Criminal Defense Attorney
Michael Wilson
Michael Wilson is an experienced criminal defense attorney who has handled everything from misdemeanor drug possession to Murder in the First Degree. Recently, Mr. Wilson was a supervising attorney at the Office of the Public Defender for Maryland, where he handled some of the most demanding cases in the office—complex homicides and other serious felonies. Additionally, he supervised other attorneys within the office and conducted attorney trainings. Before practicing in Maryland, Mr. Wilson was a public defender with the Legal Aid Society in Queens, NY, where he handled a high volume of cases, including misdemeanor offenses and serious felonies.
Mr. Wilson’s experience includes trying many cases to verdict before juries and judges, including three trials where his client was charged with an offense carrying the penalty of life in prison. Mr. Wilson also has substantial experience consulting experts and litigating forensic science issues, including both preparing his own experts to testify and cross-examining the State’s experts on DNA evidence, historical cell site analysis, eyewitness identifications, false confessions, and competency to stand trial, among others.
Mr. Wilson understands that often the best success is avoiding trial altogether and has achieved successful outcomes for his clients through skilled plea negotiation combined with dogged investigation and an aggressive and creative motions practice. In one case involving possession of narcotics, Mr. Wilson successfully suppressed the drugs that the officer recovered from the client’s hand on the basis that the officer stopped the client unlawfully under the Fourth Amendment. As a result, the State was forced to dismiss the case. In an Assault in the First Degree case where Mr. Wilson’s client was accused of stabbing the complainant in the chest, Mr. Wilson’s investigator located video footage that the police never obtained showing that the complainant was the initial aggressor and that Mr. Wilson’s client was acting in self-defense. Mr. Wilson used this exculpatory video footage to obtain dismissal of the charges.
Mr. Wilson also gained valuable experience before becoming a criminal defense attorney, including clerking for a judge on the D.C. Superior Court and working as a criminal investigator at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia.
Mr. Wilson graduated from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was a Notes Editor on the Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law, a student-attorney in the Juvenile Justice Clinic, and recognized for performing 125 hours of pro bono service during law school. Mr. Wilson graduated magna cum laude from Appalachian State University with a degree in French and minors in Spanish and Philosophy. He was a 4-year member of the Appalachian State Cycling Team and competed nationally at the Collegiate Road National Championships.
Mr. Wilson is licensed to practice in Maryland and New York and speaks conversational French and Spanish.
Mr. Wilson can be reached at mwilson@Jezicfirm.com
