DWI / DUI
How to persuade a hard-line judge or jury to see the case on its own merits
It can be scary for a criminal defense lawyer to place the fate of his or her client in the hands of the judge and jury. However, the effective criminal defense lawyer does not simply hand the defendant to the jury.
A how-to for police suspects, starting with the power of “no”
Go and enjoy the rest of the Fourth of July weekend, and remember that Independence Day has less meaning when criminal suspects do not assert their rights to remain silent with the police and to refuse police searches.
Knowing the judges and jurors — their passions over drinking and driving
When I am defending clients charged with DWI -- which I do all the time -- I am defending the very essence of our civil liberties.
Confronting Our Demons on the Road to Success
Again and again, I hear my clients who look successful on paper tell me of the pressures that led them to improvidently get behind the wheel after drinking, grow marijuana at home rather than seeking legal alternatives, and risk their security clearances by seeking prostitution...
A sampling of recent case successes
Most criminal defense lawyers have a high number of clients who actually committed a criminal act. That reality does not automatically preclude an outright acquittal or dismissal.
When a judge makes an improvident evidentiary ruling at trial
Trial judges have nothing to lose and often much to gain by permitting at least brief voir dire/cross examination of prosecution witnesses before a damning exhibit is offered into evidence.
DWI laws dilute respect for the criminal law
In 2000, federal highway legislation shoved mandatory criminalization of a 0.08 blood alcohol level in DWI cases down the states’ throats under the penalty of otherwise losing federal highway funding. A 0.08 blood alcohol level is so easy to reach that anybody who drives after...
Self improvement links and steps for your Virginia criminal & DUI defense
Self-improvement / rehabilitation — what I sometimes also call homework — can sometimes help criminal defendants with case negotiations with the prosecutor, and with any case sentencing in the event of a conviction. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know it is ideal criminal defendants to talk...
Winning a DWI trial by putting our own traffic stop witness on the stand
It is St. Patrick’s Day evening, and a police officer testifies at my client’s bench DWI trial that he stopped my military-enlisted client for blowing a traffic light that was solid red for my client at all times, with the officer driving a few car lengths behind...
I refer many clients to AA meetings. What happens there?
Because I have referred hundreds of clients to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings since 1991, I meant long ago to attend an AA meeting to see what my clients have to put up with, how much help AA might actually be, and what non-Christians, agnostics and atheists...
