Fairfax DUI prosecution- How Virginia DWI lawyer Jon Katz reduced it to an infraction with a high fine

Fairfax DUI prosecution defense calls for a full court press. As a Fairfax DUI lawyer, recently I obtained two great results against such prosecutions, those being converting a DWI prosecution to the lowest category of infraction with a high fine, and converting a DWI 0.24 blood alcohol concentration (BAC) prosecution — risking a mandatory ten days in jail — to a no active jail arrangement, with dismissal of the counts alleging obstruction of justice and refusal to submit to BAC testing. Helping in both instances was that each of these two Fairfax defendant clients had followed to a T my advice about proceeding with self improvement steps (for their DUI counts, in the form of completing a Virginia DMV-approved driver improvement class; obtaining an evaluation from a state-licensed program (both defendants scored in the social drinker range on the Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST); attending many self help / Alcoholics Anonymous-type meetings (available both live and online); and completing the two-hour online Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Victim Impact Panel (which I have attended, enabling me to articulate how effective this panel can be to convince a person not to drive after consuming alcohol).

Converting a Fairfax DUI prosecution to a high-fine low-level traffic infraction

My client who obtained a conversion of his Fairfax DUI prosecution to the infraction of improper driving was found by police sleeping (the police claimed unconscious) allegedly with an odor of alcohol in his car when the engine was off, but minutes after a trio of people reported seeing him driving erratically. His manner of speaking could have been described as sounding very inebriated, but I was ready to argue at any trial that such manner of speech was also consistent with someone who had just been roused from sleep. He refused to engage in field testing and preliminary breath testing (PBT) (bless his heart). Both sides had bets to hedge. Fairfax County General District Court rules generally allow either party to obtain a continuance on the first trial date, which this was, for instance to obtain civilian witness presence, and the prosecutor’s witnesses to my client’s driving all live in this county and were easy to find. With my client’s refusal to submit to BAC testing (and not being blood tested, and not being charged with refusal based on being on private apartment parking lot property), the prosecutor was going to have all the more of an uphill battle of meeting the caselaw definition of Virginia DWI under Virginia Code § 18.2-266, which is having consumed enough alcohol or drugs to noticeably affect the defendant’s appearance or behavior. My client was at risk due to that very watered down definition of DWI. I ultimately convinced this Fairfax assistant commonwealth’s attorney / prosecutor to reduce my client’s DWI charge to the infraction of improper driving under Virginia Code § 46.2-869 with a doubled fine (to $1000) for the legal fiction of committing the infraction in a highway safety corridor / work zone, under Virginia Code § 46.2-808.2.

Changing an obstruction of justice and mandatory minimum jail DWI charge to no incarceration time

In my other successful Fairfax DUI prosecution negotiation, I obtained a deal with no active jail time for my client, who was charged with obstruction of justice / resisting arrest after being arrested for allegedly violating the Virginia DWI law. My client’s neighbor reported allegedly unsafe driving by my client and then leaving his car on the road blocking traffic. Police got my client to admit driving and arriving shortly before, and not having consumed any alcohol after returning home, thus taking away a potential argument that the alcohol in my client’s bloodstream could not be proven to have been consumed before driving. My client wisely refused field sobriety testing (FSTs / SFSTs) and preliminary breath testing. Police arrested him, and my client refused breath testing. The police obtained a search warrant for his blood, which tested at 0.24, which is three times the legal limit. My client completed my recommended self improvement steps. With Fairfax DWI cases, some of the better plea deals can be obtained on the blood docket date (which is set aside for Virginia Department of Forensic Science (DFS) blood analysts to testify), seeing that such trials can be more time consuming for prosecutors, who have to present the testimony of at least three witnesses to get the blood test results into evidence (the arresting officer, the blood drawing technician (for instance a registered nurse or phlebotomist), and the DFS blood analyst. After presenting all the great self improvement steps my client had taken, I ultimately convinced the Fairfax prosecutor to dismiss all charges but the DUI charge, which he amended to strike the elevated alleged BAC, and to impose a high suspended jail sentence, a standard fine, waiting a month to apply for restricted driving (where the interlock is permitted as the only restriction), and, by operation of Virginia DWI law, complete the Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program (VASAP), and have one year of suspended driving (with the option of restricted driving).

What self improvement steps are ideal for me to take in defending against a Virginia DUI prosecution?

My clients’ foregoing great negotiated results in the Fairfax DUI prosecution of each of them underlines the importance of engaging in relevant self improvement steps for negotiating against your Virginia DWI or criminal prosecution. Talk with your Fairfax DUI lawyer / Virginia criminal defense lawyer for the best way to proceed with such self improvement.

Fairfax DUI lawyer Jonathan Katz pursues your best defense against Virginia DWI prosecutions. He is among the small percentage of Virginia DUI defenders who is a member of the essential National College for DUI Defense or its equivalent. Call 703-383-1100 for your free in-person consultation with Jon Katz about your court-pending case.