Intox EC/IR II (Intox) testing is the sole breath test machine approved by the Virginia Department of Forensic Science (DFS) in DWI cases. As a Fairfax DUI lawyer, I know how essential it is to aggressively challenge the admissibility, reliability and meaning of such test...
Breath testing is the preferred method of alcohol testing by police officers in Virginia DWI cases. As a Virginia DUI lawyer, I know that a full-court press needs to be pursued against breath testing results in such cases. Breath testing is fallible both with the...
[caption id="attachment_80782" align="alignright" width="300"] Testifying in Virginia criminal court- Part II[/caption] Testifying in Virginia criminal court requires thorough and intelligent preparation Testifying for the criminal defense is no merely simple exercise of engaging in questions and answers, which I know as a Virginia criminal lawyer. This is...
Testimony in court by criminal defendants needs to be carefully and thoroughly prepared in tandem with the defendant's attorney. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that the decision whether to testify -- thus waiving the defendant's Fifth Amendment right to remain silent -- is...
Protecting the preliminary hearing (PH) right is critical, as underlined in my last blog entry. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that prosecutors sometimes will try to avoid a PH by direct indicting, by seeking a nolle prosequi/ non-prejudicial case dismissal (which cannot be...
Preliminary hearings in Virginia are an opportunity for the criminal defense lawyer to challenge "whether there is reasonable ground to believe that he committed" the alleged felony(ies). Va. Code § 19.2-218. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know how important is the preliminary hearing date...
Developing a persuasive defense story is vital for criminal defendants in all trials. As a Virginia DUI lawyer, I know that police in DWI trials often testify from a menu of a defendant's committing one or more moving violations; having an odor of alcohol; having...
Harmless error findings on appeal from a criminal conviction can preclude obtaining appellate relief. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer I know that trial victory is better than waiting for the long process in the Virginia Court of Appeals or commonwealth Supreme Court to see whether...
Impairment cannot usually be established by blood drug levels. As a Virginia DUI attorney, I know that the totality of the circumstances must be considered in determining whether a DWI defendant has been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, rather than resorting to the overly...
Confessing crimes is what police want from suspects. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that silence is golden, and that criminal suspects are playing with fire to talk with police -- if at all -- without the presence and assistance of a qualified lawyer....
Jury trial practice is the ultimate of criminal defense. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer I know that great criminal defense and cross examination teacher Terry McCarthy may have overstated that a non-jury trial is akin to a slow plea, but I have nonetheless experienced the...
Field testing and lab testing for marijuana ordinarily is essential before a prosecutor can obtain a marijuana possession or dealing conviction, unless the defense stipulates that the substance in fact is marijuana. As a Virginia criminal lawyer, I know that until the recent federal Farm...
Financial burdens from a Virginia DUI conviction always include attorney's fees, a court fine, court costs, VASAP, and the ignition interlock (initially) for restricted driving. As a Fairfax DUI lawyer, I know that other financial risks from a Virginia DUI conviction can include increased FR...
Videotape evidence is essential for a DUI lawyer/ criminal defense attorney to obtain, except in the rare circumstances where the evidence can be sufficiently expected to be more harmful than helpful AND where the prosecution will not have such evidence absent the defense's seeking it....
Incarceration time and convictions are what my clients and I fight mightily to avoid. Nonetheless, as a Virginia criminal attorney, I know that the jails have inmates, and they want to know when they will be released. In Virginia, non-mandatory minimum jail release dates are...
Enemies are obstacles that are found in abundance if a criminal defense lawyer wants to find them. However, as a Fairfax criminal attorney, I know that acquittals and other court victories are obtained by not getting bogged down by seeming enemies nor by apparently insurmountable...
Noncompliance proceedings are another name for allegations alleging probation violations in DUI cases. As a Virginia DUI lawyer, I know that such charges need to be fully defended. Common alleged violations that lead to noncompliance hearings include incurring new criminal charges or convictions arising from...
Minors are heavily protected under Virginia law against adults seeking sexual activity with them. As a Virginia criminal lawyer, I know that adults are prohibited from knowingly and intentionally doing the following with children under fifteen years old (and even with cops posing as such...
Navigating around potential Virginia DUI sentencing pitfalls is essential for a criminal defense lawyer. As a Virginia DUI lawyer, I look not only at ways to obtain an acquittal, but also at the DWI sentencing risks in the event of a conviction. Those risks might...
Split 5-4 capital punishment decisions will keep arising with the Supreme Court's hardcore death penalty greenlighters (Justices Thomas, Alito and Gorsuch), the usual remaining members of that five (Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Kavanaugh) and the four more "liberal" justices who at least question the...
