Who is Joe Murray
Law Office of Joseph W. Murray
Joe Murray is a retired NYPD police officer and former amateur boxer who has applied the skills that he acquired from those experiences to become a successful trial lawyer. Joe fights for his clients in the courtroom with the same passion and determination that he entered the boxing ring with. As a retired police officer turned criminal defense attorney, Joe is widely respected among law enforcement and the greater legal community as someone with great integrity and credibility. Aside from Joe’s legal acumen he is also a “regular Joe” and a fun guy to be around. Joe puts a lot of time and effort into bonding with his clients in the furtherance of his belief that success comes through preparation. Nothing is more persuasive during any negotiation or litigation than an advocate who knows his client and the facts better than anybody else in the room.
Police Officer Joe Murray
Joe is a native of Queens County who grew up in Howard Beach and currently resides in Bellerose, Queens. In 1987 at the age of 20, Joe followed in his father’s footsteps and became a New York City Police Officer. During his tenure with the NYPD Joe was assigned to uniform patrol in Manhattan (MTN, 007, 032, and MSTF) and Queens (115 and QNTF) and plain-clothes as a member of the 115 Precinct Conditions Unit.
In 1993 NYPD police officer Joe Murray was arrested while on duty and in uniform and charged with felony assault after breaking the jaw of another on-duty NYPD officer during a fight in the 10th precinct station house. The underlying incident stemmed from a phone call Joe received from a high school friend who alleged that he was handcuffed and then slapped around by this other officer.
Joe retained a fantastic criminal attorney named Nicholas A. Gravante, Jr., who encouraged Joe to testify before the grand jury. After doing so, the grand jury refused to indict Joe and dismissed all charges.
Despite the grand jury’s failure to indict Joe, the NYPD still sought to terminate him. Joe then retained the services of the famed attorney, Bruce Cutler, who successfully negotiated a no-contest plea which allowed Joe to accept a suspension for the department charges without admitting any guilt. This was essential because Joe was being sued civilly by the injured officer.
By the time the civil lawsuit proceeded to trial in January of 2001, Joe had amassed enormous debt from legal expenses, including two different criminal attorneys, an attorney for the department charges, two civil attorneys and two divorce attorneys. Unfortunately, Joe could no longer afford an attorney for the civil trial so he had to represent himself in Manhattan Supreme Court. After a two week trial, the jury returned a defense verdict! The trial judge complimented Joe on his lawyerly conduct throughout the trial and encouraged him to pursue law school.
Attorney Joe Murray
In June of 2002, after 15 years of police service Joe applied for vested retirement in order to pursue his dream of becoming an attorney. In 2003, Joe graduated from Queens College (cum laude). In 2006, Joe graduated from the CUNY School of Law and passed the NYS bar.
Joe began his career as a civil litigator focusing on construction litigation and then joined a mid-sized firm focusing in medical malpractice defense and personal injury matters. Joe excelled in civil litigation, but his reputation as a retired police officer provided him with many referrals for criminal defense cases. So, just when he thought he was out, they pulled him back in.
Word of Joe Murray’s successes in criminal defense quickly spread among law enforcement and prosecutors. There is only one thing more feared than a police officer turned criminal defense attorney, that is a police officer wrongfully accused of crime, turned criminal defense attorney.
Throughout his twelve years of criminal and civil litigation, Joe Murray has built up an impressive track record of trial victories and negotiating favorable dispositions in numerous State and Federal prosecutions.
Joe Murray the Boxer
Joe Murray was a also member of the NYPD/PBA international police boxing team and competed in the heavyweight and super heavyweight divisions in numerous police charity events, both nationally and abroad. Joe competed in three New York City Golden Gloves tournaments. In 1995 Joe lost in the finals of the NYC Metros to a rising star in the heavyweight divisions named Monte Barrett.
Perhaps not so coincidentally, Monte Barrett and Joe Murray are both alumni of the John Adams High School Spartan football team in Ozone Park and they each helped their respective teams win the P.S.A.L. City Championship. Monte Barrett went on to a very successful 18 year career in Professional boxing winning two WBC championship belts and twice fighting for the world title. After Monte retired, he and Joe joined forces in building a VIP sports concierge service,“www.barrettvipgroup.com” where they provide fight fans with a VIP boxing experience and also provide professional boxers with comprehensive VIP legal representation.
