Here are answers to some of the most frequent questions asked of us. We hope they will help give you a better understanding of what we do here at Nassau Legal Aid Society.

1) Does the Legal Aid Society represent clients in civil (non-criminal) matters?

With some exceptions, our office does not represent individuals in any matter which does not involve a criminal charge.  The office represents individuals on criminal charges pending in Nassau County District and County Court.  We do not represent individuals in City, Village or Town courts.  Additionally, the Legal Aid Society represents parolees facing possible revocation of parole.

The Legal Aid Society also represents individuals in Nassau County Family Court.  Family Court attorneys are assigned by the court to represent financially eligible adults who are parties in matters concerning child custody and visitation, child neglect and abuse, family offenses (orders of protection), and termination of parental rights. We also represent respondents in paternity cases and in matters involving a violation of a child support order out of the Family Court.

The Legal Aid Society also represents children in juvenile delinquency proceedings and PINS (Persons in Need of Supervision) cases.

2) What about other types of civil legal assistance?

Unlike some offices in New York City, the Nassau County Legal Aid Society does not have a civil division aside from its Family Court Bureau described above. We do NOT handle matters involving:

• housing/eviction

• unemployment matters

• government benefits (including welfare)

• divorces

• foreclosure prevention

• collections

• immigration law

• elder law

• driver's license issues

• disability/medical matters

• bankruptcy

• trusts and estates (wills)

We also do not handle any lawsuits between private parties. For assistance with many of these legal matters, you can contact Nassau-Suffolk Law Services at (516) 292-8100. You may also try calling the Volunteer Lawyers' Project at (516) 292-8299.

If you need assistance on an immigration matter unrelated to a criminal case you may call (516) 571-2722, or the Immigrant Defense Project at (212) 725-6422.

3) Does the Legal Aid Society represent defendants in all types of criminal cases out of Nassau County?

No. Our office represents criminal defendants facing charges in the Nassau County Court and Nassau County District Court. We do not represent defendants facing federal criminal charges. For assistance on a federal criminal case, please call the Federal Defenders at (631) 712-6500.

We do not represent defendants facing charges in the Nassau County Traffic and Parking Violations Agency at 801 Axinn Blvd. Garden City, NY 11530 (516-572-2700). If you are facing traffic violations that are returnable to that address, you are entitled to represent yourself at all proceedings or retain private counsel. You are not entitled to assigned counsel.

We also do not represent defendants facing charges in Nassau County Village Courts or City Courts, any other local Nassau County courts. In order to receive legal assistance for criminal charges arising out of the local courts, please call the clerk's office at the individual court and ask if you are entitled to free representation (and if so, how you can obtain it).

Finally, we do not represent or provide legal advice to people charged with crimes in any county other than Nassau. If you have been charged with a crime in another county in the State of New York, you can find a list of Public Defense organizations here.

4) How do I get an attorney from the Legal Aid Society to represent me on my case?

We are not permitted to choose or select our clients. Instead, a judge in either the Nassau County Family Court, District Court, or County Court must assign us to represent a client.

The only exceptions to this rule are that a) we represent any person being arraigned at the Nassau County District Court following arrest if that person does not have any legal counsel at the time of arraignment; and b) we will provide very basic legal counsel and limited representation in certain pre-arrest situations. For example, if the police are actively seeking to arrest or question someone about alleged criminal activity, we may intervene for the purposes of arranging a surrender or communicating with the police.

Aside from these two exceptions, all other persons charged with a crime but unable to afford a private attorney must ask the court to assign our office to the case. The court will then make a determination as to that person's financial eligibility for assigned counsel. If and when the court decides to assign counsel, an attorney from our office or the 18-B assigned counsel plan will be notified of assignment, and representation can begin. A similar process takes place in the Family Court for non-criminal cases.

5) Can I contact the Legal Aid Society if I have an attorney, but am not satisfied with his or her representation or if I want a second opinion on legal strategy?

No. We cannot and will not provide any legal advice to a person who is represented by other counsel. To do so would be both unprofessional and unethical. If you are unhappy with the representation you are receiving from a non-Legal Aid attorney, you should speak with your attorney or terminate the representation and retain a new attorney.

If you are represented by a court-appointed attorney, you will typically need the court's permission to terminate the attorney's services and you must provide a specific and valid explanation for your request.

6) How do I take care of a warrant that was issued because I missed a court date?

If the warrant was issued because you missed a court date in the District Court, you must go to the courthouse at 99 Main Street in Hempstead. You should try to go when the court opens at 9:00 a.m., and check in at the clerk's office located in the main hallway, to the left of the main entrance. When you are asked, tell them you are there to vacate a warrant.

They will tell you which courtroom to attend, and there you should sign in on the sign in sheet in the courtroom and write “Warrant Vacate” next to your name.   An attorney will help you vacate the warrant and explain to the Court the reasons you missed your court appearance.    The judge may, or may not, consider the fact that you voluntarily returned to court, but will definitely give you a new court date.  If there were things you were required to complete between court appearances and you have completed those tasks, that can possibly help resolve your case as well.  In such case, please bring proof with you and advise the attorney in the courtroom.   Finally, there is a possibility that the judge will require bail, or increase a previous bail amount. If that happens and you do not have money to post the bail at that time, you will be taken into custody. It is therefore a good idea to bring someone with you to the courthouse with as much money as possible. 

WHEN POSSIBLE, YOU SHOULD ALSO REACH OUT TO THE NASSAU COUNTY LEGAL AID SOCIETY AND ALERT YOUR ATTORNEY OR THE OFFICE AHEAD OF TIME THAT YOU ARE PLANNING TO VACATE YOUR WARRANT AND THESE ISSUES CAN BE DISCUSSED.

If the warrant was issued because you missed a court date in the County Court, you must contact the clerk of the County Court at 262 Old Country Road in Mineola to request a court date before the judge from whose courtroom the warrant was issued. If you were represented by the Legal Aid Society in the previous case, please try first to contact our office and, if possible, the attorney who represented you. If you were represented by a non-Legal Aid attorney, you should try to contact that attorney prior to appearing in court. It will be in your best interest to have an attorney present when you appear in court, since the felony charge(s) at issue will make it more likely that the judge will incarcerate you on higher bail pending resolution of your case.

If the warrant was issued because you missed a court date in the Family Court, you must turn yourself in to the Sheriff in the basement of the Courthouse at 1200 Old Country Road in Westbury. You will be held until your case is called by a Judge or Hearing Examiner. We recommend that you appear in the morning to ensure that your case is called the same day, and you are not held overnight before appearing in front of a judge. You may be released on the day you appear, or bail may be set. Just as in the District Court, appearing in court voluntarily may increase the possibility that you will be released.

This type of warrant is called a "bench warrant." In order to vacate this type of warrant in Nassau County, you must appear in court. Here is what you should do:

If the warrant was issued because you missed a court date in the District Court, you must go to the courthouse at 99 Main Street in Hempstead. You should try to go when the court opens at 9:00 a.m., and check in at the clerk's office located in the main hallway, to the left of the main entrance. When you are asked, tell them you are there to vacate a warrant.

They will tell you which courtroom to attend, and there you may approach one of the two Legal Aid Society attorneys staffing the courtroom that day and ask if they will help you explain to the judge why you missed your last court date. The judge may, or may not, consider the fact that you voluntarily returned to court, but will definitely give you a new court date. There is a possibility that the judge will require bail, or increase a previous bail amount. If that happens and you do not have money to post the bail at that time, you will be taken into custody until your bail is posted. It is therefore a good idea to bring someone with you to the courthouse with as much money as possible.

If the warrant was issued because you missed a court date in the County Court, you must contact the clerk of the County Court at 262 Old Country Road in Mineola to request a court date before the judge from whose courtroom the warrant was issued. If you were represented by the Legal Aid Society in the previous case, please try first to contact our office and, if possible, the attorney who represented you. If you were represented by a non-Legal Aid attorney, you should try to contact that attorney prior to appearing in court. It will be in your best interest to have an attorney present when you appear in court, since the felony charge(s) at issue will make it more likely that the judge will incarcerate you on higher bail pending resolution of your case.

If the warrant was issued because you missed a court date in the Family Court, you must turn yourself in to the Sheriff in the basement of the Courthouse at 1200 Old Country Road in Westbury. You will be held until your case is called by a Judge or Hearing Examiner. We recommend that you appear in the morning to ensure that your case is called the same day, and you are not held overnight before appearing in front of a judge. You may be released on the day you appear, or bail may be set. Just as in the District Court, appearing in court voluntarily may increase the possibility that you will be released.

7) Can the Legal Aid Society help me get my criminal record sealed or expunged?

New York State law does not authorize expungement of a criminal record. However, effective October 2017, a Limited Sealing Law [CPL 160.59, titled "Sealing of Certain Convictions: L 2017, ch 59, part WWW, sections 48 and 48-a (pp. 232-236)], took effect.    

Pursuant to the Sealing law Individuals who have been convicted of up to two eligible offenses, but not more than one eligible felony offense, may apply to have those convictions sealed. Eligible offenses may be sealed only after at least 10 years have passed since the sentence was imposed on the latest conviction or, if the sentence included a period of incarceration, at least 10 years since release from incarceration.

Certain offenses are not eligible for sealing. These crimes include sex offenses defined in Penal Law article 130 and offenses for which sex offender registration is required under Correction Law article 6-c, offenses defined in Penal Law article 263, violent felony offenses defined in Penal Law 70.02, Penal Law article 125 felony offenses, Penal Law class A felony offenses, and certain felony conspiracy and felony attempt offenses.

Sealing is discretionary. Among other requirements, applicants must file a sworn statement detailing the reasons why sealing should be granted and a copy of the "certificate of disposition or other similar documentation for any offense for which the applicant has been convicted, or an explanation of why such certificate or other documentation is not available." The applicant must serve the application on the prosecution in the county(ies) of conviction. The law calls for the Chief Administrator of the Courts to "prescribe a form application which may be used by a defendant to apply for sealing pursuant to this section." 

Be advised that records sealed pursuant to CPL 160.59 remain available to: the defendant or the defendant's designated agent; qualified agencies (defined in Executive Law 835[9]) and federal and state law enforcement when acting within the scope of their law enforcement duties; a state or local officer or agency with responsibility for issuing a license to possess a gun, when the person has made an application for a license; a prospective employer of a police or peace officer, in relation to an employment application; and the FBI Criminal Justice Information Services Division, for the purpose of responding to queries to the national instant criminal background check system regarding attempts to purchase or otherwise possess a firearm.

Further, CPL 160.59(10) provides that a conviction sealed under this section "is included within the definition of a conviction for the purposes of any criminal proceeding in which the fact of a prior conviction would enhance a penalty or is an element of the offense charged."

Note:  Defendants shall not be required or permitted to waive eligibility for CPL 160.59 sealing as part of a guilty plea, sentence, or any agreement related to a conviction for an eligible offense and any such waiver is deemed void. CPL 160.59(11).

Procedure for Seeking Limited Sealing:

 Please be advised the New York State Unified Court System has released the forms and instructions persons may use to apply for sealing of a criminal conviction pursuant to CPL 160.59. The court's website includes a list of five "Steps to Prepare and File a CPL 160.59 Sealing Application," as well as three documents: Request for Criminal Certificate of Disposition for CPL 160.59 Sealing Application; Sealing Application: Notice of Motion and Affidavit in Support of Sealing Pursuant to CPL 160.59; and a List of District Attorney's Offices.

If applying for sealing of multiple convictions, the Notice of Motion and Affidavit in Support of Sealing Pursuant to CPL 160.59 and supporting documents must be filed in the court where the most serious conviction was entered, and must be served on the district attorney in each county of conviction. Applicants should be encouraged to provide detailed reasons regarding why the court should, in its discretion, grant sealing, which may require additional pages, as well as other supporting documentation such as evidence of rehabilitation, letters of recommendation, etc.

8) Is there anything I can do to help myself with jobs or housing if I have an old conviction?

Maybe. If you have been convicted of one felony and/or any number of misdemeanor convictions (including those outside New York and federal convictions), you may be eligible for a Certificate of Relief from Civil Disabilities. This certificate will relieve many (though not all) automatic forfeitures and disabilities which result from a criminal conviction. In other words, if the conviction would prevent you from getting certain New York licenses, obtaining this certificate might negate that disability.

A court may grant a request for this certificate at sentencing, or at anytime thereafter. To get such a certificate after sentencing, you must contact the clerk's office at the court in which you were convicted or, if you are or have been on parole, from the New York State Division of Parole who you can call them at (518) 485-8953.

A Certificate of Relief from Civil Disabilities is not binding on private employers, but may provide a "presumption of rehabilitation." In other words, this will not prevent private employers from denying you employment, but it may show them that you have been rehabilitated.

The court will grant the request for a certificate or deny it in its discretion.

Please note that you must get a separate certificate for each misdemeanor conviction, and you can only obtain one if you have no more than one felony conviction (and unlimited misdemeanor convictions).

If you have multiple felony convictions, you may apply for a Certificate of Good Conduct. Please contact the New York State Division of Parole with questions about applying.

9) Can the Legal Aid Society help me file a criminal complaint against someone?

No. We represent people charged with crimes. If you are looking to file a complaint, you may call the Nassau County District Attorney's office at their complaint phone number- (516) 571-3505 or (516) 571-4967 or you may call your local police precinct.

10) How can I get my car returned if it was seized because of a criminal case in Nassau County?

Unfortunately, unless we represented you on the underlying criminal case, there is nothing we can do to help you recover a seized vehicle. You should call the Nassau County Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service at (516) 747-4832 and ask for the name of a lawyer who handles these types of matters.