Criminal Defense
Virginia Court of Appeals affirms felony drag racing conviction
Those who drag race in Virginia face serious penalties if convicted. Racing on any roadway or other places open to traffic is a class 1 misdemeanor jailable up to one year for reckless driving, and requires a driver's license suspension of six months to two...
The necessity of a trial flowchart and preserving the record for appeal
Bailey underlines the necessity of going to trial with a flowchart listing the elements needed to prove the case, and to preserve issues for appeal, which Bailey's trial lawyer here accomplished by timely arguing that the evidence was insufficient to convict.
Listen to your gut if you sense danger and to your nose if you smell toxicity
When I point out the importance of maintaining no anger against, no paranoia with, arms-length distance to, compassion for, and non-duality with our opponents, that does not mean to avoid our common sense against playing with fire, turning our backs on someone who will try...
Overdwelling on a perceived hailstorm on the horizon threatens to miss opportunities for victory
One will not do well as a military soldier to kvetch about brutal biting flies, heat rashes, leeches, and searing heat while overloaded with baggage in unfamiliar lands where the opposing fighters navigate and integrate with every inch of the terrain as easily and without...
In Virginia, a Party to a Criminal Action May Not Be Issued a Records Subpoena
In Virginia, a party to a criminal action may not be issued a subpoena duces tecum, ordering the production of records or other tangible items.
Confronting Our Demons on the Road to Success
Again and again, I hear my clients who look successful on paper tell me of the pressures that led them to improvidently get behind the wheel after drinking, grow marijuana at home rather than seeking legal alternatives, and risk their security clearances by seeking prostitution...
To postpone a misdemeanor trial or not- That is the question
Why postpone a Virginia General District Court trial at all? Possibly to further address new evidence or other discovery that has been obtained on the trial date. Possibly to work further on settlement negotiations.
A felony theft conviction is not possible without proof of value
In Virginia, the felony theft threshold is $200. Setting aside the injustice of such a low threshold for distinguishing between facing up to a year in jail for misdemeanor theft and twenty years for felony theft, the prosecutor must prove that $200 value threshold beyond...
A sampling of recent case successes
Most criminal defense lawyers have a high number of clients who actually committed a criminal act. That reality does not automatically preclude an outright acquittal or dismissal.
Three police officers shot in Prince William County, one fatally
Prince William County, Virginia, police officer Ashley Guindon was slain when responding to a domestic violence call,