Underdog Blog – Fairfax Criminal Defense Lawyer | Virginia DUI Attorney

Dare to challenge a judge’s evidentiary ruling, and s/he might growl: "I have already ruled, counsel. Move it along." The judge may not be growling only to directly address the lawyer’s behavior, but  alsoto scare the lawyer’s client so much that the client will beg...

“What are my chances of winning or of no jail?” is a common question potential criminal defense and DWI clients ask me. When they come to me early on for Virginia cases, I have thin information on which to base my reply, although I do...

The middle finger never needs to be extended towards anyone. We have enough other fingers to gesture and point. Giving the finger is divisive in a world where we are all connected, and where the negative energy of giving the finger comes back to us...

During my first year as a public defender lawyer, I arrived at the courthouse at my customary early time at least an hour before the judge took the bench, and at the courtroom customarily early. On my way to the courtroom with my ten to...

How do United States courts get extraterritorial jurisdiction over criminal prosecutions for crimes allegedly committed outside the United States? How did a United States federal trial court get jurisdiction over the prosecution of Manuel Noriega (I was not yet a criminal defense lawyer when the U.S....

Last night, NBC’s Weekend Today interviewed me about the overkill school suspension of high school student Courtni Webb for writing a poem about the Newtown massacre, despite her never having handed in the writing. The segment aired December 30 around 8:20 a.m. My five-minute studio interview was...

"No" is an essential response by a police suspect who has no lawyer present. On the other hand, once they have lawyers, a slew of federal criminal suspects line up with their lawyers at prosecutors’ doors right away in the hopes of getting more favorable...

One would think that those driving with contraband would avoid having defective vehicle equipment — for instance burnt-out headlights and taillights — to reduce their risk of being stopped for traffic offenses. However, repeatedly my clients tell me that the police correctly reported such defects,...

Holiday time means more police on the lookout for people to arrest to meet their arrest quotas perceived obligations to the public. Watch out for speed traps, sobriety checkpoints, police watching for easy targets leaving bars, and more. Long ago, I lost track of the...

The National Criminal Defense College and the Trial Lawyers College heavily focus on storytelling throughout the trial. Most people organize their thoughts and decision making along storytelling lines. Most law schools try in a huge number of respects to teach students to unlearn their humanity,...