Labor Day weekend DWI arrests call for the same full defense they always need, says Fairfax DUI lawyer

Labor Day weekend Virginia DWI arrests under Virginia Code § 18.2-266  tend to be more common than during most weekends, not only because of all the merrymaking before the unofficial end of summer, but also because police are often on the streets and outside the bars in greater force, approaching the matter like bears to spawning salmon. As a Fairfax DUI lawyer, I know that many arrestees ask why police and the law must be such killjoys, and I do not say that lightly, because I know how fun it is to let loose with or without beer, wine or alcohol, and recognize how much of a damper it is on a good time for police to show up and to send matters in a different trajectory. Even when people choose a designated driver or a paid driver, that does not automatically avoid police involvement, because of the possibility of public intoxication arrests, and because of the increased incidence of assaults by those consuming alcohol (even though plenty of people do not get more violent nor violence-prone at all from liquor). In any event, arrests from this long weekend call for the same full defense that they always need.

Should I have faith in any police reassurances that all will go fine in court for me?

Of course plenty of police want to reassure Virginia DWI defendants that they have little to worry about for court, particularly when said in the hopes of quieting an arrestee who is verbally and maybe even physically freaking out about going to court over their arrest during Labor Day weekend or any other time. A calmer arrestee makes law enforcement officers’ (LEO) lives easier, as does a defendant who obtains a lawyer who will do little if anything to disrupt their day in court. You want lawfully to disrupt the status quo of your Virginia DUI prosecution, because you do not want to be convicted, nor for your reputation to be harmed by a conviction, nor to deal with a sentence, a suspended driving license, nor with the Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program (VASAP). Yes, your arresting police officer may express genuine or feigned irritation that your lawyer is fully defending you, but the opposite approach is not acceptable. Consequently, of course you are not going to give any currently to reassurance from the same LEO officer who wants you convicted, for you to be laid back about your defense and your court date.

Has my police officer gotten so overwhelmed with their Labor Day Virginia DUI investigations and arrests that the LEO will mistake other people’s case information for my own?

Recently while I cross examined a seasoned police officer on the witness stand, at one point when admitting he was not sure of the answer to my question, the LEO volunteered that this incident had happened awhile back. Not only does passage of time make police and other witnesses misremember more things and to mistake material information about defendant A’s case with defendant B’s case, but information overload from a very busy evening of criminal investigations and arrests can lead to the same result. This is among the good reasons for you to consult timely with a qualified Virginia DWI lawyer, to assure you are sharing information with that attorney while matters are fresh in your own head about your arrest from Labor Day weekend or any other time. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I ordinarily can meet with you within one business day of your calling my staff, and often the same day.

What makes a holiday weekend Virginia DUI arrest any different from defending against any other DWI arrest?

Little difference exists between defending against a Labor Day weekend DUI arrest and a DWI arrest from any other date, other than for your Virginia DUI lawyer to pay attention to whether the police officer in your case felt any extra pressure — if deployed especially for holiday weekend DWI enforcement — to show some DUI arrests for it, and to pay attention to whether information overload for the LEO may have been higher that weekend if the officer was involved in more criminal investigations and arrest than during non-holiday time periods.

Fairfax DUI lawyer Jonathan Katz fully defends you with the strength of his years of experience successfully defending hundreds of DWI defendants, including successfully defending hundreds of such cases at trial. Jon Katz is among the small percentage of Virginia DUI defenders who is a member of the National College of DUI Defense and who has been trained in administering field sobriety tests (FSTs / SFSTs) to people who have recently consumed alcohol Call 703-383-1100 for your free in-person strictly confidential initial meeting with Jon Katz about your court-pending prosecution.