Criminal Defense

Rejecting police inquiries by remaining silent under the Fifth Amendment, vocally objecting to police searches, and refusing field sobriety testing in DUI cases, can make the difference between arrest or not, conviction or not, and a more favorable or less favorable sentence. As a Fairfax criminal...

Cops have extraordinary power in our overly-policed state, that stands in sharp contract to the ideal of our living in a free society in the United States. Instead, as a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that have too much of a police state, and this...

Profanity is prohibited by Virginia law in the following context: "If any person profanely curses or swears or is intoxicated in public, whether such intoxication results from alcohol, narcotic drug or other intoxicant or drug of whatever nature, he shall be deemed guilty of a...

Protective orders (POs) are a harsh tool used to bar all or some contact with the alleged victim by the presumed-innocent accused before a criminal assault trial ever has been held. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that being cooped up under the same...

Covid-19 has for the time being changed the criminal justice landscape. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know this means that the courts are delaying trial dates, some prosecutors are working more than others to consent to defense lawyer demands to reduce jail populations, and...

Stay at home was announced by Virginia's governor this week, but thankfully with numerous exceptions to not make people complete prisoners of their homes. As a Fairfax criminal defense lawyer and civil libertarian, I encourage commonwealth residents to read the relatively brief stay-at-home order (Executive...

Reckless driving in Virginia is a jailable offense, classified as a Class 1 misdemeanor, carrying up to one year of incarceration, a fine of up to $2,500, court costs, and suspended driving running from zero days to six months (with the ability to apply for...

Coping in normal times with police investigations, arrests and prosecutions is always enough of a challenge for criminal defendants, their families and loved ones. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I knot that the arrest challenge is increased all the more with the current pandemic, where...

DUI arrest risks always are present when a person drives with alcohol in one's bloodstream, even if a small quantity. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that overall DWI arrest numbers will be reduced as people drive less during the pandemic. I also know...

Drug 251 dispositions involve the withholding of a drug possession conviction under Virginia Code § 18.2-251, and is only available if the criminal defendant  has not before received a 251 disposition or applicable drug conviction. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that a 251...