10 Best Criminal Defense Attorneys in Belleville, IL

This guide covers 10 criminal defense attorneys and firms serving Belleville, St. Clair County, and the surrounding Metro East, including O’Fallon, Fairview Heights, Swansea, Collinsville, and East St. Louis. We evaluated each on relevant prior experience, such as service as an Assistant State’s Attorney, an Assistant Public Defender, a federal law clerk, or a federal magistrate judge, trial experience in the St. Clair County Courthouse and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, years practicing criminal law in the Metro East, whether criminal defense is the firm’s primary focus or one of several practice areas, and practical factors such as availability and payment options. When comparing options, ask three practical questions.

First, does the attorney regularly try cases before St. Clair County judges, and do they know how the St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s office handles your type of charge? Second, has the attorney worked inside the system as a prosecutor, public defender, or judicial clerk, and do they understand how the state builds its case? Third, for a DUI arrest, will the firm also file the petition to rescind your statutory summary suspension, which has its own 90-day deadline?

1. The Law Office of Jessica Koester, LLC

• Attorney/Key Figure: Jessica J. Koester, Founding Attorney
• Headquarters: 100 N. Main St., 2nd Floor, Suite 1, Edwardsville, IL 62025
• Phone: (618) 692-4900
• Website: koester-law.com
• Practice Areas: Criminal Defense exclusively: State and Federal Criminal Defense, Sex Crimes and Internet Crimes, Murder, Federal Fraud and White-Collar Crimes, Gun Crimes, Drug Crimes, Battery and Assault, Domestic Violence, DUI and Traffic, Juvenile Law, Theft, Probation Violations, Asset Forfeiture, Expungements, Orders of Protection
• Firm Size: Criminal-defense-only practice; founder has more than 25 years of experience and was named Litigator of the Year (2023) by the American Institute of Trial Lawyers
• Practice Area Page: Belleville Criminal Defense Lawyer

About the Firm: Jessica J. Koester has practiced for more than 25 years and devotes her firm exclusively to criminal defense in state and federal court across the Metro East, including St. Clair, Madison, and Bond Counties, with Belleville, O’Fallon, Collinsville, Granite City, and East St. Louis among the communities she serves. She began her career clerking at Lucco, Brown and Mudge, a firm with deep roots in Southern Illinois criminal defense, and she has built a practice handling the most serious charges, from homicide and sex offenses to federal fraud, drug trafficking, and gun cases. Koester has been named Litigator of the Year (2023) by the American Institute of Trial Lawyers, an Elite Lawyer in Criminal Defense (2022), one of the Top 10 in the Best of the Best Attorneys rankings, and a NACDA Top Ten criminal defense attorney, and she is listed by Super Lawyers for criminal defense in the Belleville area. Her phone line is answered 24 hours a day, and she offers evening and weekend appointments, which matters when someone has just been arrested. She also handles the related matters that follow a criminal case, including asset forfeiture, probation violations, orders of protection, and expungements.

2. Kuehn, Beasley & Young

• Attorney/Key Figure: Justin Kuehn, Jarrod Beasley, and Matt Young, Partners; Stephen Williams, Of Counsel
• Headquarters: 23 S. First St., Belleville, IL 62220
• Phone: (618) 277-7260
• Website: kuehnlawfirm.com
• Practice Areas: State and Federal Criminal Defense, Personal Injury
• Firm Size: Five-attorney Belleville firm whose of counsel is a former federal magistrate judge

About the Firm: Kuehn, Beasley & Young is a five-attorney Belleville firm that handles criminal defense in state and federal courts throughout Southern Illinois. Partner Justin Kuehn clerked for two federal judges in the Southern District of Illinois, and of counsel Stephen Williams is a former federal magistrate judge with more than seven years handling federal criminal cases. Partner Jarrod Beasley has been named a Super Lawyers Rising Star. That federal bench experience is unusual for a Belleville firm and particularly valuable in cases prosecuted at the federal courthouse in East St. Louis. The firm has been retained by members of the legal community, including police officers, lawyers, and judges, and it also handles cases in the Central District of Illinois and the Eastern District of Missouri. Initial consultations are free. Because the firm also maintains a personal injury practice, criminal defense is one of two main areas rather than its sole focus.

3. Madelyn Daley & Associates

• Attorney/Key Figure: Madelyn J. Daley, Founding Attorney
• Headquarters: 103 W. Main St., First Floor, Belleville, IL 62220
• Phone: (618) 233-8885
• Website: ilcriminallawfirm.com
• Practice Areas: Criminal Defense (DUI/DWI, Drug Charges, Traffic Violations, Federal Cases), Expungement and Sealing
• Firm Size: Belleville criminal defense firm; founder is a former Illinois Supreme Court law clerk and St. Clair County Assistant Public Defender

About the Firm: Madelyn J. Daley clerked for Illinois Supreme Court Justice James Heiple and has served as an Assistant Public Defender in St. Clair County, giving her years of daily experience in the same courthouse where Belleville criminal cases are heard. She is licensed in Illinois, Missouri, and Colorado and admitted to the federal courts for the Southern District of Illinois and the Eastern District of Missouri, and she has published on Fourth Amendment police discretion and constitutional protections. Her Fourth Amendment background is directly relevant to the suppression motions that often decide drug and DUI cases. The firm handles DUI, drug, and traffic charges, takes federal cases in Southern Illinois and the Eastern District of Missouri, and helps clients expunge or seal records once a case is over. Its focus is on DUI, drug, and traffic matters more than on complex white-collar cases.

4. Law Office of Michael J. Rousseau

• Attorney/Key Figure: Michael J. Rousseau, Founding Attorney
• Headquarters: One S. Church St., Suite 500, Belleville, IL 62220
• Phone: (618) 207-4670
• Website: mikerousseaulaw.com
• Practice Areas: Criminal Defense, Federal White-Collar Crime, DUI/DWI, Traffic Violations, Personal Injury, Real Estate Litigation
• Firm Size: Solo practice opened in 2004; founder is a former St. Clair County Assistant State’s Attorney and Assistant Public Defender with more than 24 years in criminal law

About the Firm: Michael J. Rousseau has practiced criminal law for more than 24 years and has worked on both sides of the courtroom in St. Clair County, first as an Assistant State’s Attorney and then as an Assistant Public Defender, before opening his own practice in 2004. That combination gives him an inside view of how prosecutors charge and negotiate cases and how defense strategies play out before local judges. His practice covers state criminal defense, DUI, and traffic matters, along with federal white-collar cases, where his finance degree is useful for analyzing financial records in fraud and embezzlement charges. As a solo practitioner, he handles cases personally, but he does not have the bench depth of a multi-attorney firm.

5. Courtney Clark Law, P.C.

• Attorney/Key Figure: Courtney Clark, Founding Attorney
• Headquarters: 104 S. Charles St., Belleville, IL 62220
• Phone: (618) 233-5900
• Website: courtneyclarklaw.com
• Practice Areas: Criminal Defense (DUI, Traffic, Drug Crimes, White-Collar Crimes, Violent Crimes, Domestic Violence, Sex Crimes), Divorce and Family Law, Elder Law, Personal Injury
• Firm Size: Belleville firm with decades of combined experience

About the Firm: Courtney Clark Law is a Belleville firm with decades of combined experience defending clients in negotiation and at trial in St. Clair, Madison, and Monroe Counties. Its criminal practice spans DUI and traffic charges, drug crimes, white-collar offenses such as embezzlement, fraud, and money laundering, violent crimes including murder and domestic violence, and sex crimes. The firm’s family law practice is useful when a domestic battery charge overlaps with an order of protection, divorce, or custody dispute. It offers free case consultations. Because it divides its time among criminal, family, elder law, and personal injury work, criminal defense is one of several focus areas.

6. Law Office of Grant T. Menges

• Attorney/Key Figure: Grant T. Menges, Founding Attorney
• Headquarters: 103 W. Main St., Belleville, IL 62220
• Phone: (618) 250-6322
• Website: 618criminaldefense.com
• Practice Areas: Criminal Defense (DUI/DWI, Drug Charges, Firearm Offenses, Robbery, Murder and Serious Felonies, Criminal Litigation)
• Firm Size: Solo criminal defense practice; founder is the former Chief of Litigation at the St. Clair County Public Defender’s Office

About the Firm: Grant T. Menges served as Chief of Litigation at the St. Clair County Public Defender’s Office, where he handled cases ranging from misdemeanors to the most serious felonies, including drug offenses, robbery, firearm charges, and murder. Leading litigation for the county’s public defenders means he has tried cases against St. Clair County prosecutors and before its judges many times over. His practice focuses on serious felonies alongside DUI and drug cases, and his trial-heavy background suits clients whose cases are likely to go before a jury. As a newer solo practice, it has a smaller team than the established multi-attorney firms on this list.

7. Flynn Guymon & Garavalia

• Attorney/Key Figure: Firm Partners
• Headquarters: 300 W. Main St., Suite 4, Belleville, IL 62220
• Phone: (618) 233-0480
• Website: flynnguymon.com
• Practice Areas: Criminal Defense (Misdemeanors and Felonies, Pre-Trial Motions and Evidence Suppression, Bail and Bond Hearings, Jury Trials, Sentencing Advocacy, Post-Conviction Relief, Expungement), plus the firm’s other practice areas
• Firm Size: Belleville firm with decades of experience in the Illinois criminal justice system

About the Firm: Flynn Guymon & Garavalia is a downtown Belleville firm with decades of experience in the Illinois criminal justice system, defending misdemeanor and felony charges in St. Clair County courts. Its criminal practice emphasizes an immediate defense strategy, aggressive motion practice to suppress improperly obtained evidence, and jury trials when cases cannot be resolved. The firm handles every stage of a case, from bail and bond hearings under Illinois’s pretrial release system through plea negotiations, trial, sentencing, and post-conviction relief, including expungement. Its website does not list individual attorney credentials for the criminal practice, so its experience is presented at the firm level.

8. Law Office of Jason B. Going

• Attorney/Key Figure: Jason B. Going, Founding Attorney
• Headquarters: 1803 N. Belt W., Belleville, IL 62226 (additional office in Sebastian, FL)
• Phone: (618) 408-1290
• Website: goinglawfirm.com
• Practice Areas: Felony Defense (Class X through Class 4, including Armed Robbery, Burglary, Sexual Assault, Murder, Arson, Theft), DUI/DWI, Traffic Violations, Personal Injury, Workers’ Compensation
• Firm Size: Belleville practice; founder named a Super Lawyers Rising Star
  

About the Firm: Jason B. Going leads a Belleville practice that defends felony charges across every Illinois classification, from Class X offenses such as armed robbery and certain sexual assaults down to Class 4 felonies, along with DUI and traffic cases. He has been named a Super Lawyers Rising Star and is listed among Belleville-area criminal defense attorneys in that directory. The firm holds a 5.0 Google rating and serves clients on Belleville’s west side from its North Belt West office. Because the practice also handles personal injury and workers’ compensation, criminal defense is one of several practice areas.

9. Cory E. Easton, Attorney at Law

• Attorney/Key Figure: Cory E. Easton, Attorney
• Headquarters: 117 N. Second St., Belleville, IL 62220
• Phone: (618) 418-3716
• Website: coryeastonattorney.com
• Practice Areas: Criminal Defense (DUI, Drug Crimes, Domestic Battery), Traffic Law, Family Law, Mediation
• Firm Size: Solo practice; founder has practiced in Southern Illinois since 1996

About the Firm: Cory E. Easton has practiced in Southern Illinois since 1996 and defends clients against DUI, drug, and domestic battery charges in St. Clair, Madison, and Monroe Counties from his downtown Belleville office. He is also a licensed mediator in St. Clair County. His family law and mediation practice is a practical complement in domestic battery cases, which often come with orders of protection and custody consequences. His office is available around the clock. As a solo practitioner who also handles family law, he has less bench depth than the larger criminal defense firms.

10. Johnston Law Offices, P.C.

• Attorney/Key Figure: Patrick G. Johnston, Managing Partner
• Headquarters: 420 S. Buchanan St., Edwardsville, IL 62025
• Phone: (618) 655-1234
• Website: pgjlaw.com
• Practice Areas: Criminal Defense (DUI/DWI, Felony Defense, Drug Crimes, Traffic Violations, Fraud and Forgery, Theft and Burglary, Assault and Aggravated Battery), Personal Injury, Workers’ Compensation
• Firm Size: Three-attorney Metro East firm; managing partner is a former Assistant State’s Attorney with more than 35 years of experience

About the Firm: Patrick G. Johnston is a former Assistant State’s Attorney with more than 35 years of experience, and he personally handles the firm’s criminal defense cases rather than delegating them to associates. His practice covers DUI, including repeat and underage offenses, drug possession and distribution, fraud and forgery, theft and burglary, and assault and aggravated battery, and he is listed by Super Lawyers among criminal defense attorneys serving the Belleville area. The firm is based in Edwardsville and represents clients across the Metro East, including St. Clair County. Because it also has a significant personal injury and workers’ compensation practice, criminal defense is one of several areas of focus.

Belleville, IL Criminal Defense Resources

• St. Clair County Circuit Clerk: #10 Public Square, Belleville. Maintains criminal court records and handles filings, including expungement and sealing petitions. Phone: (618) 277-6600.
• St. Clair County Courthouse: #10 Public Square, Belleville. Where state criminal cases for St. Clair County are heard.
• St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s Office: Prosecutes state misdemeanor and felony cases in St. Clair County.
• St. Clair County Public Defender’s Office: Represents defendants who cannot afford a private attorney, by court appointment.
• U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois (East St. Louis): The federal court where federal criminal cases arising in St. Clair County and the Metro East are heard.
• Illinois Secretary of State, Administrative Hearings: Handles driver’s license reinstatement and permit hearings after DUI suspensions and revocations.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens after a DUI arrest in Belleville?

A DUI arrest starts two separate cases: the criminal DUI charge in St. Clair County circuit court and a statutory summary suspension of your driver’s license. The suspension begins on the 46th day after notice and lasts 6 months for a first offender who failed a test or 12 months for a refusal. You have 90 days to file a petition to rescind, and first offenders can usually drive with a Monitoring Device Driving Permit and an ignition interlock. Attorneys such as Madelyn Daley and Patrick Johnston regularly handle both sides of a DUI case.

Is there still cash bail in Illinois?

No. Illinois’s Pretrial Fairness Act, part of the SAFE-T Act, ended cash bail in 2023. Most defendants are released with conditions, while prosecutors can seek detention for certain serious offenses, which triggers a hearing before a judge. Having an attorney at that first hearing can make a significant difference, and firms such as Flynn Guymon & Garavalia handle bail and pretrial release hearings.

Should I hire a former prosecutor or a former public defender?

Both bring valuable insight. A former Assistant State’s Attorney, such as Michael Rousseau or Patrick Johnston, understands how charging and plea decisions are made. A former public defender, such as Grant Menges, who led litigation at the St. Clair County Public Defender’s Office, has typically tried a large number of cases before local judges. The most important factor is whether the attorney regularly handles and tries cases like yours.

When do I need a federal criminal defense attorney?

Cases investigated by federal agencies such as the FBI, DEA, or ATF, including drug conspiracies, gun cases, and fraud, are prosecuted in the Southern District of Illinois federal court in East St. Louis. Federal cases follow different rules and sentencing guidelines and often carry mandatory minimums. Firms with federal experience, such as Kuehn, Beasley & Young, whose of counsel is a former federal magistrate judge, and Jessica Koester, are well suited to these matters.

Can I get my criminal record expunged in Illinois?

Often, yes. Illinois allows expungement of many arrests and charges that did not lead to a conviction, as well as certain supervisions, and allows sealing of many other convictions after a waiting period. Petitions are filed with the St. Clair County Circuit Clerk. Firms including Madelyn Daley & Associates and Flynn Guymon & Garavalia handle expungement and sealing petitions.

Should I hire an attorney based in Belleville or Edwardsville?

Belleville and Edwardsville are both in the Metro East, and many attorneys handle cases in both St. Clair and Madison Counties. A Belleville-based attorney is close to the St. Clair County Courthouse, while experienced Edwardsville attorneys such as Jessica Koester and Patrick Johnston regularly represent St. Clair County clients. What matters most is experience with the local judges and prosecutors handling your case.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or an endorsement. Attorney qualifications change over time. Verify all credentials and details independently before hiring counsel.