Drugs

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...

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...

Criminal discovery reform in Virginia finally achieved a breakthrough in 2018, when the commonwealth's Supreme Court directed a mid-2019 substantial discovery expansion for felony criminal defendants. This Virginia discovery reform needs to be seen as but a first step, seeing that it does not cover...

Dirty urines are a risk for any controlled substance user on supervised probation before their court date. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that staying off illegal drugs is easier ordered than followed. Fairfax criminal lawyer warns criminal defendants not to throw in the...