Attempts are not mere preparation, says Fairfax criminal lawyer

Attempts are not mere preparation, no matter how ugly are the allegations in the proseution. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I thank the Virginia Court of Appeals for making that clear, even in the face of reprehensible allegations that led to an attempted incest conviction, which the appellate court reversed. Atkins v. Commonwealth of Virginia, ___ Va. App. ___ (2025). “’The difference between preparation and attempt lies between an act in preparation of a crime—one yet to take place or commence—and an act in the commission of a crime. ‘… ‘Preparation alone is not enough, there must be some appreciable fragment of the crime committed, it must be in such progress that it
will be consummated unless interrupted by circumstances independent of the will of the attempter, and the act must not be equivocal in nature.'” Atkins (citations omitted).

Attempts are crimes, but mere preparation is not, even when that preparation is to commit incest

Even though I know I am on the side of the angels as a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I came close to hurling when reading Atkins. If the allegations against him and his incestuous attempts are true, I would not want him to be within a million miles of me, his relatives, nor anyone else. Atkins says he arranged for his granddaughter to visit him, and then kept urging her to perform oral sex on him and to engage in sexual intercourse. Atkins saved himself by only using words. He did not raise his voice, did not make any physical advances on his granddaughter, and did not touch him. His granddaughter’s repeated responses of “I can’t do that pawpaw” sound so scripted as if this same conversation may have played out many times before or, worse, she may have been the victim of incest before. She secretly recorded this interaction, which both secured his conviction, but also obtained his appellate win.

An effective Virginia criminal defense lawyer anticipates and addresses the passions that can get stirred in a judge and jurors from vile human acts

Atkins’s attempts with his granddaughter to engage in sexual activity — coupled with plying her with soda, the reward of money for sex and the penalty of cutting off money for no sexual activity — would make any person lose their lunch, for starters. An effective Virginia criminal defense lawyer needs to know how to handle that, because the passions of jurors and even some judges might cloud their ability to serve their oaths to follow the law, which includes not convicting if not all elements are met. Neither Atkins’s trial judge nor jury did that. Praised be the appellate court for giving him the justice that the law requires. Although it is hard to sympathize with Atkins’s right to benefit from the exisitng law, to do otherwise threatens the rights of all of us.

What should I do if charged with a particularly ugly Virginia criminal offense?

If you are prosecuted for an alleged Virginia criminal offense, including a sex offense, I am at the ready to defend you. I signed on as a Virginia criminal defense lawyer not only to defend less offensive alleged crimes (for instance a first-time alleged minor Virginia DUI offense or a small potatoes alleged drug deal), but to fully defend even those I am convinced committed attempts or completions of even the most reprehensible and even violent of offenses. Why? It is not enough for me to say that by defending the worst alleged crimes I am defending all of our rights (which I am), but is the recognition of the humanity of every person, the need to keep the criminal justice system as honest as possible, and the reality that few great Virginia criminal defense lawyers become great only by handling the easier and less damned cases, for starters.

Fairfax criminal lawyer Jonathan Katz relentlessly pursues your best defense against Virginia DUI, felony and misdemeanor prosecutions, backed up by successful experience defending hundreds of defendants at trial, and defending thousands of accused people in total. Your first start to a great defense is contacting Jon Katz’s staff for your free in-person strictly confidential initial consultation about your court-pending trial. Usually Jon can meet with you within a business day of your contacting us at 703-383-1100, Info@KatzJustice.com, and (text) 571-406-7268.