In Francis, the Virginia Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that the evidence was sufficient to convict in two separate neighboring county circuit courts for felony eluding police from the same police officer during the same chase. Rejecting that the two separate convictions protected Francis under...
Multiple criminal actions mean that the perpetrator might receive a separate Virginia criminal charge for each such action, rather than having them all rolled into one criminal accusation. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that the cocncept of a harsher sentence for more criminal...
Miranda applicablity depends on whether the criminal defendant is in police custody. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I hear many arrestees underline that the police did not read them their rights. However, without police custody, the Miranda rule from the United States Supreme Court does not...
Protective order violations in Virginia are a criminal offense. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I think initial protective orders ("PO's") -- both emergency and prelminary PO's, which bar such behavior as contacting the respondent and assault -- are too often a threat to our civil...
Private prosecutors are the exception to the usual Virginia practice of having prosecutors be elected officials or their employees, or private practicing lawyers hired by incorporated cities or towns. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I am ready to seek the disqualification of a private prosecutor...
Marijuana odor detection is a favorite of law enforcement to justify detaining and arresting people; searching them, their vehicles and their other property; and obtaining search warrants to seek further evidence of criminal activity. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer and civil libertarian, I am overjoyed...
Welcoming court at first feels counterintuitive for most Virginia DUI defendants and criminal defendants. However, as a Fairfax criminal lawyer I know that once a Virginia criminal defendant is forced into the courthouse battlefield, s/he has only one choice, which is to fight, fight and...
Firearm curbs are part and parcel of a Virginia protective order (also known as stay away and no-contact orders, commonwly issued in tandem with assault claims). As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I see such curbs as flying in the face of the letter and spirit...
Fairfax Circuit Court Judge David Bernhard early on in his judgeship made clear his inclination against imposing cash bail. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer and civil libertarian, I read with interest how Judge Bernhard this month went one step further with a letter opinion (which...
Criminal defense victory usually does not come easy, but is more possible when the Virginia criminal lawyer is powerfully calm and maintains a sense of humor, wonder and enchantment in life. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know by experience the power of this approach,...
Virginia DUI breath testing is always ripe for trial challenges. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I always explore this line of attack, including with the breathalyzer twenty minute rule. The Virginia Department of Forensic Science's own breath test operator instructional manual ("DFS Manual") provides the...
Documents in your name are not desireable when found in close proximity to illegal drugs, also known as controlled substance's. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that a conviction for drug possession cannot be obtained absent proof beyond a reasonable doubt of knowledge, dominion...
Deals are a common part of Virginia criminal defense practice. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that this does not mean that every criminal defendant should plead guilty, no contest or Alford, rather than going to trial or negotiating a case dismissal. I do know...
Sentencing success is less preferable than trial success. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know, nonetheless, that it is folly to prepare for trial without also being prepared for sentencing in the event of a conviction or an eventual plea deal. Recently, the sentencing judge's...
Trial for me is like breathing and brushing teeth. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer and Virginia DUI attorney, I know that being fully prepared for trial is a given. Truer than true is that being full trial readiness makes one's Virginia criminal or DUI case...
Jail risks in Virginia criminal court sometimes may be anticipated and sometimes not. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I pursue not only acquittals, but also ways to minimize the collateral damage from a Virginia criminal conviction on one's career, security clearance, immigration status, uniformed military...
Virginia judges -- at least some in Northern Virginia, Norfolk and Portsmouth courts -- have engaged in pushback of one sort or another after self-styled reformist chief prosecutors took office there. As a Fairax criminal lawyer, I am delighted to report that on October 21,...
Family members and friends often express profound concern to me about their relatives / friends who have been charged witha Virginia criminal or DUI offense. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that such concern and support -- in measured fashion -- can be beneficial...
Incriminating evidence can abound in a lawbreaker's abandoned garbage. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that police can be like vultures waiting for drug suspects and subjects of DNA-related criminal investigations to dispose of their trash on the street or anywhere else where police...
Virginia has long been in the dark ages in many aspects of criminal law, including backwards prosecutor-friendly crabbed discovery rules, forced jury sentencing, and judicial control over party-agreed case dismissals concerning Virginia defendants. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that Circuit Court discovery is...
