Fairfax DUI case results in Virginia wet reckless after full trial readiness

Fairfax DUI case results in wet reckless disposition when fully ready to proceed to trial

Fairfax DUI case results can depend on such factors as trial outcome, strength of the allegations and defense, criminal defendant self improvement, and which prosecutor and judge involved. As among Fairfax DUI lawyers, I today follow up on my last blog entry entitled Trial Readiness Drives Successful Criminal Defense. in addressing a recent Virginia DWI 0.12 BAC blood draw case that resulted on the trial date as a settlement for the much preferable wet reckless driving.

Fairfax DUI case results when one negotiates before or on the trial date

Sometimes a prosecutor will contact a DUI lawyer or Virginia criminal defense lawyer in advance of the trial date in an effort to engage in settlement negotiations / plea bargaining in the case. By that time, if not already done, the criminal defense lawyer should address with his or her DWI client such considerations as prospects for more favorable negotiations or not by settling before the trial date versus on the trial date; the DUI defendant’s prospects of obtaining victory — and how much victory — by going to trial; and the ideal of waiting until the trial date to see which prosecution witnesses have arrived or will arrive to court, how busy the prosecutor is with other cases, and who the judge is. Because I as a Fairfax DUI lawyer proceed to trial dates fully prepared for trial, my full trial readiness is a plus with Fairfax DUI case and Virginia criminal case negotiations, because when prosecutors know that I am ready for trial, that helps for more favorable case negotiations for my DUI and criminal defense client.

Details of arriving ready for trial on a 0.12 BAC Fairfax blood draw case and concluding with a wet reckless result

In my recent Fairfax DUI case involving a blood draw with a 0.12 blood alcohol content (BAC) result, exceeding the 0.08 legal limit (where we had little likelihood of overcoming the police claim that my client had consented to a blood draw), my client and I appeared for the trial date and time, and I checked which witnesses were present. All essential prosecutor witnesses were present, those being the arresting police officer, registered nurse who drew my client’s blood at the hospital, and the two Virginia Department of Forensic Science scientists who examined my client’s blood. I then spoke with the Fairfax prosecutor, who through years of experience with me knows of my full trial readiness on the trial date. Our case discussion resulted in a settlement for wet reckless with restricted driving during the six month negotiated license suspension period, where our prospects of acquittal were low based on the presence of all the prosecutor’s essential witnesses and the testimony content and quality thereof that I anticipated from them. Our wet reckless settlement result was superior to DUI conviction in every way except that restricted driving for Virginia reckless driving cases is with limits on where and when a person may drive, versus a first-time Virginia DUI conviction, that provides the option to insert in the restricted driving application the option for driving anytime and anywhere for a year with the alcohol ignition interlock device.

If my Fairfax DUI case results in a DWI conviction, what are my prospects on appeal?

Every Virginia criminal defendant who gets convicted of a crime in General District Court has the absolute right to appeal for a new trial in Circuit Court, so long as the ten-day deadline for filing the appeal is timely and correctly met, which includes needing to file the appeal before any weekend or holiday on which the tenth day will fall, if the tenth day will not be on a weekday. The defendant may proceed to the trial date (which will be by jury unless both parties agree for no jury) and withdraw his or her appeal at any time until the business day before the Circuit Court trial date and then start serving his or her Virginia District Court sentence. Criminal jury trials for a Fairfax DUI case and other misdemeanor cases in this county will go to trial in September 2021 at the earliest, due to Covid-related delays in scheduling Virginia jury trials. Prosecutors who want to triage for the most important prosecutions might be more amenable to a more beneficial Virginia DUI case settlement on appeal in Circuit Court than in District Court.

Takeaways from this Virginia DUI case that resulted in a wet reckless disposition

As a Fairfax DUI lawyer, I provide the following takeaways from my foregoing Fairfax DUI case-

• A qualified Virginia DUI lawyer will advise you on fully preparing for trial and on the best approaches and decision making for pursuing case settlement negotiations
• It is ideal to proceed to the trial date before settling the case, to first know whether the prosecutor has the necessary witnesses and evidence present, so long as beneficial settlement prospects  will not diminish if the case is not settled before the trial date
• If criminal case negotiations need to be conducted and concluded before the trial date, it is important for the Virginia criminal lawyer to ascertain in advance the extent to which each essential prosecution witness will be present at trial if the case does not settle
• A qualified Virginia DWI lawyer will advise his or her client on the extent to which the defendant should simply (1) wait until the trial date to proceed with settlement negotiations or (2) go to trial unless the defendant’s settlement goals are met.

A defendant has a choice of many Fairfax DUI lawyers. Fairfax criminal lawyer Jonathan L. Katz has successfully defended hundreds of DWI defendants — including taking hundreds of such cases to trial — and provides his clients with a full-court press in pursuing the best possible outcome against Virginia felony, misdemeanor and DUI prosecutions. Call 703-383-1100 for a free in-person completely confidential consultation with Jon Katz about your court-pending case.