Criminal Defense
Devoting the lawyer’s heart and soul for the client
It may be easier for a committed criminal defense lawyer to put his or her all into the clients' case than convincing a judge, jury or prosecutor to do the same, and from the defendant's perspective. However, it is vital for the criminal defense lawyer...
An arrest brings one closer to the fire. A full-court press is necessary
The cops, prosecutors, and judges are not criminal defendants' friends. They have their own agendas that are not parallel to the defendants' goals and agendas. That means that all criminal defendants need to obtain a qualified lawyer early on .
Prosecutor to his witness: “That is defendant’s lawyer. You do NOT have to talk with him”
The lawyers ethics rules and governing law generally prohibit lawyers, including prosecutors, from advising or encouraging non-party witnesses from talking with opposing lawyers. Just in case anyone was going to call me paranoid about my view that too many prosecutors and police do just that,...
For non-lawyers: Effectively navigating the courthouse, testifying, and going to courtroom battle
The court system belongs to all of us and is here to serve us all. It is not some sort of secret society with secret handshakes and incantations.
Why Effective Storytelling is Critical in the Persuasion Process
People don't decide in fragments. They decide in the full context of stories and feelings -- often with their entire beings -- and how that fits in with their life experiences. Therefore, storytelling is critical in the persuasion process.
Self improvement links and steps for your Virginia criminal & DUI defense
Self-improvement / rehabilitation — what I sometimes also call homework — can sometimes help criminal defendants with case negotiations with the prosecutor, and with any case sentencing in the event of a conviction. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know it is ideal criminal defendants to talk...
Terry MacCarthy’s positive approach to persuasion
Long ago I watched a video of Terry demonstrating what he calls look good cross examination, where the cross examiner persuades not just with his or her words and with emphatically delivering those words, but also with his body language, for instance re-enacting a shooting...
Clearing the distractions to success – Effectively standing up for what is right without being merely reactive
A key to personal and professional success is to start by looking inward. Yes, we must engage with the reality and world around us. Yes ,we must help others as well as ourselves, and not just ourselves. To engage and help others and ourselves the...
Virginia Supreme Court rules 4-3 on the wrong side of the law for exigent searches
Praised be the three Virginia Supreme Court justices who on September 17, 2015, dissented from the four-justice majority that affirmed a warrantless apartment search purportedly conducted pursuant to exigent circumstances. Evans v. Virginia, , ___ Va. ___ (Sept. 17, 2015). The search found a substantial...
Former Virginia government Bob McDonnell obtains rare Supreme Court prison stay
Sentenced to two years in prison for public corruption, former Virginia governor Bob McDonnell has by now spent substantially more funds than any financial benefit he obtained from his convicted corruption, on top of great angst and likely losing any chance of becoming president or...