Jon Katz’s victories

Plea negotiations are a vital part of criminal defense. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that ideally no innocent person will plead guilty, no contest / nolo contendere, or Alford, and that people who committed crimes should not automatically deviate from pleading not guilty. In...

Exploiting the absence of essential prosecution witnesses is essenital for the accused. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that such absence does not always mean victory, because sometimes the witness shows up after all, sometimes the prosecutor finds a workable alternative witness or peace...

Blinders repeatedly arise with police -- usually in the form of willful ignorance about language challenges, balance and other physical issues, and failure to follow the Virginia Department of Forensic Science (DFS) mandate to inspect a DUI suspect's mouth for foreign substances at least twenty...

Resonating with judges and jurors is critical for your Virginia criminal defense lawyer to pursue. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I take this approach often by integrating my lawyer role with communicating beyond that role, as a regular human being with laser focus on why...

Narrowing reliance on police testimony is an important pursuit for criminal defense lawyers. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I expect many judges, jurors and prosecutors to treat the testimony of most law enforcement officers (LEOs) as worthy of reliability. In that regard, it was wonderful...

Settlements can only be earned, but are never owed to you. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that Virginia defendants often expect to be offered a plea deal, and want it to be a desirable plea deal. However, nothing in the law requires a...

Avoding voluntary police testing can spell the difference between acquittal and conviction. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that when, for instance, police suspect a person of violating Virginia Code § 18.2-266  (driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol and/or drugs or driving while...

Recklessly driving is a superior conviction to a conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs under Virginia Code § 18.2-266.  As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I here relate two successes in Fairfax City General District Court in converting two high BAC DUI convictions...

Stalking prosecutions rear their ugly head all too often. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I slayed not only such a prosecution, but also the parallel protective order trial that followed in the Fairfax courthouse. Acquittals are not a given, and protective order trials are harder...

Converting high BAC Virginia DUI prosecutions under Virginia Code § 18.2-266 to wet reckless dispositions can be accomplished, with the right defense. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I recount one instance in Fairfax County General District Court of obtaining a wet reckless where my client's...