Underdog Blog – Fairfax Criminal Defense Lawyer | Virginia DUI Attorney

In Virginia Circuit Court, a criminal trial will be by jury unless both sides agree to waive a jury. The jury selection process is critical, not only to weed out the least fair potential jurors, but to identify such potential jurors in the first place,...

On March 5, 2017, I blogged about the importance of challenging criminal laws for vagueness and overbreadth. The very next day, the United States Supreme Court confirmed the overbreadth doctrine as it applies to statutes, but said that Due Process vagueness challenges do not apply...

Soon after breathing a sigh of relief from being released from prison. criminal defendants then realize that their probation period will be no picnic. Rarely is probation any less of a picnic than for those convicted of sex felonies. Consider Charles D. Douglas's situation. For...

Any time a criminal defendant is charged with multiple offenses, it is time for the defendant's lawyer to check for double jeopardy issues. Double jeopardy protection not only applies against being tried twice on different occasions for the same offense -- U.S. Const. Amend. V...

Today, the United States Supreme Court (ruling 5-3) made headway against juror racism. Peña-Rodriguez v. Colorado, ___ U.S. ___ (March 6, 2017). Generally, under Peña-Rodriguez, if a juror's words show reliance on racism to convict, the usual prohibition is lifted against being able to impeach...

Every time I visit a client in the Fairfax County, Virginia, jail evening lawyer visiting section, I cringe over the first of three booths, with a sign that it is reserved for ICE (immigration and customs enforcement) interviews. I cringe not because this means that...

Do we as a society want to tolerate police engaging in oral sex and sexual intercourse with prostitutes in order to nab them, smoking crack with addicts to arrest them, and busting heads of rival gangs to arrest members of gangs to which the police...

When I started doing criminal defense in 1991, I was reminded that drug cases often are won or lost by whether the drugs get suppressed. Seeking suppression of physical evidence is important in any criminal case alleging possession of contraband, and beyond, which is why...

Virginia's 2017 legislative session concluded with the following two important criminal law bills: 1. On February 18, 2017, I blogged that legislative efforts failed to exempt marijuana 251 dispositions (enabling an ultimate dismissal of a drug possession charge after a finding of facts sufficient to...

Being convicted of a crime is no picnic. When a probation agent is involved, the picnic can seem to gather even more red ants. Talk about potential and actual sentencing with criminal defendants often focuses so much on the length of active jail time --...