Criminal Defense

Police hassling exasperates me as a Fairfax criminal lawyer, civil libertarian, and human being. Having police is part of the so-called social contract where society relinquishes vital aspects of its freedom in order to receive protection from the government apparati. However, police and government are...

Prosecutorial discretion (PD) is great when it benefits the accused. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that the county's chief prosecutor / commonwealth's attorney on several occasions has emphasized his willingness to use such authority, and his directed his prosecutors to do the same,...

Bending prosecutors and police out of shape should not be a goal in and of itself, but it sometimes happens as a helpful default. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I do know that sleight of hand can be beneficial, but once again usually should not...

“Did you do it?” “Did you kill Horace Jones?” Thus began the powerfully persuasive direct examination by lawyer JD with his client Zach Carson. Zach was so despondent after losing the love of his life, that he confessed to a murder he did not commit,...

Kick me -- or a variation on that theme -- may be the response of many a Virginia criminal suspect or criminal defendant once the police nab them for a crime that they actually committed. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that the self...

Fairfax speedy trial (ST) rights are critical both under the Virginia Code and the Constitution, just sa they are in the rest of the commonwealth. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I always keep my eyes on this right for all my clients. On May 31,...

Unlawful police seizure under the Constitution's Fourth Amendmentprecludes an otherwise vountary search from being voluntary. As a Virginia criminal lawyer, I know that many judges will disagree with when a seizure has taken place. Fortunately, we have Virginia and federal appellate court opinions to provide...

Shooting into an occupied building risks a Virginia felony prosecution and conviction. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I read with interest one of the more recent Virginia Court of appeals opinions that deal with several critical aspects of such defense. Meade v. Virginia, ___ Va. App. ___...

Scrutinizing the credibility, reliability and recall of prosecution witnesses must be exercised fully and carefully by every prosecutor, rather than the practice I have seen too often in too many prosecutors in viewing a Virginia DUI or criminal defendant as guilty merely because they have...

LEP (limited English proficiency) Virginia criminal defendants are already challenged by insufficient statewide rigor for court interpreters, because interpreter certification is only encouraged but not mandatory under the Virginia Code and other governing provisions. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know this state of affairs...