Howard Woodley Bailey, Attorney

Howard W. Bailey has been involved with the field of criminal law for thirty years. As a criminal defense lawyer, he focuses his efforts in the defense of clients charged with violating the criminal law and the motor vehicle laws of New Jersey. He has handled cases involving Drug Possession and Distribution; Assault; Homicide; Theft; Robbery; Carjacking; Insurance Fraud; Kidnapping; Sexual Offenses; Arson; Criminal Mischief; Bribery; Perjury; and Weapons related cases.

Before becoming a Criminal Defense Attorney, Mr. Bailey was a Police Officer for ten years and an Assistant Essex County (N.J.) Prosecutor for fifteen years. During that time and now as a defense lawyer, Mr. Bailey has handled cases using every type of investigation used by the police, to include wiretapping, eavesdropping and other types of electronic surveillance; buy-bust and sting operations; undercover police investigations; and, more traditional investigation activities such as field investigation and witness interview.

This unique background provides his clients with the benefit of being represented by a criminal defense lawyer with personal experience in how a criminal case is investigated, prosecuted and most importantly for his clients, defended. As a Criminal Defense Attorney, this experience helps Mr. Bailey defend the rights of his clients.

As an Assistant Prosecutor, Mr. Bailey was assigned as a legal advisor to the Essex County Prosecutor's Narcotics Task Force for twelve years; reviewing, supervising, advising and prosecuting thousands of drug and violent crime cases each year. In that capacity he was responsible for providing legal guidance on a 24/7 basis to police officers conducting on-going drug related investigations. As a result, as a criminal defense lawyer in Essex County, Mr. Bailey provides his clients with the knowledge gained from thousands of cases and the experience of many years of handling criminal cases.

Mr. Bailey served as the Task Force's Deputy Director from 1993-1996; as Vice-Chairman of the County Narcotics Commanders Association of New Jersey from 1995-1997; and, as a Member of the Statewide Narcotics Action Plan Working Group, from 1993-1997, serving on the Attorney General's Drug Enforcement Policy Manual Committee; and, the Attorney General's Legislative Initiatives Committee. These experiences give Mr. Bailey an extensive understanding of how the drug laws were drafted; and, how the police were trained to enforce them. Mr. Bailey brings that knowledge and experience to each case he represents as a criminal defense lawyer.

As a criminal defense lawyer, and in his prior employment, Mr. Bailey has taught many courses to both other lawyers and to law enforcement officers. Mr. Bailey was been a certified Police Instructor for the State of New Jersey, Police Training Commission, for 24 years. As a Police Instructor, Mr. Bailey has taught courses to police recruit classes; and, in-service training for active duty police officers. He has served as a faculty member of the Top Gun Narcotics Training Seminar sponsored by the Statewide Narcotics Task Force and has been a featured speaker for the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey; the New Jersey Narcotics Enforcement Officers Association, and the Office of the Public Defender for the State of New Jersey.