Audrey A. Creighton
Top rated Criminal Defense attorney in Rockville, Maryland
Law Offices of Audrey A. Creighton
Practice Areas: Criminal Defense, DUI-DWI, White Collar Crimes; view more
Licensed in Maryland since: 1987
Education: University of Baltimore School of Law
Languages Spoken: English, Spanish
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2023 - 2025 Call today:
240-551-9774
Free Consultation Law Offices of Audrey A. Creighton
15 W Montgomery Ave#202
Rockville, MD 20850 Visit website
Details
Audrey A. Creighton is the owner and an attorney at the law firm of Attorney Audrey A. Creighton located in Rockville, Maryland. She concentrates her practice on criminal defense matters, involving DUI/DWI, serious traffic violations, drug charges, sex crimes, white collar crimes and expungements. She also takes on cases that involve personal injury, simple wills and mediation.
Ms. Creighton has a genuine concern for her clients with an unwavering commitment to their needs and best interests. Compassionate and professional, she understands the negative effects that her clients face when accused of wrongdoing. She fights aggressively for their rights and liberties both inside and outside the courtroom. She keeps communication lines open and listens keenly to her clients’ issues.
With a major in English, Ms. Creighton received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Maryland College Park. She studied law at the University of Baltimore School of Law and obtained her Juris Doctor in 1986. She is licensed to practice in Maryland and before the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. While in law school, she was an editor of the university’s Law Forum.
After law school, Ms. Creighton clerked for a renowned judge at the Maryland Court of Special Appeals. In addition to her law practice, she served as an adjunct law professor at the American University’s Washington College of Law.
Between 2010 and 2015, Ms. Creighton served as a judge at the District Court of Maryland for Montgomery County and later at the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, making her the second Hispanic judge in Montgomery County and the fourth Hispanic judge in the state. Before this, she served as an assistant public defender at the Montgomery County Maryland Office of The Public Defender.
Actively involved in the legal field, Ms. Creighton is a member of the Maryland State Bar Association, the Bar Association of Montgomery County, The Bar Association of Frederick County, the Maryland Criminal Defense Attorneys’ Association, the Maryland Hispanic Bar Association, for which she served as president, and The National Trial Lawyers.
Honored for her legal contributions, Ms. Creighton is the recipient of the Leadership Award and the Appreciation Award for Outstanding Service and Dedication to Excellence by the Maryland Hispanic Bar Association. She was also named the Outstanding Committee Chair of the Year by the Montgomery County Bar Association. She has received a 10/10 rating on Avvo.
Practice areas
Criminal Defense, Criminal Defense: DUI/DWI, Criminal Defense: White CollarFocus areas
Arrest & Arraignment, Assault & Battery, Criminal Domestic Violence, Criminal Fraud, Criminal Law, Criminal Law - Federal, DUI/DWI, Drug & Alcohol Violations, Expungement, Failure to Pay Child Support, False Accusations, Felony, Juvenile Delinquency, Misdemeanor, Motor Vehicle Offenses, Murder, Overdrawn Bank Account, Parole, Probation, Sex Offenses, Theft, Traffic Violations, White Collar Crime
- 50% Criminal Defense
- 30% Criminal Defense: DUI/DWI
- 20% Criminal Defense: White Collar
First Admitted: 1987, Maryland
Professional Webpage: https://www.audreycreightonlaw.com/attorney/creighton-audrey...
- Maryland Hispanic Bar Association since 2000, MHBA President 2003-2004, 2020
- National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ), 2000-2014
- Maryland Statewide High School Mock Trial Competition, Judge, 2006 – 2010
- Maryland Woman’s Bar Association Board of Directors, 2010
- State Bar Association Bar President’s Conference
- Character Committee of the Court of Appeals of Maryland for the Seventh Circuit, 2008 – 2010
- U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, 1988
- Maryland, 1987
- Maryland Criminal Defense Attorney Association since 2005, 2020
- Bar Association of Frederick County, MD since 2015, 2020
- Bar Association Montgomery County member since 2002, Bar Leader since 2006, Executive Committee 2005-07, BAMC Secretary 2008, BAMC Treasurer 2010, 2020
- Maryland State Bar Association Member since 2009, Maryland State Bar Association Fellow since 2013, 2020
- National Trial Lawyers Association, "Top 100 Trial Lawyers" 2020, 2020
- Defended a first degree murder/rape case for a twenty six year old immigrant from Guatemala. The case had been in litigation for four years. Since Maryland no longer has the death penalty, he was facing multiple life sentences. I handled the first trial in 2015 which resulted in a mistrial. We raised and preserved interesting legal issues for the defense that went up to the appellate courts. The case was remanded for a new trial. Before the second trial but after we prevailed on important pretrial evidentiary motions arguments, the State offered my client a revised plea deal. The Defendant accepted the plea deal and entered a guilty plea to reduced charges and a limit on sentencing. The result of the plea deal is that he will be released in 30 years when he is about 56 years old. Upon his release he will return to Guatemala., 2019
- I have a variety of educational videos that may be accessed through my website or directly through the internet on youtube., Youtube Videos, 2017
- Won an acquittal in a Protective Order Violation case and thereby enabled father and son to be together. Client/father is from Italy. He met his wife online and married soon thereafter when she became pregnant. After their son was born, the marriage deteriorated and a bitter divorce and child custody proceedings ensued. Wife charged client with, among other spurious claims, violating a stay away order when he dropped off Christmas presents at her apartment complex office for the child. At stake was the client/father/legal resident but non-citizen's 's ability to stay in the United States to conclude the family custody case. I won a not guilty verdict and thus enabled the client/father the ability to stay in the United States to pursue custody of his son., 2020
- Was instrumental in forcing the State to drop charges for a "Fourth Offender" DUI case with a multitude of issues involving false statements, a false police statement, a client with a heart condition who had passed out behind the wheel after being forced off the road by another driver and striking a guardrail, a very low blood alcohol level, and questionable methods used by police at the hospital to draw blood., 2020
- Walked a "Fourth Time" DUI client out of court with probation. I prepared this client like I do for all of my repeat offender DUI clients. I had him do a period of inpatient rehabilitation at an alcohol facility, attend an alcohol aftercare program, attend alcoholics anonymous everyday and obtain a psychological therapist. He was very successful in treatment and per my instruction, had mapped all of his progress with documentation to show the judge. Per my instructions, he also brought character witnesses into court who could attest to the fact that he was sober since his arrest., 2019
- Won a not guilty verdict in a DUI case where a non-English speaker form Korea was asked to perform field sobriety tests without the benefit of a Korean interpreter. The State argued that he understood the tests based on the demonstrations by police. I persuaded the Court that without the benefit of a Korean interpreter he was not afforded a fair explanation of what was required to properly perform the tests and that had he understood the instructions he would have successfully completed them., 2018
- Negotiated an extremely favorable plea deal for a client charged with attempted first degree murder as a result of slashing the throat of a woman he was trying to rob. The slash to her neck just missed her carotid artery and resulted in her being flown by helicopter to shock trauma. He was facing a sentence of life plus sixty years, but as a result of thorough investigation revealing weaknesses in the State's case I negotiated a plea deal to that resulted in a sentence of thirty years of which he would serve approximately one half before he would be eligible for parole., 2018
- Negotiated an extremely favorable plea deal for a client facing 32 years in prison for sex trafficking and related charges. He served only twenty one days in the local jail and was able to choose when he began the sentence., 2017
- Won a DUI trial for a 67 year old "Second Offender" where the legal issue was lack of probable cause for arrest. The police had responded to an unsubstantiated tip of bad driving and had no corroboration or personal observation of bad driving. The client had already completed an alcohol program before the trial per my instructions and had an interlock installed on his car in the event he was convicted., 2016
- Walked a "Seventh Time" DUI offender out of court with probation and no jail. I had this client do extensive alcohol treatment before court. The State had problems with the strength of their case which enabled me to work out an extremely favorable plea deal. Although the plea deal did not preclude the judge from imposing jail time on my client I persuaded him not to., 2016
- As a community service to the Hispanic community, since I began private practice in 2015, I have routinely handled between one and three cases per month for a nominal fee. While I understand that the Maryland Office of the Public Defender represents indigent clients free of charge, I take Spanish cases for a nominal fee under special circumstances. Examples of special circumstances are where a client either is terrified of the government, or has not applied to the Public Defender in sufficient time, or is simply too overwhelmed to go through the process of applying for a Public Defender, or has possible immigration consequences connected with the case that require careful consultation with immigration counsel., 2020
- Since I began my private practice in 2015, in addition to my private cases, I have taken cases for the Maryland Office of the Public Defender. The number of cases I take for the Public Defender depends on my availability. Mostly, the Public Defender asks me to handle cases for Spanish speakers. I am paid for my legal services at whatever rate the State offers. It is a much lower rate than what I would charge for a private client., 2020
- I spent more than 100 hours representing a lawyer pro bono for one and one half years that was facing disbarment proceedings for multiple complaints with multiple charges of ethical violations. The cases involved numerous written pleadings that I prepared and responded to over many months. I represented her at a seven hour hearing defending against three complaints before a Peer Review Board. I called six attorney witnesses for her defense and won the hearing., 2019
- Maryland Hispanic Bar Association Leadership Award, 2010
- Outstanding Committee Chair of the Year- Diversity Committee and Specialty Bars Event: "Party Around the World", Outstanding Committee Chair of the Year, Montgomery County Bar Association, 2008
- Appreciation Award for Outstanding Service and Dedication to Excellence, Maryland Hispanic Bar Association, 2005
- B.A. English from The University of Maryland, 1982
- I am a retired judge. I co-taught a law class in Spanish with another judge who is also bilingual at a Washington D.C. area law school on the criminal justice system in the United States. The class participants were judges and lawyers from various countries throughout South America. It was lecture format with question and answers at the end of each section., Co-taught a class to non-English speaking judges and lawyers from South America, Law Professor, 2016
- After serving as a judge on the District Court of Maryland and the Montgomery County Circuit Court I opened my private practice in 2015 handling a variety of cases throughout Maryland. I have an average active caseload of approximately fifty cases at any given time and appear in court most days. I have devoted the past five years to growing my practice and giving my clients the best representation possible. While many of my clients speak English, I am completely fluent in Spanish and offer my Spanish speaking clients the added service of being able to discuss the law and details of their cases completely in Spanish. I have handled hundreds of cases for Spanish speaking clients with great success since I opened my private practice. My clients get the benefit of my fluency in Spanish backed by my 33 years of experience. This winning combination has been very effective and has been of great comfort to many immigrants and their families., 2020
- President of the Maryland Hispanic Bar Association 2003-2004
Office location for Audrey A. Creighton
15 W Montgomery Ave
#202
Rockville, MD 20850
Phone: 240-551-9774
Selections
- Super Lawyers: 2023 - 2025
