Court readiness is essential for the accused in Virginia, says Fairfax criminal lawyer

Court readiness is crucial for you and your lawyer. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I make clear to my clients that their trial date is the time to fight, and that virtually all preparation should be addressed before their court date. This applies to even such basic criminal trial preparation as appearing in court on  time and in the place your Virginia criminal lawyer advises you; arranging for your friends and family members to arrange before your court date for me to have in-depth communications with them; and grooming yourself respectfully by dressing down and dressing respectfully, and by having neat facial hair and head hair, and by keeping makeup modest.

Virginia court readiness means coming to court free of alcohol, marijuana and recreational drugs

Court dates can be nerve-wracking for defendants and can lead to many sleepless nights. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I urge my clients to tell me of any anxiety or sleeplessness they are suffering over their cases, because I want to relate with them, to see if I can recommend approaches to reducing that state of affairs, and to help allay or reduced concerns that are not needed much or at all in the first place. Some criminal defendants address that anxiety by kicking back some beer, wine or alcohol (usually the prior evening through maybe the early morning of court), smoking marijuana, or taking medicine. I tell my clients not to do that, unless they need to use their prescription medicine or over the counter products that are not likely to interfere with my clients’ lucidity. If you come to court smelling of beer, wine or alcohol and if the judge or jury smell it, that can reduce your chances of winning your Virginia criminal defense case, at minimum by their having a challenge believing your testimony if you are under the influence of alcohol (in their view) regardless of how convinced you are that you are stone sober. Virginia court readiness requires full sobriety If a judge determines you are in court not fully sober — while under the influence of beer, wine, alcohol, liquor, marijuana or any drugs or medicine not for lawfully treating any ailments — you also risk serious penalties, possibly even including incarceration.

What happens if my accompanying friends are having a fun time at my court date?

Virginia court readiness means coming to court , if at all, only with friends and/or relatives who will behave well, appropriately and respectfully in court. You know which of your friends and family members do not fit that bill. If you learn that you misjudged your court-accompanying friends and relatives for their courthouse behavior, it may be a good idea for them to exit the courthouse. If they do not depart, you can make matters better for you by keeping a physical distance from them.

What do I do when I see my alleged victim, especially if I have a court order maintain no contact and a distance with them?

In Fairfax criminal court and other Virginia courts, the criminal defendant may have a pretrial release condition or parallel preliminary (or permanent) protective order mandate for no contact with and substantial distance from the alleged victim. Whether or not you have such a court order in place, for trial readiness, let your lawyer be the one to communicate with your alleged victim and keep your distance. Of course, if the alleged victim happens to be your significant other who wants the assault charge against you dropped — and if no stay away / no contact order is in place — you are not barred from communicating with that person, but why risk making something bad out of a good thing? If your complainant wants the case dropped, why stir up the pot by communicating with them much before your court date is finished? Virginia court readiness calls for keeping all of the foregoing in mind

For Virginia court readiness, know that courthouse walls and halls have ears

The Fairfax County courthouse has several private meeting rooms available for criminal defense lawyers and their clients, even if it is necessary to go to the third floor for the most numerous of such meeting spaces. Many other Virginia courthouses are too short on private rooms in which an attorney and the accused can meet, which can sometimes lead to my asking a courthouse security officer to unlock a courtroom meeting room for me, or to go outdoors to talk, when the weather is good. Suffice it to say that the courthouse walls and  halls have ears, in that it is too easy for your conversations with your lawyer to be picked up by those you do not want to hear. Beware even whether police are standing right outside your meeting room, and keep your voice down accordingly, or ask your lawyer to ask the police to give you more privacy. When the green button is lit on the microphone at your courtroom table, that means the mike is amplifying your conversations, so find the button that hushes or turns off that microphone. Do not put it past some prosecutors and police to walk right into your lawyer-client meeting room, without being invited to do so, and sometimes without knocking. So long as you are keeping your voice at a moderate or softer volume, you reduce the risk that your voice will carry through your meeting room door, and reduce how much any intruding door opener will hear. When prosecutors try talking to me in the hallway when my client is next to me, I commonly advise my client to create a distance between them and the prosecutor — ideally with my simply directing the prosecutor to join me elsewhere — because, for starters, prosecutors are not permitted to communicating with you, the criminal defendant, about your case, whether directly to you, or indirectly by communicating with your lawyer. For Virginia court readiness, be prepared for the foregoing scenarios.

Do not make your trial date the first time you visit your courthouse

The Gladiator is one of my favorite movies, in part for underlining how we can thrive in life — and for me how I can continue thriving and winning as a Virginia criminal defense lawyer — no matter how underhanded any prosecutor or police officer or civilian prosecutorial witness acts, and no matter how much a judge deviates from his or her oath. Part of your own thriving with Virginia court readiness is to reduce its mystery so that you may feel more comfortable there. Consequently, for trial readiness, go out of your way before your trial date, to visit the courthouse and one or more courtrooms while the judge is conducting business. Check with your lawyer about accompanying you for this pre-trial date visit, or at least to suggest days, times of day, and courtrooms that ideal to visit.

To kick butt in court- prepare, prepare and prepare

Your purpose for Virginia court readiness is to obtain as much victory as possible, which often calls for kicking proverbial butt. Work closely with your lawyer in this regard. Make sure your lawyer fully prepares you for your trial date well in advance of that date. If you have chosen a high quality attorney, s/he likely has numerous clients besides you, but by taking you as a client, your lawyer needed to assure that s/he would be spending sufficient time and attention to you and your case. I make myself fully available to my Virginia criminal defense clients, making sure to timely answer their communications and to provide them with their choice of a phone call or in person meeting soon after the date they requested it, and that is just for starters, as I make sure my clients are fully prepare for their trial dates well before that date arrives.

Fairfax criminal lawyer Jonathan Katz pursues your best defense against Virginia DUI, misdemeanor and felony prosecutions. Call 703-383-1100 for your free in-person confidential consultation with Jon Katz about your court-pending case.