Contest your Virginia pretrial release orders when winnable, says Fairfax criminal lawyer

Contest your Virginia pretrial release orders when winnable, whether those orders be to keep you inside the commonwealth, to require you to participate in pretrial release programs, or any other pretrial conditions you wish to appeal. Watch out, though, about whether such challenges will lead to the prosecutor’s seeking even harsher pretrial release conditions than already imposed. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I see one of the benefits of obtaining early on the best possible Virginia defense lawyer for you as your earlier opportunity to make such challenges. Clearly, you do not want your work or personal life materially harmed by being barred from leaving the commonwealth pending your Virginia criminal or DUI court date, and you do not want your work and personal schedule upended by weekly or more frequest obligations to deal with pretrial release authorities.

Why are pretrial release conditions imposed and how do I contest them?

As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that initial Virginia pretrial release conditions are usually imposed by court-appointed magistrates, who are not required to be lawyers nor to have attended law school. They wield tremendous power in determining whether an arrestee gets released or not pending trial or preliminary hearing, and what conditions and bond / bail amount to impose. Yes, a Virginia District Court or Circuit Court judge can modify or overturn what the magistrate imposes, but in many jurisdictions that can take more than a day (or longer) after the magistrate enters a decision. Watch out also for the tricky situation where the magistrate orders you held without bond or on a bond / bail amount you cannot afford, and you appear without a lawyer before a District Court judge who modifies the magistrate’s pretrial detention decision only for you to be released, with or without added conditions. Then, if you appear in District Court with your lawyer to contest those conditions, the pretrial release-ordering District Court colleagues may state a reluctance to modify such an order that one of their fellow judges made, and then you have a possible conundrum if that District Court judge is not scheduled for at least several days to be able to hear your pretrial release reconsideration request. Yes, you can also challenge the matter in Circuit Court, but depending on the jurisdiction, that is not always an instant hearing, and that does not assure victory in Circuit Court.

Do Fairfax magistrates tend to order Virginia criminal defendants not to leave the Commonwealth or to enter pretrial release supervision or pretrial programs?

As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I am disappointed, to say the least, that the counties to the northwest and southwest of me have judicial magistrates who routinely order defendants not to leave the commonwealth, when those counties proximity to the nation’s capital and to the adjacent state to the north means that such defendants frequently need to leave the state for work and personal reasons, let alone the need to travel far distances to other parts of the nation or to other countries for work and personal obligations. I wonder what is the extent to which orders banning leaving Virginia are calculated not to make the magistrate or ordering judge look bad if the defendant thereby absconds from court or commits an out-of-state crime pretrial, and what is the extent to which pretrial supervision and pretrial program orders are intended to justify the jobs of the court and other government employees handling pretrial supervision and pretrial programs. Fortunately, in Fairfax court orders to stay in the commonwealth and to participate in pretrial supervision and pretrial release programs are much less common for the first, and  only more common for the second and third obligation for more serious accusations, for those with prior serious convictions, and for those who allegedly acted out very seriously when before the magistrate. Certainly, Fairfax is not free from the need to contest such pretrial limitations.

What are some procedural tips for me to challenge the court’s pretrial limits on my travel and requirements of pretrial release conditions?

When you want to contest the magistrate’s or court’s ban on your departing Virginia or requirements to have pretrial supervision or to participate in pretrial programs, your lawyer can seek the prosecutor’s consent to such a modification, in which case an agreed proposed order can be submitted to a judge at a hearing or in chambers. Whether or not the prosecutor agrees to your requested relief, the judge still needs to be convinced to make the pretrial release modification you request. Therefore, don’t let even a positive prosecutorial response t such a modification request from you to lull you into a false sense of security. Be ready with your lawyer to fully and persuasively make your case to the judge for such a modification.

Fairfax criminal lawyer Jonathan Katz goes right to battle for you upon being hired to defend against your Virginia felony, misdemeanor or DUI prosecution. Your initial in-person confidential consultation with Jon Katz about your court-pending case is free. We make the whole process convenient for you from start to finish. Our experienced paralegal and legal assistant are ready to calendar you for a meeting with Jon, at 703-383-1100, Info@BeatTheProsecution.com, and (text)  571-406-7268.