Data is what police love, whether verbal diarrhea or otherwise, says Fairfax criminal defense lawyer

Data gathering drives police, as does seizing contraband and finding smoking guns. As a Fairfax criminal defense lawyer, I warn you of the high risks of feeding police information and imagery, rather than — as an actual or potential criminal suspect — asserting your Constitutional right to remain silent and to object to searches. However, many have a temptation to taunt, test, and thump their chests at police. Police are trained to sift the gold specks out of verbal diarrhea, and to encourage people to keep wagging their tongues, even if ugly words are interspersed with the intelligence that feeds police investigations, arrests and prosecutions. Santique Kanu, Jr., is a prime example of what goes wrong when not taking a silence is golden approach with law enforcement officers (LEOs). On appeal to Circuit Court, Kanu got convicted without a lawyer (the Virginia Court of Appeals affirmed the finding that he waived counsel) in Fairfax Circuit Court for violating the Virginia DUI law, pursuant to Virginia Code § 18.2-266. Had Kanu simply faded into the background rather than making himself stand out to LEO’s, he probably would never have been convicted, and possibly never arrested.

Give police spatial and thinking berth, or suffer the consequences

An LEO with one of the Fairfax County town police departments, Officer Dickson “testified that, while on patrol with another officer one night, he saw Kanu leaving a local bar with a group. Kanu v. Commonwealth of Virginia, Record No. 0716-25-4 (Va. App. 2026) (unpublished). Officer Dickson said that Kanu shouted jokes about the officers being intoxicated. Kanu’s speech was slurred, and Dickson described him as ‘visibly intoxicated’ and unsteady on his feet.” Talk about helpful data falling into an LEO’s lap. This Fairfax town that Officer Dickson works for is a rather lowkey place, but for when anyone acts affected by alcohol at the various establishments serving liquor. Kanu did a favor to other candidates for a DWI, public intoxication or other arrest that evening, by drawing police attention to him instead. All he needed to do when seeing the police was to stop his moving (to not show any unsteadiness), close his mouth (to not reveal any slurring), and keep to himself his silly joke that the LEOs themselves were intoxicated. It all went downhill from there for Kanu.

Fall asleep after drinking alcohol, at your own risk with the resulting data and potential finger pointing

Police next obtained more data from Kanu as follows: “Kanu was in the driver’s seat of a running car in the drive-through lane of a McDonald’s. He was ‘either sleeping or unconscious,’ although Officer Dickson was able to momentarily wake him by shaking him. A recording of the encounter taken by Dickson’s body-worn camera was admitted into evidence. Dickson testified that he smelled alcohol, and Kanu’s eyes appeared glassy and bloodshot. Kanu did not perform a field sobriety test, and no breath or blood tests were conducted.” The kicker against Kanu is in the following Virginia Court of Appeals summation for affirming his Fairfax Circuit Court DWI conviction: “Here, the Town of Herndon introduced testimony from Officer Dickson that Kanu was unconscious and smelled of alcohol and that, just ten minutes earlier, he showed signs of intoxication while leaving a bar. Viewed in the light most favorable to the Town of Herndon, this evidence is more than sufficient to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that Kanu was intoxicated when Officer Dickson arrived in the parking lot.”

Virginia DUI and other prosecutions can be beat

Virginia DUI and other prosecutions can be beat. Defending such cases is like the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. A Virginia criminal defendant’s prospects at trial acquittal or other beneficial courtroom results are reduced when representing oneself, particularly when considering that the police officer and any prosecutor going up against an unrepresented criminal defendant will often be able to run circles around the self-representing accused, often with the defendant not even knowing it. Despite the several months that Kanu’s trial took to finally proceed to his Fairfax Circuit Court trial, he kept appearing in court without having hired a lawyer for appeal, and his trial judge and the Virginia Court of Appeals ruled that he would get no relief for not having a lawyer with him no the day that finally proceeded to trial and Virginia DUI conviction for him in Fairfax. The data in his case did him in, without his having a lawyer in Fairfax Circuit Court to argue for him.

Fairfax criminal defense lawyer Jonathan Katz takes nothing for granted for how to pursue the best possible defense against your Virginia felony, misdemeanor or DUI prosecution. Jon and his team instead cover the essential bases and then some, working tirelessly for your best possible court outcome. Obtain a tailor-made defensive roadmap from Jon Katz by arranging your free in-person initial strictly confidential consultation about your court-pending Virginia prosecution. To calendar yourself to meet with Jon, contact Jon and his staff at 703-383-1100, Info@KatzJustice.com or (text) 571-406-7268.