Underdog Blog – Fairfax Criminal Defense Lawyer | Virginia DUI Attorney

At the Trial Lawyers College, I learned that its founder Gerry Spence is at once an incredibly powerful persuader, very in touch with his strengths and weaknesses, and ready to reveal his vulnerabilities. This started out as simply with Gerry's voicing his disappointment that "Nobody...

A prosecutor recently pointed out "You always smile when you object" when we try cases together. I replied that I smile while firing my proverbial bullets, and mentioned the great World War II movie scene where the American soldier calmly smiles in the moment, while...

The battle lines are drawn. Prosecutors and police are not the friends of the criminal defense. Judges are at best the referees. A criminal defendant needs an able lawyer at all stages of the prosecution.

A poker face is preferable with negotiations, so that the opponent does not see when the criminal defense lawyer is flinching or exulting. A good example from cinema is in Pretty Woman, where Richard Gere's and Julia Roberts's characters arrive at an agreed price for...

In this day and age of quality and relatively inexpensive recording devices, Virginia should join the 21st century by having its District Courts record their proceedings. Until that day comes, I will bring a court reporter or my audio recorder, depending on the situation.

None of us are safe from being prosecuted, making effective assistance of criminal counsel essential. Too many politicians, police and prosecutors have a penchant for painting the criminal law in terms of black and white: "You do the crime, you do the time;"

Virginia's Court of Appeals asserted this week that it complied with Supreme Court case law when permitting a warrantless blood draw in a DWI case where the defendant was neither asked whether he would take the test nor refused. I disagree. Wolfe v. Virginia, ___...

A DWI conviction is bad enough. If one drives DWI and in the process injures another person, the situation is all the more serious. In Virginia, it is a Class 6 felony (jailable up to five years) to drive DWI in a manner causing permanent...

In Virginia, willfully failing to appear for a felony court date is a Class 6 felony, jailable up to five years with a fine up to $2,500.00 Willfully failing to appear for a misdemeanor case is a Class 1 misdemeanor, jailable up to one...