False prosecutions call for swift, decisive and effective defense, says Fairfax criminal lawyer

False prosecutions abound. My work as a Fairfax criminal lawyer includes fighting accusations against innocent defendants. Not only are many jurors (with verdicts), judges (with pretrial release / bond / bail decisions, for instance) and prosecutors (with decisions to proceed with prosecuting) going to take prejudicial action against too many innocent Virginia criminal defendants, I even heard one of my own newer part-time assistants ask a calling potential criminal defense client “What did you do?” versus “What crime are you accused of doing?” (This and all assistants are trained to ask the latter question, and I underlined to this assistant that the question about what actually happened comes at my own timing when talking with a client.) Sadly, false accusations ruin plenty of Virginia criminal defendants before a verdict is ever rendered in their case, as witnessed, for instance, by the people who lose their jobs while detained pretrial and by military members pushed into civilian life while their criminal case is still pending in court. On top of that, we see some people with security clearances have their access curtailed while their cases are pending. Of course, a conviction brings even worse consequences to anyone who gets convicted, whether innocent or not.

The truth does not automatically carry the day in the face of false prosecutions

The truth does not automatically carry the day in Virginia criminal court nor does wishful thinking nor prayer without action against false prosecutions and any other prosecution. (Remember, those are helped who help themselves.) This means that if you are falsely accused of a crime — or even correctly accused of violating the Virginia DUI, felony or misdemeanor law — it is time to take full action, even if you have not yet been arrested, summonsed, ticketed, nor indicted for a crime. The half hour or so that you spend speaking with a qualified Virginia criminal defense lawyer can help spell the difference between being convicted or not. When a person not yet prosecuted meets with me about a criminal accusation from law enforcement authorities (LEO) or civilians, I talk with them about the reason for the accusation and how to do damage control, including the fact that silence with non-police / LEO is not subject to being barred by Fifth Amendment Constitutional jurisprudence from being introduced at trial, but that a clear, concise and unwavering assertion of the right to remain silent with police is not admissible at trial. When a police investigation is involved, I commonly call the LEO and deliver them a letter — signed as acknowledged and agreed by my client — that my client asserts their Fifth Amendment right to remain silent, that I will be delighted to speak with them (of course without my disclosing my client’s confidential information), that I assume that no prosecution will take place, but that if a prosecution takes place, to please let me know so that my client may turn himself or herself in. (Turning yourself in is not an admission of guilty, but instead can enhance your chances of being release on bond or pretrial release, by supporting that you are not a risk of flight (with the risk of harm to oneself as others as the other factor in determining pretrial release) pending trial or your Virginia preliminary hearing.

The truth does not always sound like the truth. Have your Virginia criminal lawyer fully prepare your testimony

As part of my effort to convince a prosecutor to dismiss a serious felony charge against one of my clients, I arranged for a private polygraph examination session of him. The benefit of such an approach is that if the polygraph exam results are helpful, they can be shared with the prosecutor against false prosecutions, whereas otherwise the prosecutor does not know that a polygraph was ever taken. I felt very strongly that my client’s insistence of innocence was true, and still feel that way, even though his polygraph did not support innocence. (Ultimately the prosecution was dismissed when I successfully argued to the prosecutor about why another person was culpable and who it was.) My client simply was very nervous talking about this case, even with the security of knowing that the prosecutor would not know about any negative polygraph results. My client was typically an overly trusting person who may have separated himself from associating (innocently) with the actual perpetrator had he been more streetwise. Also, even though he spoke excellent English, he spoke English as a second language and perhaps that made him nervous all the more. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that all criminal defense lawyers must fully prepare for trial unless and until the case gets dismissed or settles, I fully prepared my client’s testimony, which was much better than he probably came across with the polygraph exam, in part because of the trust and familiarity we had developed with each other, and because the polygraph situation may summon the type of primal discomfort that I still feel to this day when smelling alcohol or ether in a doctor’s office, which summonses the discomfort that I felt as a child in the same situation. Similarly, discomfort can be bred all the more by being wired to a polygraph machine and being asked very pointed questions by a polygrapher without the presence of one’s criminal defense lawyer or other supporters. Nonetheless, discomfort is not automatically going to disappear when being grilled by the prosecutor on the witness stand. Do not let that discomfort be interpreted by your jurors or judge as not telling the truth. Make sure you have the right lawyer to fully prepare your testimony.

If I am telling the truth, why do I need a lawyer to help me improve on the truth?

No matter how truthful you are, your jurors and judge barely know you, and do not have a history of you to know your truthfulness. Any sweating, uncomfortably shifting in your seat, touching your face, or stammering can be interpreted as signs of prevarication by your judge or jurors. When you fully prepare for your testimony, including practicing your direct and cross examination testimony with your lawyer, you will be more comfortable with testifying and in the otherwise unfamiliar setting of the courtroom, and your truthful testimony is more likely to come across as truthful. Ask your potential Virginia criminal lawyer about their quality and level of ability and experience not only in taking cases to trial (which includes persuading at every stage, including with direct and cross examination), but also about their ability and dedication to fully prepare you to testify and preparing your testimony, including preparing you for the otherwise potentially unexpected hurdles, bows and arrows while on the witness stand. False prosecutions do not call for any less defense preparation than any other prosecutions.

False accusers rarely recant their false accusations in false prosecutions- Do not rely on such recantations

False accusations against Virginia criminal defendants rarely get recanted in false prosecution. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I tell my clients not to rely on recantations. Once a person makes a false accusation, they now have the choice of risking prosecution for reporting falsely to the police, commonwealth’s attorney’s  / prosecutor’s office, or magistrate, or to continue down the path of falsehood, hoping not to be penalized for doing so. A rare example of recantation came with a Virginia criminal defendant (I will not state his name, to protect his innocence) convicted in Hampton, Virginia, of two counts of child sex offense, both bringing a mandatory life sentence. The child recanted only after being probed by an adult who knew him, which revealed that the child was scared that not accusing the defendant of such crimes would have unleashed substantial anger from his mother, who had been in a romantic relationship with the defendant. Fortunately, that false testimony got reported to the authorities, and the prosecutor’s office joined in the defendant’s motion to reverse his conviction, which by itself does not guarantee exoneration by the court, but certainly makes exoneration more likely than if opposed by the prosecution.

Virginia criminal court is every person for himself or herself

Virginia criminal court is every person for himself or herself. The agenda of any of your co-defendants, the assistant commonwealth’s attorney / prosecutor, the police and the judge is not your agenda. Only your qualified Virginia criminal defense lawyer shares your agenda with you for pursuing your best defense. False prosecutions are not automatically weak for being false. Fully gird your loins by obtaining a qualified Virginia criminal lawyer and by working closely as a team with your attorney.

Fairfax criminal lawyer Jonathan Katz knows that prosecutions for alleged violations of the Virginia DUI, felony and misdemeanor laws can get unfair and messy. That is not a reason to freeze up or to curse the darkness, but to take full action to blunt the prosecution — no matter how false or not — and to emerge with as much victory as possible. Jon Katz’s years of successful experience defending thousands of criminal defendants — including successfully taking hundreds of criminal cases to trial — lets you know that you are in the right hands when he is your attorney. Start your great defense now by securing your free in-person initial confidential consultation with Jon, at703-383-1100, info@katzjustice.com, and (text) 571-406-7268.