Marijuana dismissal for most simple pot possession (versus possession with intent to distribute) cases has arrived with the new Fairfax County and Arlington County, Virginia, prosecutors, who took office this week. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I see this as a big leap forward for...
Cannabis decriminalization and legalization movement has been proceeding at a dizzying pace in numerous states over the last years, after previous decades of organization, toil and sweat by marijuana activists nationwide. As a Fairfax criminal defense lawyer, I deeply thank these activists for their accomplishments,...
Constructive possession of drugs, illegal guns, or other contraband is no less a crime than actual possession of contraband. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that the foregoing legal truism alone is sufficient to make people think twice about those they choose to associate...
The criminal defense needs to be ready to raise and attack the following circumstances in prosecutions for possession to distribute drugs: Weight: Significant weight of the alleged drugs by itself does not constitute intent to distribute. For instance, when a medicinal user of marijuana finds...
Drug cases (marijuana and non-marijuana) are among the most common non-traffic / non-DUI prosecutions on Virginia criminal court dockets. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I have defended hundreds of such cases, and provide some insights herein on such defense....
Revocation of probation is a risk that many criminal defendants do not consider as much as simply staying out of jail in the first place or getting released from jail as soon as possible. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that many convicted criminal...
Barring criminal defense witnesses is a risk for a trial judge. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know the importance of convincing the judge to permit defense witnesses to testify and to preserve the appellate record in the event the trial court bars any defense...
Risking bringing marijuana into Virginia or handguns out of the commonwealth brings serious prosecution exposure. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that such behavior is common in the Northern Virginia / Capital Beltway region, where one can find himself or herself in a different...
Pot criminalization unnecessarily taxes limited government budgets and civil liberties. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer and civil libertarian, I thank Virginia attorney general Mark Herring for recently stating his support for marijuana decriminalization as follows: "Virginia should decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, address...
Suspects and everyone else have the right to remain silent with police. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I have seen too many criminal defendants create their own nooses by not keeping their mouths shut with police. Even in states requiring a person to identify himself...
Field testing and lab testing for marijuana ordinarily is essential before a prosecutor can obtain a marijuana possession or dealing conviction, unless the defense stipulates that the substance in fact is marijuana. As a Virginia criminal lawyer, I know that until the recent federal Farm...
Testing for allegedly illegal drugs/ controlled dangerous substances -- other than marijuana plant material (versus hashish oil) -- commonly takes at least four months in my clients' drug cases, and often longer. An exception is for marijuana plant material testing, where I have seen recent...
[caption id="attachment_80605" align="alignright" width="300"] Mandamus relief denied for dismissing Virginia marijuana prosecutions[/caption] Mandamus relief is not available to Virginia prosecutors seeking marijuana case dismissals Mandamus relief is not forthcoming in response to Norfolk, Virginia, Circuit Court judges refusing the commonwealth attorney's office's seeking dismissal of misdemeanor marijuana...
Dismissing or not prosecuting misdemeanor marijuana possession cases is now the policy of the chief prosecutors in Portsmouth (except for likely still prosecuting juveniles for possessing marijuana) and Norfolk Virginia. As a Fairfax drug lawyer and civil libertarian, I applaud this move and encourage a...
Conspiracy charges enable prosecutors to seek convictions for an agreement to commit a crime (together with a step towards effectuating the crime) even when the actual agreed crime is not completed. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that plenty of drug buyers are acting...
Rescheduling marijuana away from being a Schedule I or even Schedule II drug, federally, is essential. A federal Schedule I controlled substance is a dangerous drug that has no recognized medicinal benefits; that is how marijuana currently is scheduled in federal law. A Schedule II...
Leniency offers by cops abound in their efforts to convince criminal defendants to waive their Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that criminal defendants and criminal suspects should not communicate with police about their case without the presence...
Search warrants do not automatically preclude successful Fourth Amendment challenges. Today, Ian Christian Carlson happily saw that truism applied to his benefit. Carlson v. Virginia. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that police generally are barred from investigating for possible criminal activity by going...
Private prisons and private jails abound in the United States, and are popular with many investors. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, my concerns about private prisons include the risk that the prisons will put investors' profit interests above treating inmates right, and about possible limited...
Virginia drug law is tough on defendants. As a Fairfax drug lawyer, I know that merely possessing a Schedule I or II drug is Class 5 felony carrying up to ten years in prison. Marijuana possession remains a misdemeanor jailable up to thirty days, with...
