Carl Spector - Ridgewood, NJ

Carl S. Spector is a Bergen County criminal defense and DWI attorney with nearly four decades of legal experience, including service as a New York Assistant District Attorney and New Jersey municipal prosecutor. As founder of the Law Office of Carl Spector in Ridgewood, New Jersey, he represents clients facing DWI/DUI, criminal charges, domestic violence allegations and serious traffic offenses throughout Northern and Central New Jersey, as well as New York.

Mr. Spector has practiced law since 1986 and has concentrated on criminal defense since 1992. During his career, he has represented thousands of clients in municipal, state, and federal courts. His practice includes DWI and refusal charges, drug offenses, assault, domestic violence, theft and fraud allegations, gun charges, shoplifting, juvenile offenses, serious traffic violations, license-suspension matters, and indictable criminal cases. He has also defended clients in complex felony cases, including cases involving allegations of arson and homicide.

Mr. Spector’s experience is distinguished by his service on both sides of the criminal justice system. He began his legal career in the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office in New York, where he served as an Assistant District Attorney for six years. He worked in the Criminal Court Bureau, Felony Evaluation Unit, and Narcotics Bureau and prosecuted cases ranging from misdemeanors to serious felony and homicide matters.

Mr. Spector later served for three years as Municipal Prosecutor for the Borough of Fair Lawn in Bergen County, New Jersey. In that position, he prosecuted DWI cases, traffic violations, disorderly-persons offenses, drug charges, domestic-violence matters, and other municipal offenses. He subsequently served as an alternate public defender for Fair Lawn.

His combined experience as a New York Assistant District Attorney, New Jersey municipal prosecutor, public defender, and private criminal defense attorney gives him an informed understanding of how police officers investigate cases, how prosecutors evaluate evidence, and how criminal and DWI charges are prepared for negotiation or trial.

Mr. Spector earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He received his Juris Doctor degree from Nova Southeastern University in 1986. He is admitted to practice law in New Jersey and New York and is an inactive member of the Florida Bar. His federal admissions include the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey and the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.

In addition to his courtroom practice, Mr. Spector has taught and written about criminal law. He served as an adjunct professor at Strayer University, lectured for continuing legal education programs, and presented courses to other attorneys on criminal procedure, courtroom advocacy, and the handling of criminal cases. His teaching and publications include “The Anatomy of a Criminal Law Case” and “Criminal Cases from Arrest to Trial in New York.”

Mr. Spector’s professional recognition includes selection among the National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Criminal Defense Trial Lawyers and multiple Avvo Clients’ Choice awards. He has been associated with professional organizations including the New Jersey State Bar Association, New York State Bar Association, New York Criminal Bar Association, National College for DUI Defense, and New Jersey State Bar Foundation.

Through the Law Office of Carl Spector, he provides personalized criminal and DWI defense representation to clients in Bergen County and throughout northern and central New Jersey, as well as in New York. His approach emphasizes thorough preparation, careful analysis of police evidence, regular client communication, and defense strategies tailored to the facts of each case.