Fairfax heavy criminal court dockets are an opportunity for defendants, says Fairfax criminal lawyer

Fairfax heavy criminal court dockets are a reality at all court levels in this county, those being General District Court, Circuit Court and Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that this county’s criminal court dockets are so heavy that if every criminal defendant entered a not guilty plea and proceeded to trial, the court system — as it is currently designed — would grind to a halt, and the commonwealth attorney’s  office would not have sufficient resources to prosecute cases. That is a good reason for Fairfax prosecutors to engage in plea and other settlement negotiations that will avoid trial, and for judges to be flexible about accepting sentencing agreements reached by the parties. Moreover, the busy Fairfax criminal dockets mean that judges will be more reluctant than otherwise about rescheduling too many cases, lest that amount to a greater mountain of cases to handle than otherwise.

Don’t prosecutors also want to get trial experience?

Were I a prosecutor (a concept I cannot stomach, and it is a fallacy that one needs to be a former prosecutor to become a great Virginia criminal defense lawyer), I would want to get plenty of trial experience, including against great criminal defense lawyers, even with the Fairfax heavy criminal court dockets. However, I would not want criminal defendants to get the shaft by a prosecutor’s being harsher with settlement negotiations in the hopes of going to trial. At the same time, from a time management perspective, if a prosecutor wants to have sufficient time and energy to capably handle all of his or her cases, s/he has no choice but to carefully evaluate their cases and to engage in settlement negotiations. Nonetheless, no prosecutor has an obligation to make any plea offer (let alone a desirable one). For that reason alone, it is vital that y0u obtain a Fairfax criminal lawyer who will successfully and capably represent you at all essential stages of your criminal defense, including proceedin to trial, and who will devote the necessary time to doing so.

How capably will my lawyer handle Fairfax heavy criminal court dockets?

Ask your potential Fairfax criminal lawyer how s/he will handle the Fairfax heavy criminal court dockets. This includes assuring that the lawyer is not booking themselves to be in two different courthouses on the same date as your case if morning court may run into the afternoon, which can happen in Fairfax due to the heavy caseloads with which the judges so often deal, and in the event that many defendants in your courtroom opt to proceed to trial that day. Also feel free to ask your lawyer how s/he avoids and deals with the stress of the rought and tumble of proceeding to court in the first place.

Is the Fairfax drug, mental health, or veterans docket right for me?

Fairfax has three specialty treatment dockets / diversion dockets, those being the drug treatment, mental health and veterans treatment court. Speak with your Fairfax criminal lawyer about whether any of those dockets might be right for you, versus proceeding with the usual Fairfax heavy criminal dockets. Be aware that even if you reach a favorable possible result with the prosecution with such treatment dockets, you still need to clear all the applicable steps and hurdles for achieving that goal. Consequently, you always want your Fairfax criminal lawyer to be fully capable and ready for trial as needed.

Fairfax criminal lawyer Jonathan Katz does not stop defending you until obtaining your best possible results against Virginia felony and misdemeanor prosecutions. Call 703-383-1100 for your free in-person initial consultation with Jon Katz about your court-pending prosecution.