Eaten alive is not what you ever want to happen to you nor your attorney in Virginia court, says Fairfax criminal lawyer

Eaten alive must never happen to a Virginia criminal defendant. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that many Virginia assistant commonwealth’s attorneys / prosecutors and also police engage in gamesmanship, psychological warfare, and heartlessness. My son one day pointed out on the trail a snake that was eating a frog alive, head first. The frog’s legs were flailing either in a last ditch effort to survive or out of reflex. Do not let yourself be that flailing frog. How do you avoid that? Start by knowing how to assert your Constitutional rights with the police to refuse to answer questions, to demand your right to a lawyer, and to refuse searches. Do not delay in seeking the right lawyer for you. Compare at least two or three lawyers to each other. Among your questions to your potential Virginia criminal defense lawyer, ask for examples of how the attorney dealt with particularly difficult and challenging judges, prosecutors and police. If the lawyer takes offense at that question — so long as you pose it respectfully — or does not answer it, beware.

Court ain’t a tea party- Your Virginia criminal lawyer must know how to spring for the proverbial jugular vein and to never get eaten alive

One day I was in a courthouse for a Fairfax criminal satellite location case, where the criminal defense lawyers are all in the same conference room when waiting to speak with the prosecutor. I welcome this as an opportunity to see and hear the prosecutor interact with the police in my case and other cases. After the prosecutor finished speaking with attorney Jones, he greeted criminal defense lawyer Melvin Fife (not his real name). The prosecutor greeted Melvin all friendly, and Melvin seemed relieved at the friendly greeting and greeted the prosecutor likewise. I like Melvin. He only started doing criminal defense recently. I see his potential to excel. Something in me at that moment that Melvin greeted the prosecutor conveyed to me that Melvin was not comfortable in his own skin at the moment. He did not seem to telegraph any threat to the prosecutor. He seemed at risk of being eaten alive. Whether or not I was misreading the situation, if a criminal defense lawyer’s opposing prosecutor does not feel any threat from the defense attorney, the prosecutor is less likely to agree to as favorable a negotiated settlement / plea than if the prosecutor sensed the threat.

How can a Virginia criminal defense lawyer convey their being a threat?

Baring fangs does not convey a threat, nor does using dirty looks nor vicious words. A Virginia criminal defense lawyer naturally conveys a threat to the prosecutor and police — and immunity from being eaten alive — by their seeing the attorney in effective action in court; by the attorney’s fully preparing for each trial; by the lawyer’s being fully comfortable and accepting of the detail, minutiae, and often mountain of evidence and discovery that must be reviewed, digested, analyzed, and looked at from all essential angles; and by the lawyer’s fully caring about his or her clients. When a Virginia criminal lawyer truly cares about his or her clients as individuals and for their plight, even when that lawyer falters or even falls, that caring for the client — rather than the self centered focus on the attorney’s bruised ego or worry that word will get out about that faltering — will help the lawyer get right back up and go back into the ring swinging.

Should my Virginia criminal lawyer sometimes not reveal their firepower?

A very good lawyer I know from the Trial Lawyers College says he avoids letting his opponents know how good he is, to then have them often less prepared when my friend unleashes his firepower. (He is among the last lawyers who will get eaten alive.) That may sometimes be all well and good if a trial is inevitable, but the lawyer wants the trial judge also to know that the attorney is a force to be reckoned with, so that the judge thinks twice about trying to impede on the lawyer’s doing their job. Furthermore, if a Virginia criminal defense lawyer’s client wants settlement negotiations to be engaged in (and such negotiations can even be to pursue an outright dismissal), the lawyer wants the prosecutor to know that the assistant commonwealth’s attorney is in for a real fight in the event the case does not settle. In the Fairfax courthouse and other courts where I regularly appear, the prosecutors and judges already know my firepower. For the courthouses where I appear less, it does not take long in the prosecutor’s talking with me to know that I know what I am doing, and will be very effective at trial.

Your judge, prosecutor, and police officer have their own pain, wounds, fears and insecurities

Often underlying some of the most tyrannical and heartless-seeming judges, prosecutors and police officers are wounds and pain that make them forget to be more compassionate and empathetic. Sometimes the most wounded and fearful opponents will delight in and even abuse their power and the fear that they are able to strike in unrepresented Virginia criminal defendants and their not-ready-for-prime-time lawyers. One of my teachers aptly pointed out that a person who inflicts suffering on others is also suffering, which either influenced their wrongdoing or resulted from their knowledge of their wrongdoing. It is not my role as a Fairfax criminal lawyer to diagnose the roots of heartless-acting judges’ and opponents’ actions, but to remember that my opponents have their own insecurities that sometimes are to my Virginia criminal defense clients’ benefit. At the same time, even a recently severed snake head can deliver a fatal venomous bite if one is foolish enough to touch it while still active, which is as bad as getting eaten alive.

Will my Virginia criminal lawyer rise to the occasion when the proverbial venom flies?

Your lawyer does not need to have a hardscrabble life history to fight effectively for you and to never get eaten alive. S/he does need to be devoted to you and to have that devotion drive being fully prepared for your defense and for your trial, which not only involves mining the deepest recesses of evidence and ideas for winning your case, but also in constantly developing your lawyer’s mind, spirit, physical health (to at least endure and shine during often lengthy court proceedings), relevant legal knowledge, and killer instincts. Recommendations and strong reviews for your potential Virginia criminal lawyer are only part of your essential thorough review of your potential attorney before making your final choice of a lawyer. No legitimate question is too hard for me to answer from a potential Fairfax criminal defendant or criminal defendant with a case anywhere else. You deserve no less.

Fairfax criminal lawyer Jonathan Katz repeatedly obtains great court results against Virginia DUI, misdemeanor and felony prosecutions. Get your essential questions fully answered and your tailor-made action plan from Jon Katz through your free in-person confidential consultation with Jon about your court-pending prosecution. Call 703-383-1100 to secure your meeting time with Jon.