Criminal Law Solicitor for County Wexford
If you have been charged, summonsed or told to expect a court date anywhere in County Wexford, the weeks before your first appearance decide how prepared you will be when your name is called. Rafter Solicitors is a criminal defence practice based in Kilkenny that takes on cases in County Wexford, from a first appearance at Wexford or Gorey District Court through to matters sent forward for trial.
What a criminal law solicitor does for a Wexford client
Most people who contact us from Wexford, Gorey, Enniscorthy or New Ross have one of three things in hand: a summons that arrived by post, a charge sheet from a garda station, or a letter saying a file is with the Director of Public Prosecutions. Each one starts a timetable, and the first job is to work out exactly what you are facing, what the prosecution has to prove, and what has to happen before the first court date.
From there the work is practical. We take your full account in a consultation, request the evidence the prosecution intends to rely on, and look at whether the way you were stopped, searched, arrested or questioned was done as the law requires. Where a client was interviewed at a garda station without a solicitor, we go back over what was said and how it was recorded. We prepare you for what the judge will ask and what will be said on your behalf, and we deal with the court office and the prosecution so that you are not trying to follow a process that is unfamiliar to you.
If you are still at the detention stage rather than the court stage, our garda station interview page for County Wexford explains what happens before and during questioning.
Your first court date in Wexford, and what comes after it
In County Wexford, District Court business sits at Wexford Courthouse on Belvedere Road in Wexford town and at Gorey Courthouse in the Gorey Civic Centre on The Avenue. A first appearance is usually short. The charge is read, the question of bail is dealt with if it has not been already, and the case is adjourned so that disclosure can be made and a decision taken on how it proceeds. For a defendant who cannot afford representation, an application for criminal legal aid is made to the court at that stage; whether it is granted depends on your means and on the seriousness of the charge.
Many offences are dealt with in full in the District Court. More serious matters are sent forward to the Circuit Court, and some cannot be dealt with summarily at all. The position for your own case depends on the charge and on current law, which is why we give an honest view in consultation rather than in general terms on a web page. Our District Court glossary sets out the words you are likely to hear, from remand and adjournment to bench warrant and summons.
Court work across County Wexford from a Kilkenny practice
County Wexford is the Wexford County Council area, and its court venues, garda stations and clients are spread from Gorey in the north to New Ross on the Barrow and Wexford town on the harbour. Rafter Solicitors is based at 26 James Street in Kilkenny, and we attend Wexford court sittings for clients in the county; consultations take place at our Kilkenny office, by phone or by video, whichever suits the stage the case is at.
Our principal, Alexander Rafter, handles criminal defence work personally. The practice attends garda stations around the clock, represents clients in the District Court, prepares the strategy for serious offences going to trial, and advises on applications to have a conviction overturned. That is the full range a Wexford case may need, from the first conversation to the final hearing.
Wexford clients often ask whether a matter can be dealt with at the first listing. Occasionally it can, but in most cases the first date sets the timetable rather than ending the case, and the useful work happens between listings: obtaining the evidence, taking instructions properly and deciding how the case should be run. We tell you at each stage what the next date is for and what you need to do before it.
To talk through a charge or a summons in County Wexford, use the contact page to arrange a consultation with Rafter Solicitors. The first conversation is a no-obligation discussion of your situation; if both sides decide to proceed, you receive a letter of engagement setting out the terms before any work begins.
Towns we cover in County Wexford
Pages for towns in County Wexford: Bunclody, Courtown, Enniscorthy, Gorey, New Ross, Rosslare, Wexford Town.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Sound legal advice is based on years of training, hard work, and passion, as well as familiarity with legislation and precedent and sound consideration. You’ll find all that and more at Rafter Solicitors.
- 26 James Street, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland
Written by Alexander Rafter, Solicitor. Last reviewed October 2026.
This page is general information, not legal advice. The position depends on the circumstances of each case and on current law.
In contentious business, a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.
