Underdog Blog – Fairfax Criminal Defense Lawyer | Virginia DUI Attorney

Good lawyer training sessions teach lawyers to persuade jurors by being in the roll of the thirteenth juror — figuratively in the jury box with the jurors, being an “us” rather than an other with the jury. This path is a two-way street, starting with...

Being human, jurors do not leave their biases at the door, nor do judge nor anyone else. The key is for them to overcome their biases as best they can. Congratulations to Franklin Taylor for winning a retrial today in his voluntary manslaughter case, based...

Whenever a criminal defendant faces sentencing on multiple counts, the defense lawyer should argue for concurrent, not consecutive, sentences. Congratulations to Charles Jefferson, Jr., for his appellate victory against the prosecution’s assertion that Virginia law does not allow concurrent — rather than consecutive — mandatory minimum...

Slews of people feel as emboldened to challenge a criminal defense lawyer's line of work as they do to challenge an elected politician, anytime, anywhere, and even as confrontationally as they wish. For me, this is an opportunity to get the word out on how...

"Don’t you know that litigation causes many lawyers heart attacks?", an experienced federal regulatory agency lawyer asked me when early on in law school I expressed an interest in a litigation career, including to fight for civil liberties. I suppose that heart attack risk might be higher...

Day in and day out, the vast majority of prosecutors, police and judges whom I see seem to treat court cases in a routine fashion. I say "seem", because that is how it looks from observation, even when they continually recognize inside themselves the grave consequences...

This blog entry is a reprint from an earlier posting, as I wind down this week’s vacation. This morning, a gaggle of geese crossing a busy street gave drivers a chance to step back from their Friday hustle-bustle.. John Johnson emphasized to me the importance...

At first blush, the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution looks like something slipped past legislators by skilled ACLU lobbyists slipping mickeys into legislators’ cocktails: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and...

See my interview in Tara Brach’s "Finding True Refuge" in mindfulness series. The series includes Krishna Das, Tsoknyi Rinpoche, U.S. House member Tim Ryan, and, of course, Tara Brach. My interview was taped in mid-June before the start of Tara’s weekly meditation gatherings that draw at least...

In criminal trials, the prosecutor has the burden of proof. Often the defense puts on no witnesses and fights for victory through arguing suppression, acquittal for insufficient evidence to prove a crime, and reasonable doubt. Just as the pause can be as important in a...