Fairfax holiday arrests call for full defense, says Virginia criminal lawyer

Fairfax holiday arrests and all arrests call for full defense. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that police seek out crimes and alleged crimes relating to holiday merrymaking, like bear waiting for salmon spawning upstream. Between now and the new year festivities, you can reduce your risk of arrest by knowing that police will often dragnet-arrest all people near illegal drugs and other contraband, by driving carefully, staying away from the wheel within 24 hours of drinking or taking impairing medications, by knowing that public intoxication / drunk in public / DIP arrests happen even in bars (and that police get a free search of you incident to a lawful arrest on probable cause to believe you have committed a crime), by avoiding drinking if that may lead you to strike someone, by finding non-physical and de-escalation approaches to resolving disputes, by paying for a disputed restaurant or hotel bill under protest and working peacefully to resolve the dispute, by avoiding loud and boisterous behavior, and by leaving any business establishment that tells you to leave (while remaining free to dispute the ejection later) rather than being charged with trespassing. If any of that sounds like a killjoy approach, it is a lot more pleasant than finding yourself in a jail holding cell and with a criminal court date.

A zippered mouth is better than the consequences of wagging your tongue with the police

To assist those experiencing Fairfax holiday arrests and any Virginia prosections, I relate my own Fairfax police stop and moving violation infraction ticket, which took place a few years ago on Christmas eve, when I took a righthand turn at a red signal in Fairfax City, where the sign barred such turns. Thinking I knew my own neighborhood signs, I had not bothered to look at this one. The police officer was friendly and asked where I was headed. I responded: “I am not answering questions.” Once he recognized that I had no alcohol on my breath nor contraband in my vehicle, he may well have let me off with but a warning — had I answered his question — or maybe he would have inquired further, for instance: “Do you have any drugs or weapons?” Or maybe he would have called a drug dog to sniff the outside of my dog while writing a citation. A few days later, I bumped into the then-part-time city prosecutor in the Fairfax County courthouse, and told him of my new client (myself), charged with such a moving violation, and asking the prosecutor if I might be able to negotiate a resolution not involving any points off my license. He smiled non-comitally and said we will see what we can do about it. At my court date, I entered the small office near the courtroom where the prosecutor was speaking with police and Virginia criminal defense lawyers. His first question to my ticketing police officer was whether I was polite to him or gave him a hard time. The police officer responded that I was polite with him, the prosecutor offered to amend the charge to a no-points defective equipment disposition with a small fine and court costs, and I accepted. By my following the same advice that I tell my clients (to assert their Fifth Amendment Constitutional right to remain silent with the police), I may have ended up having to go to court and paying a fine and court costs, but that is better than having a more unpleasant experiene.

Diplomacy with the police goes a long way with Fairfax holiday arrests and all police encounters

Stopping and investigating police may do something to irritate you, including their tone of voice, possible racial or other profiling (whether consciously intended or not by the law enforcement officer (LEO)), possible rapid-fire questioning that is more likely to get you confused and to blurt out something inaccurate. and possible efforts to divide and conquer everyone who is with you. Also very importantly make sure that you do not initiate any bodily contact with a police officer, do not accidentally touch the LEO, and do not even accidentally spray the police officer with saliva when talking, to avoid a prosecution for assaulting a police officer (which carries a mandatory minimum six months incarceration.) Consider my politely declining to answer questions of the ticketing police officer in the foregoing scenario, and the result of my ticket getting amended to a no-point vehicle equipment violation charge. Granted that I had nothing to complain about to the police officer in the first place. However, it is an imposition to be delayed by the police stop in the first place, but complaining to the police officer for interfering with your schedule gets you nowhere. Anticipate that your every move and word with a stopping police officer is being recorded by their bodycamera equipment. If you unnecessarily complain on the spot to the police officer, your words and demeanor may not end up being your proudest moment. You will probably thank yourself for collecting your thoughts before putting them into a complaint, and to seek a lawyer’s advice and assistance on that. It goes without saying that if you complain to or about a police officer about their behavior, that may increase the chances that they will charge you with a crime or traffic infraction to justify their encounter with you, and may make it more likely that the reporting police officer and all backup officers will appear at all your trial dates.

Should I obtain a lawyer for my police stop?

For those charged with a jailable offense for Fairfax holiday arrests or for any Virginia prosecution, at least consult with a qualified Virginia criminal attorney, whether or not you hire one. If you are charged only with a non-jailable infraction, you may at least wish to consult with an attorney to assure that you are conducting yourself properly in court. Rare are the alleged jailable offenses for which you are safe to appear in court without a qualified attorney. Also, even though the Virginia public intoxication law carries no possible jail time, such a conviction can be enough of a scarlet letter to justify obtaining a lawyer, or at least to consult with an attorney about the inadviseable approach of simply paying for such a ticket. Do not rely on any assurance from your reporting police officer “not to worry” about your case and not to bother spending a lot on a lawyer. When you do not obtain a qualified lawyer, all you do is make matters simpler for your LEO and for the prosecutor / Virginia assistant commonwealth’s attorney in your case.

Fairfax criminal lawyer Jonathan Katz treats you as an individual deserving of his full time and attention, and your defense as a unique matter that merits an individualized plan and strategy, and not a cookbook one size-fits-all approach. By the time you conclude your free in-person strictly confidential consultation with Jon Katz about your court-pending prosecution, you will feel more confident and knowledgeabel about your defenses, and will leave with a tailor-made action plan for pursuing your best defense with Jon. Usually Jon Katz can meet with you within one business day of your contacting us for a meeting with him, at 703-383-1100, Info@BeatTheProsecution.com, and (text) 571-406-7268.