Enter the courtroom swinging as a criminal defendant, or suffer the consequences, says Fairfax criminal alwyer

Enter the courtroom swinging, because criminal court is proverbial war. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I have benefitted from applying this analogy to boxing, modified by doing so in a calculated, prepared and fearless way. Virginia criminal defendants might feel unease at being in criminal court, but their criminal defense lawyers must be ready for pitched battle at all times. Do not let smiles and jocularity from prosecutors, police and judges fool you. They all have their own agendas, which are not aligned with yours as a criminal defendant. Here, I address prosecutors when they attempt to bend criminal defendants out of shape, when they attempt to communicate to defendants, and when they simply take the low road. It is okay for your Virginia criminal defense lawyer to smile as s/he enters the ring, so long as that smile is backed up by killer instincts, a thorough command of the applicable law and evidence, and relevant successful trial experience, because nothing beats having already fought in trial battle, rather than this being the first trial for a lawyer.

When you have the right lawyer enter the courtroom for you, you do not need to get bent out of shape by the words and even misdeeds of the prosecutor, says Fairfax criminal lawyer

When a prosecutor sends an email to a Virginia criminal defense lawyer, the assistant commonwealth’s attorney knows that the defense lawyer may forward that message to his or her criminal defendant client. That sometimes helps explain the invective and other ugly language that contaminates so much of the written drivel from so many prosecutors. Sometimes the ugly language instead is habit, started by the teaching, encouragement or inspiration from prior or current supervisors to the prosecutor and from other lawyers. What matters for your Virginia criminal defense is not the hot air from the prosecutor, but for you to see your lawyer enter the courtroom ready for action and taking beneficial charge of the situation.

When prosecutors attempt end runs and loopholes around the lawyers’ ethics rules barring them from communicating with criminal defendants

Prosecutors know the attorney ethics rules bar them from communicating to represented criminal defendants without defense counsel’s agreement. Beware when prosecutors try to dodge that by talking to defense counsel when the defendant is present, or open the conference room door where the Virginia criminal defense lawyer is meeting with his client (with too many prosecutors not even knocking first, let not opening the door unless invited to do so). When the defense lawyer continues the conversation with the prosecutor in the presence of the accused client, that amounts to unspoken consent for the prosecutor to keep talking in front of the defendant, even if the prosecutor violated the rules by what the prosecutor first said. Do not let your criminal defense attorney enter the courthouse in any fashion other than to protect you as needed at every turn.

Do not underestimate the cunning and ability of the prosecutor and police, even from those who seem to have limited experience or who do not seem capable of being cold hearted

Prosecutors who have done criminal defense or have worked as law clerks for criminal defense lawyers know how easily bent out of shape numerous criminal defense clients can get from some of the even smallest insignificant details. Do not underestimate even seemingly underexperienced prosecutors and police. They are at the very least more relevantly experienced in the courthouse than are you. I make clear to my Virginia criminal defense clients to expect any prosecutor at any time to take the low road and even cesspool road at any and all stages of the case, including about settlement negotiations, any court scheduling matters, with provision (and timing thereof) of discovery/evidence, and behavior in court. A prosecutor does not enter the courtroom to help you, but to serve his or her agenda.

View the courtroom battle as but a game at your own expense

Criminal defense is war. War is not fair. War is ugly, bloody, with the stench of burning flesh, and often painful. A Virginia criminal defense lawyer must enter the courtroom having done whatever life and personal development, training, exercises and experience that are necessary to not get rattled by misbehavior and low actions by prosecutors. When the defendant sees his or her lawyer is not rattled by that, the defendant will also better handle such prosecutorial shenanigans.

Does your potential Virginia criminal defense lawyer thirst for the courtroom fight, and powerfully approach the courthouse as his or her playground?

Fairfax criminal defense lawyer Jonathan Katz loves the work he does, not because the courthouse is a place of sufficient justice and fairness, but because he knows he is on the side of the angels in fighting for justice for criminal defendants, because the courthouse is the battleground that his Virginia criminal and DUI defense clients have been forced to enter, and because he has delighting in honing and using words, ideas and word pictures as beneficial weapons since long before ever stepping foot into law school. Find out the positive difference that Jon Katz will make for your defense by calling us for your free in-person initial confidential consultation, by calling us at 703-383-1100. You will leave that first meeting much more knowledgeable and confident about your defenses and about your possibilities for success in court.