James N. Papirmeister

James N. Papirmeister opened the Law Offices of James N. Papirmeister, Esq., in Silver Spring, and Suitland, Maryland, to provide criminal defense services to those throughout Maryland and the District of Columbia. He defends those who have been accused of violent crimes, homicide, sexual offenses and rape, child abuse and child pornography, armed robbery, intoxicated driving (DUI), theft and embezzlement, traffic violations, drug possession or distribution, crimes against property and a variety of white-collar offenses.

Mr. Papirmeister earned his Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of Maryland in College Park in 1981. He then went on to attend the University of Maryland  School of Law in Baltimore and was awarded his Juris Doctor in 1985. Prior to going into private practice, Mr. Papirmeister served as a Judicial Law Clerk, then spent nine years as a prosecutor with the Office of the State's Attorney in Prince George's County. He then started his private criminal defense practice in 1996, and continues to the present time concentrating his practice in the area of criminal defense. All told, he has handled thousands of criminal cases for more than 30 years. He is admitted to practice in all courts throughout Maryland and the District of Columbia, including the U.S. District Court of Maryland and the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

James Papirmeister is particulary well known for handling numerous murder cases, sex offense cases, and especially for representing many professionals, such as Doctors, Lawyers, Ph.D's, athletes, and musicians and many other professionals charged with offenses such as DUI's, assaults, homicides, fraud, child pornography, sexual offenses, and many other crimes. His cases have been widely and often covered in major newspapers and television news. The Washington Post declared James Papirmeister to be "among criminal defense attorneys who are widely respected for their work". The Washingtonian Magazine declared him to be a "Top Lawyer" in criminal defense. One newspaper article dubbed Mr. Papirmeister as the "Minute Man" after he completed a streak of trial victories in First Degree Murder cases where three separate juries returned verdicts after just a few minutes of deliberations. 

In an effort to stay abreast of current developments in his practice area, Mr. Papirmeister is an active participant in several professional organizations, including the Prince George's County Bar Association, the Maryland Criminal Defense Attorneys' Association, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Bar Association of Montgomery County, Maryland. Since 1996, his peers have consistently rated him as AV Preeminent* through Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating obtainable. In addition to Washingtonian Magazine naming Mr. Papirmeister as one of the top criminal defense lawyers in the area for 2013-2017, lauding both his former skills as a prosecutor and his current prowess and excellent track record as a criminal defense attorney. The Washington Post also took note of Mr. Papirmeister's abilities in articles published in 1999 and 2000.

*AV Preeminent and BV Distinguished are certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the confidential opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell ratings fall into two categories: legal ability and general ethical standards.