Appealing from Virginia probation revocations & stricken 251’s

Appealing from probation revocations and stricken 251s – Virginia criminal lawyer addresses this option

Appealing from any loss in court is an important option to consider, including for probation revocations and stricken dispositions under Va. Code § 18.2-251 (also known as 251). As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that any feeling of dread over a probation revocation or stricken 251 needs quickly to be replaced with an action plan for whether and when to appeal.

Fairfax criminal lawyer on appealing from District Court proceedings for a de novo proceeding and one’s appeal rights to the Court of Appeals

Appealing from the foregoing proceedings is governed as follows In Virginia:

“Any person convicted in a district court of an offense not felonious shall have the right, at any time within ten days from such conviction, and whether or not such conviction was upon a plea of guilty, to appeal to the circuit court. There shall also be an appeal of right from any order or judgment of a district court forfeiting any recognizance or revoking any suspension of sentence.”

Va. Code § 16.1-132.

Consequently, when a 251 is stricken in a Virginia district court, the conviction period (and, therefore the ten-day appeal period) begins. When a district court judge revokes probation or any part of a suspended jail sentence, the same ten-day period for appealing to the Circuit Court begins.

When a Virginia circuit court judge revokes probation or strikes a 251 disposition, thirty days is the time period for appealing that disposition to the Virginia Court of Appeals. Va. Code § 19.2-400; Va. S. Ct. R. 5:14. (The Buck case that I blogged about earlier this week got to the Virginia Court of Appeals after the circuit court struck Buck’s 251 disposition for a probation violation, and entered a conviction.)

Virginia criminal defense attorney on the need to consider whether appealing might bring the defendant out of the frying pan and into the fire

As a Fairfax criminal defense attorney, I know that appeals can carry risks, challenges and expenses. It is very important that a convicted criminal defendant timely discuss the risks of appealing with a qualified lawyer, and that the defendant timely and correctly exercise his or her appeal option should s/he choose to appeal.

Virginia criminal defense lawyer Jonathan L. Katz pursues your best defense against prosecutions alleging felony, misdemeanor, DUI, and drug offenses. To discuss your case with Jon Katz, please call his staff at 703-383-1100 to schedule a confidential consultation.