Underdog Blog – Fairfax Criminal Defense Lawyer | Virginia DUI Attorney

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...

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 the second of a two-part article. The first part...

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...