Civil liberties defenses are part and parcel of defending the accused, says Fairfax criminal lawyer

Civil liberties (CL) / Bill of Rights defenses are an essential part of defending the criminally accused. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, in all my cases I file motions to suppress evidence that include challenging the detention and arrest of my client under the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment; challenging searches and seizures under the Fourth Amendment; and moving to suppress my clients’ statements to the police under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments. We Virginia criminal defense lawyers — and defenders of the accused nationwide — have a friend in such stalwart CL defenders as  Victor Glasberg, who redirected himself to law school with the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. (subsequent to completing his Ph.D. in history, writing his dissertation on the founders and leaders of the NAACP), and out of law school took a job with the law firm of Phil Hirschkop, who ten years earlier– with Bernard Cohen — convinced all federal Supreme Court justices, in Loving v. Commonwealth of Virginia, to reverse all bans on interracial marriage. Vic was an early hero for me to convince me to remain true to my goals of becoming my own boss serving the rights of individuals, which grew into a devotion to doing that primarily through criminal defense.

How a Fairfax criminal lawyer’s encounters with authority made him destined to defend the accused

My path to becoming a Fairfax criminal lawyer is relevant to why Vic Glasberg is such a great inspiration to me, and has its roots in my advocating against being unfairly accused by a stern-faced public school teacher. This same teacher who in fourth grade had barred me from performing in my first band concert — after I had the temerity to disobey her telling me to wait to be called on the PA system to practice as third trumpet with the ensemble — the following year stopped me in the hallway, and asked what I was doing playing the previous week on the property of the adjacent garden apartments. With the venom still pulsing throughout my blood about her previous year’s trespass against me, I retorted: “What makes you say I was doing that, Ms. Smith?” Ms. Smith: “There was a report of a brown haired boy in a blue jacket playing there.” JK: “You have just described half the boys in the school, Ms. Smith.” I talk further of this incident in my latest podcast episode, with a great local lawyer who also fights for civil liberties, and about how many people do not feel empowered to stand up to authority like that. Three years later, I talked myself out of a detention for talking to another student during quiet classtime homework. Two years later, I stood up to a high school teacher who was announcing everyone’s quiz grades, saying it was not right to do that. During my first law job, a Capitol police officer threatened me with arrest for demonstrating without a permit when my friend and I made homemade antiwar signs when I awoke to learn that Congress that Saturday morning was debating whether to permit the president to launch the first Gulf War. (I was not aware that permitting laws applied to such behavior by only two people (and the First Amendment should have supported the exigency of not needing a permit to demonstrate against what had only been revealed that same morning) but we then visited the permitting office nonetheless).

How a civil liberties-defending giant inspired a Fairfax criminal lawyer on his path to pursuing the best defense for defendants

When I was about to start work with a traditional law firm during my last summer in law school,  I was mesmerized by this local major newspaper article about a hippie-looking lawyer — Vic Glasberg — with a sign in his office reading “ROBIN HOOD WAS RIGHT” (and who’s web address is RobinHoodEsq.com) — who kept his eyes on the prize of serving people’s civil liberties and civil rights. Within three years, I became a public defender lawyer doing solely criminal defense, and within seven years after that, I became my own boss, joining forces with my former law partner. A handful of times, I contacted Vic, for matters running from practicalities of procedure in the Alexandria federal court to referring him CL and civil rights cases. With my criminal defense podcast Beat the Prosecution now over a year old, I felt Vic’s voice was essential to hear. However, saying he did not want to be a “talking head”, Vic agreed for me to meet with him in person at his law office, which I did on March 20, during a week that is significant for being two days after the anniversary of the essential 1963 Gideon v. Wainwright, which was monumental for advancing the right to a government-paid lawyer for indigent criminal defendants. During those short thirty minutes, after learning more about Vic’s personal and professional history and current law practice, I did not get as far as I wanted for his approach to winning cases, including trials and deposition work, beyond preparation and hard work. He pointed out having great staff (many of the cream of the crop law students apply to work with him) and “luck”, but perhaps that was his modesty partially talking. (He also mentioned the need for a line of credit when doing his type of work, which I suppose comes from awaiting big lawsuit financial verdicts and attorney fee litigation wins.) I learned that long before I defended Philip Berrigan and three other Plowshares activists at a criminal jury trial teaming with Lyndon Johnson’s last attorney general Ramsey Clark, Vic had obtained an acquittal for him. His current law practice heavily involves suing against police misconduct. He has pursued litigation over prison conditions, and other civil rights. This Virginia criminal defense blog entry cannot do justice to Vic’s greatness nor even to my visit with him, so I encourage you to read Vic’s law firm website’s fascinating links showing samples of his persuasive and passionate pen and his victories.

Adding immigration risks to Virginia guilty and no contest plea litanies; barring police from arresting — without reasonable suspicion — for declining to identify oneself

Thanks to civil liberties lawyer Vic Glasberg, nine years ago the Virginia Supreme Court incorporated immigration risks into recommended litanies for those pleading guilty, no contest, or Alford to criminal conduct. This accomplishment followed a Northern Virginia lawyer’s telling Vic about unrepresented criminal defendants not being told about such risks by judges, where otherwise the defendant might decide to hire a criminal defense lawyer or might think twice about entering into such a plea. A few years ago, Vic convinced a panel of the federal Fourth Circuit to find unconstitutional the arrest and prosecution of a man that followed his simply refusing to identify himself, demonstrating the absence of a lawful Terry v. Ohio stop (requiring reasonable articulable suspicion by police that he had committed a crime). Wingate v. Fulford, 987 F.3d 299 (4th Cir. 2021). Deeply thanking and praising lawyer Vic Glasberg.

Fairfax criminal lawyer Jonathan Katz relentlessly pursues your best defense against Virginia felony, misdemeanor and DUI prosecutions. Start your great defense by scheduling your free in-person initial consultation with Jon Katz about your court-pending prosecution, at 703-383-1100, Info@KatzJustice.com, and (text) 571-406-7268.