we try to get the warrant removed, or else we can accompany our client to turn himself or herself in, to then argue for immediate release or for the lowest possible bond. 

    When a client is prosecuted in court, we immediately file essential legal motions and court notices to protect our client's rights, fully investigate the case with our client's input, and fully brainstorm with our client for a winning strategy. We fully prepare our cases to go to trial, assure a full grasp of the governing law, and absorb the evidence (both good and bad) to present our client's case in the most persuasive light. 

    Because a conviction is a possible outcome of a criminal case -- even for innocent people, unfortunately -- we fully prepare a careful trial record to make a stronger appeal of any conviction; we fully prepare with our clients to fight for the most favorable sentence in the event of a conviction; and we file and argue persuasive motions for sentence reductions. A conviction does not always need to be final, which is why we seek retrials when advisable, file and argue aggressive appeals, and file and argue vigorous post conviction and habeas corpus petitions. For acquittals and dismissals, we file petitions to seal or expunge our clients' public records or their cases. 

    Since 1991, our Criminal Defense partner Jon Katz has been battling for criminal defendants against unjust forces, whether those forces come from police, prosecutors, lawmakers, judges, jailers, or laypeople who lie to seek convictions. We never flinch about representing our criminal defense clients, no matter how heinous the accusations or our clients' apparent actions (and we take very seriously that our clients are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt). We do not hesitate to visit even the most depressing jails and prisons (from which we seek our detained clients' release). We visit alleged crime scenes and essential witnesses regardless of how dangerous or opulent the neighborhood. We do this because our clients' liberty is on the line, because it is the only way to obtain justice, because it is our obligation as lawyers and human beings, because it is the right thing to do, and because we would not have it any other way. 

MEET OUR CRIMINAL DEFENSE PARTNER JON KATZ - Never Prosecuted/Never Will

   Our Criminal Defense partner Jon Katz early on developed a strong bias for the defense side of criminal law. Police and prosecutors have awesome powers that can be used for good but that also can be severely abused. Let us not forget that police abuse has included brutal beatings of civil rights demonstrators in the South, the killing of Amadou Diallo, and the brutal torture of Abner Louima.

    Jon began his criminal defense career in 1991, defending over one thousand indigent criminal defendants with the Maryland Public Defender's Office (1991-96). Public defender work is one of the highest callings a lawyer can fulfill, if the lawyer is able and dedicated to meet the challenge. The ongoing challenge for public defenders is to eliminate underfunding and insufficient resources. 

    Jon's aptitude for blue collar criminal cases is strongly rooted in his public defender experience. Jon is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (1991-present) (Advisory Board Member, Champion Magazine (1996-present)), Maryland Criminal Defense Attorneys Association, and Virginia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

WHAT DO CLIENTS SAY ABOUT JON? "Jon and his staff were meticulous, dedicated, and determined to ensure my rights as a citizen were fully maintained during my case. He laid out several scenarios on how things could proceed and stuck to the one that we both felt had the highest likelihood of success of maintaining my innocence - which was the end result. While I was financially constrained, Jon worked with me to ensure I had the best defense I could, which was more than I ever imagined! I keep Jon's card in my wallet and highly recommend him to anyone needing legal services." (From a criminal defense client).

"Mr. Katz has provided excellent service at competitive price for my case. Everything went on just as what he described in our initial meeting. I'm so satisfied with the outcome, and I'd strongly recommend this attorney! I really appreciate your effort you put in my case, Jon." (From a criminal defense client). 

FOR OUR CRIMINAL LAW NEWS COVERAGE, PLEASE CLICK HERE. 

CONTACT US - We welcome your inquiries. 

JAY S. MARKS (Admitted in MD/DC/IL, and the U.S. Court of Appeals (4th Circuit)).  Se habla español. Se fala portugues.

JONATHAN L. KATZ  (Admitted in MD/DC/VA state and federal courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court) Se habla español.On parle français. 

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