Criminal Defense

Unauthorized vehicle use (UVU) is a Virginia crime that does not require an intent to steal. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that the person barring use of the vehicle need not be the registered owner versus authorized by the owner. Specifically: "Any person...

Adhering to persuasive dealing is a bedrock of good negotiating for the defense. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I experienced that truism once again when recently ending an impasse in negotiating a DUI case involving a prosecution under Virginia Code § 18.2-266, where the prosecutor...

Closeness to contraband is the last thing you want. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that the Virginia appellate courts will not have bleeding hearts for your protests if police find illegal drugs or other contraband near you after you have fled from the...

Tooth and nail fighting is needed in your Virginia defense. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I reognize, highly respect and fully honor such fighting as we have recently seen in the no holds barred battle by an autistic Texas death row inmate's criminal defense team,...

Live witnesses against the accused sometimes can be bad enough at trial. Admitting hearsay evidence at trial can be even more damning, for the deprivation of the opportunity under the Constitution's Sixth Amendment to confront and cross examine the witnesses against the defendant. This truism...

Jury panel member equivocation can be common during the voir dire process of selecting and deselecting potential jurors / venire panel members. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that the voir dire process is so critical that some litigants spend hefty sums to hire consultants...

Unlawful weapon possession will often be charged against everyone near the weapon. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I warn you to beware who you associate with, due to the penchant that many police / law enforcement officers have to arrest everyone near contraband, and to...

Suppression appeals by Virginia assistant commonwealth's attorneys / prosecutors are not automatically precluded by res judicata / estoppel grounds. Perez Flores v. Commonwealth of Virginia, ___ Va. App. ___ (Oct. 1, 2024). As a Fairfax lawyer, moving to integrate my suppression motion into the trial is...

Difficult factfinder and other challenging litigation situations abound with criminal defense, whether from harsh laws, prosecution-friendly procedures and evidentiary rules, biased jurors, judges who do not give the defense enough time to prepare and present their case, deaf-acting prosecutors, or police acting irritated when Virginia...

Fairfax plea negotiating -- as in the rest of commonwealth -- is an art that involves not only the Virginia criminal defendant, but also the criminal defense lawyer, the prosecutor / assistant commonwealth's attorney, the purported victim(s) and the judge. On top of that are...