Public intoxication is overcharged in Virginia. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that an intoxicated in public conviction is not good for one's reputation, and the risks of fighting such prosecutions only involve hiring a lawyer, and paying court fines and costs. ...
Rescheduling marijuana away from being a Schedule I or even Schedule II drug, federally, is essential. A federal Schedule I controlled substance is a dangerous drug that has no recognized medicinal benefits; that is how marijuana currently is scheduled in federal law. A Schedule II...
Homicide is a risk of impaired driving, because in many ways, as Ralph Nader urged, cars can be unsafe at any speed. As a Virginia DUI attorney, I advise everyone to stay away from driving a motor vehicle for at least twenty-four hours after consuming...
Success in criminal court and elsewhere is not about winning with ideal and perfect circumstances. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that such success is about winning despite unanticipated hurdles, existing judges who run afoul of their oaths, police who don't accept that their...
Expert testimony often is crucial to criminal defendants, as I have seen many times as a Virginia criminal lawyer. Nonetheless, today the Virginia Court of Appeals confirmed that, in criminal trials, expert testimony on diminished mental capacity are limited to insanity defenses. Johnson v. Virginia,...
Trafficking in sex workers -- in terms of forcing and coercing women to engage in prostitution -- apparently is widespread in the United States. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I expect that such trafficking will be reduced by legalizing and regulating prostitution. In places where...
Persuading is an essential art in criminal defense. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that the courthouse battle can include clients, opposing witnesses, prosecutors and judges who are stressed, angry or even off their rocker (hopefully only as to the first three). Criminal defense...
Prosecutors heading Virginia county commonwealth's attorneys' offices run for periodic re-election. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I do not know of any chief Northern Virginia prosecutor who does not substantially go against my clients’ interests, and I am not going to disserve my clients nor...
PBT (preliminary breath test) testing is commonly requested by Virginia police before making a final determination whether to arrest a DUI suspect. As a Virginia DUI lawyer, I have on numerous occasions kept out PBT test results from judicial consideration and then convinced the trial...
Breasts are found on every human. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that it is common throughout the United States to criminalize fully baring female breasts other than for breast feeding. New Hampshire v. Lilley, 2019 WL 493721 (N.H., Feb. 8, 2019). The sky...
Leniency offers by cops abound in their efforts to convince criminal defendants to waive their Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that criminal defendants and criminal suspects should not communicate with police about their case without the presence...
Prosecutor elections in Virginia may not be seen by enough voters to be as serious as they are. As a Virginia criminal lawyer, I know that awesome powers rest in prosecutors to decide whether to prosecute or not, agreeing to bond or not, seeking capital...
Pretrial release for criminal defendants involves the defendant's promise to appear timely for all court dates, pretrial release conditions and/or cash bonds/ bail. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer speaking for my clients' interests, I want my asset-limited clients to not have to struggle to pay...
Self defense is a common defense in assault cases, in addition to claims that no assault happened in the first place, or that the defendant has been misidentified as the assailant. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know how harsh can be the consequences of...
Alcohol and drug programs are big business for DUI cases, other court cases, and non-court cases, employing a large percentage of people in Virginia and beyond. Yes, those programs often are better than if the only other choice is jai, but their very existence means...
Search warrants do not automatically preclude successful Fourth Amendment challenges. Today, Ian Christian Carlson happily saw that truism applied to his benefit. Carlson v. Virginia. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that police generally are barred from investigating for possible criminal activity by going...
Contraband abounds in terms of such material as weapons and drugs. As a Virginia criminal lawyer, I berate myself that after the bar exam and two years before becoming a criminal defense lawyer I made the error of bringing a friend's locked suitcase to Singapore...
Acquittal is the ideal goal of going to trial. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, my view is to go to trial rather than entering a guilty, no contest or Alford plea, where the benefits and possibly lower risks of doing otherwise are not...
Capital punishment in the United States has proceeded somewhat away from an arbitrary and capricious system that previously allowed judges rather than juries to decide a death sentence, and for people to be executed for crimes other than murder. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I...
Private prisons and private jails abound in the United States, and are popular with many investors. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, my concerns about private prisons include the risk that the prisons will put investors' profit interests above treating inmates right, and about possible limited...
