Criminal Defense

Rule on witness violations can put at risk the fairness of a Virginia criminal defendant's trial or hearing. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I routinely ask the judge to invoke this rule, which bars the prosecutor's and defendant's witnesses from being present in the courtroom...

Criminal defendants' friends are their defense lawyers. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know the benefits of the wave of self-styled progressive prosecutors taking office in the four largest Northern Virginia counties in January 2020 -- to the extent they actually walk that talk, but...

Virginia misdemeanor defense is serious business. Yes, as a Fairfax criminal lawyer I know that misdemeanors are less serious than felonies, but they are still crimes when committed, and a conviction for such crimes as theft, assault, drugs, and sometimes even DUI can haunt the...

Fairfax criminal defendants for a year have experienced going to court for most non-Virginia DUI misdemeanor prosecutions to see no prosecutor involved in their case. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that Virginia law does not require prosecutors to be involved in adult misdemeanor...

Refusing police searches often makes the difference between winning and losing against a Virginia felony, misdemeanor and DUI prosecution. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, repeatedly I hear my clients who consent to police searches say that the police were going to find the contraband or...

Virginia bail hearing victories can be exhilarating. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that getting released from jail pending trial for a Virginia DUI, felony or misdemeanor prosecution can be the only assurance that the criminal defendant will not lose his job, home, and...

Virginia statutory interpretation challenges need always to be at the ready by criminal defense lawyers. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that an acquittal based on a statutory interpretation challenge is as beneficial for the accused as a challenge to the veracity of the...

Virginia cops and other police nationwide are aware of the concept of a community caretaking function, which they and prosecutors try to use in the absence of any other possible justifiable grounds for searching and seizing people and their property, and for entering their homes....

The bad cops make good cops' jobs harder. On top of that, how often do police not take measures against misconduct they see by their colleagues, remain silent about it, and even help to cover it up? As I repeatedly say, police come from the...

For nearly one year, chief Fairfax commonwealth's attorney Steve Descano made a gambit over being re-electable when he withdrew his office from most misdemeanor prosecutions beyond Virginia DUI, assault with intimate partners, and fatal collision prosecutions. His gamble may have paid off, based on a...