Heeney & Arii, Chartered

For over 34 years, Rockville criminal defense attorney Thomas L. Heeney has litigated criminal law issues. Mr. Heeney began his criminal law career as an Assistant State's Attorney following his graduation from Emory University Law School and his subsequent judicial clerkship with the Honorable David L. Cahoon, of the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Maryland. For over 29 years, Mr. Heeney has successfully defended citizens accused of a wide variety of criminal offenses, felonies, misdemeanors, and traffic related offenses such as Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol (DUI).

Criminal defense is truly in Thomas Heeney's blood. He learned at the knee of his father and law partner, the late Robert C. Heeney, who was a past President of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) and the leader of that organization's 1975 successful pro bono defense of the Sioux Indians in their protest occupation of the Wounded Knee reservation in South Dakota. Robert C. Heeney is the namesake of the memorial award still given annually by both the NACDL and the Maryland State Bar Association's Criminal Law Section, for lifetime outstanding achievement and professionalism in the criminal practice.

For over 8 years, C. Sei-Hee Arii has successfully litigated crimal and traffic cases throughout the Washington Metrololitan area while an associate with the Law Office of Thomas L. Heeney. Thomas L. Heeney and C. Sei-Hee Arii have united their talents, forming a successful and effective partnership and championing the causes of their clients in the following areas:

Criminal Defense: Drug Possession and Distribution; Murder; Arson; Assault and Battery; Sexual Offenses; Theft; Misappropriation; Alcohol Citations Involving Minors; Domestic Violence; White Collar Business Crimes; and other Serious Felonies and Misdemeanors

DUI/DWI and Traffic: Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol; Negligent or Reckless Driving; Speeding Citations; and M.V.A. Administrative Matters

Deportation Matters: Post Conviction/Coram Nobis Relief from criminal convictions resulting in INS/Homeland Security deportation proceedings

Juvenile Delinquency: Representation of minors in juvenile court and in School Board hearings for suspensions and expulsions.

SAMPLE CASES:

• Theft Scheme case in the Montgomery County Maryland Circuit Court involving 69 Montgomery County Department of Revenue fraudulent property tax rebates otherwise due 55 corporate property owners and totaling losses of $503,122.01 over a period of 8 months. Client posed as a private representative of a firm that sought rebates of property owners entitled to a rebate due to overpaid taxes or successful challenge to the amount of the government tax assessment. Defendant cooperated fully in the investigation. Virtually unprecedented was the pre-guilty plea lump sum restitution in the full amount of the loss. Thus, with the exception of the time value of the money, no financial loss was suffered by the County or the effected property owners. While most was paid by the client's parents, personal responsibility of client was assured by the signing of a promissory note to the parents and the preparation and execution of appropriate estate planning documents whereby client's share of the parent's estate was reduced dollar for dollar until and if client repaid them. The cooperation process included the solicitation of County officials by Mr. Heeney whereby client met personally with them , disclosed the details of how the crime was committed, and educated them of its massive security breach. The outcome of this cooperation is that there now is a more secure government system to protect from third party fraud in the property tax rebate system . Minutes of the meeting with the County officials were prepared for admission at the sentencing hearing to record the curative efforts. After guilty plea negotiations, the submission of a Sentencing Memorandum and sentence presentation by Mr. Heeney , the Court's sentence was an executed 18 months local time on a 5 year total sentence, recommendation to the Pre Release Center (Work out, Live in), 3 years unsupervised probation, and an on the record judicial promise of a Probation Before Judgment (PBJ) in the future, upon motion for modification, which will strike his criminal conviction and permit expungement of client's otherwise clean record.

• Defendant, a highly respected Montgomery County Police officer, was accused of Theft and lesser charges involving an alleged scheme over a seven year period by "double dipping". He was accused of receiving inflated paychecks for payroll hours he did not work as a night watchman for private secondary employers when he also received a police paycheck for the same hours worked. Motions were filed resulting in the dismissal of two of the five counts of the Indictment. Reams of discovery documents were received from the State totaling 20,000 pages. Using sophisticated document organization, control, and trial presentation software, Heeney and Arii, successfully analyzed the documents. Early on Mr. Heeney was quoted by the Washington Post in its 10/1/07 edition saying that "the two payroll systems are 'based upon records that make the overlap conclusion as unreliable as my golf handicap.'" As a result of plea discussions by Mr. Heeney and his partner Sei-Hee Arii, the two remaining Theft counts were dismissed by the State and a favorable "plea" agreement was reached whereby the officer entered a plea of Nollo Contendere to two lesser charges of Misconduct in Office and Failure to Obtain Approval for Secondary Employment. The officer was the only one to avoid a Guilty Plea. He received unsupervised probation. A Probation Before Judgment (i.e. no conviction) disposition was entered on the second charge. A Reconsideration of Sentence motion to obtain a Probation Before Judgment on the Misconduct in Office charge is pending before the Court.

• Possession With Intent to Distribute Marijuana (PWID) Not guilty jury verdict for 18 year old youngster arrested in the motor vehicle he was driving two acquaintances in. After a five day trial, the jury acquitted on the felony PWID, and convicted of the admitted misdemeanor of simple Possession of Marijuana. The police recovered: 13 individual 1 gram baggies of marijuana on the back seat floorboard next to Co-Defendant #1, 55 empty baggies in the front seat vehicle console, only $3.00 from the client, a small baggie with a small amount of the drug in client's pocket, and a larger bag with marijuana in the pocket of Co-Defendant #2 passenger in the front seat. Mr. Heeney's Cross examination of the State's PWID expert was designed to show the evidence was consistent with the client's lack of intent to distribute and consistent with a mere intention to use personally. The cross examination questions prepared by Mr. Heeney and his law partner Sei-Hee Arii is now considered a model cross examination of a PWID expert relegating the testimony to "junk science",was originated specially for this case and, was thereafter distributed to the defense bar across the state of Maryland who received it well.