Larceny / theft / false pretenses / embezzlement / financial fraud (collectively "larceny" or "theft") prosecutions threaten one's reputation, career path, immigration status, and security clearance options, let alone the serious sentencing consequences that can come from a larceny conviction. As a Fairfax criminal...
Underage drinkers and users of false identification risk prosecution under statutes that carry possible jail time. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that the days are over when the legal drinking age in many states through the 1980's was eighteen, and when using a...
Prevailing over the odds and obstacles is what I strive for as a Fairfax criminal lawyer. This means not looking for a fair playing field, a judge who will help me obtain justice, a prosecutor who will not have ice in his or her veins,...
Harmless error analysis often is used by appellate courts to deny relief to criminal defendants. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that sometimes appellate courts find the trial evidence of a criminal defendant's guilt so overwhelming as to make it unnecessary to provide relief...
Clicking an Internet link from a questionable source can be a risky proposition. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that images run rampant online that can be prosecuted and convicted as child pornography, obscenity, or both. Moreover, clicking even one website with such content...
Barring criminal defense witnesses is a risk for a trial judge. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know the importance of convincing the judge to permit defense witnesses to testify and to preserve the appellate record in the event the trial court bars any defense...
Nude photo requests by adults to minors is a crime in Virginia. As a Fairfax criminal defense lawyer, I know that even if the seeming minor is not a minor but the requestor has reason to believe it is a minor, that is still a...
Massacres and mass violence this past weekend dominated the news. Mass murders have become so frequent that if I blogged about each one, this would become a massacre blog rather than a Fairfax criminal lawyer blog. Mass murders do not merit more attention than individual...
Sex offender registration requirements in Virginia make it a crime for those with applicable sex crime convictions not to register and re-register as a sex offender as required under the law. As a Virginia criminal lawyer, I know that those required to so register prefer...
Computer monitoring by police for unlawful Internet activity is rampant, including police impersonating children online, seeking to catch pedophiles for prosecution, conviction and imprisonment. As a Virginia criminal lawyer, I both decry adults seeking sexual activity with minors, and abhor the overly harsh sentencing that...
Choosing a Fairfax DUI lawyer or criminal attorney is a critically important decision. Here are some things to consider in making that choice: Criminal defense work is not for the faint of heart. As a Fairfax DUI lawyer / criminal attorney, I know that this...
Sex offender reporting of the mandatory sort is what awaits Virginia residents convicted of crimes requiring sex offender registration. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that such mandatory reporting includes providing "electronic mail address information, any instant message, chat or other Internet communication name...
Risking bringing marijuana into Virginia or handguns out of the commonwealth brings serious prosecution exposure. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that such behavior is common in the Northern Virginia / Capital Beltway region, where one can find himself or herself in a different...
Federal court DUI and misdemeanor defense is different from Virginia state court misdemeanor defense in several ways, including that federal court does not provide the option for a new trial on appeal, unlike the Virginia state system that entitles a defendant to a new trial...
False reporting of a crime to police is a crime in itself. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that such reporting is all too common, and too much of my clients suffer from such lies. Unfortunately, it is not paranoia for us to keep...
Clothed children do not automatically preclude a child pornography conviction. As a Virginia criminal lawyer, I know that this analysis starts with whether the image depicts a nude child or else a clothed child with a nude adult. Dustin Allan Ele, Sr., learned that...
Obstruction of justice is among the least desirable Virginia Class 1 misdemeanor to be convicted of, versus the less serious-sounding crimes of disorderly conduct or trespassing. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that charges of obstruction of justice and disorderly conduct can be catch-all...
Trump is a polarizing president, which I predicted he would be during the 2016 presidential campaign season. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer and individual, I recognize the importance of not repeatedly reacting to Trump in his desire to set the discussion agenda, and instead to...
Appearing in criminal court alone can be dicey depending on the circumstances. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that defendants often want to give themselves time to find and pay for a lawyer, but they also need to know the risks of entering the...
Facing court without a lawyer can be risky even for the most seemingly simple appearances. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that unrepresented criminal defendants are fishes out of water facing a highly experienced judge and a prosecutor whose abilities run from knowing the...
