Lessons for court dates that Fairfax criminal lawyer Jon Katz gives his clients

Lessons for your court date are important for you to obtain from your Virginia attorney. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I tell my clients many essential things about their court dates that are tailor-made to them and their cases. Below are some important ideas I tell most of my clients. If your lawyer is not me, then check with your own attorney about how to prepare for your court date and how to handle the results.

Feed and care for your body, mind, spirit and soul

Lessons from top athletes are important to consider in preparing for court. For instance, when Michael Jordan transitioned back to professional basketball from minor league baseball, he immediately recognized that he needed to redevelop certain parts of his physical fitness approach. Similarly, stress and concern over your case should not prevent you from eating, drinking (ideally mainly water and sensible juicing) and exercising properly and regularly, having a sensible regular sleep schedule (and at least being in bed then even when sleep is not uninterrupted), keeping your mind sharp (whether through reading, journaling, engaging in positive conversation or otherwise), and tending to your spirit and soul (whether that be religious or not, and ideally including mindfulness along the lines of meditation, yoga, or quiet time in nature or otherwise). If anxiety, worry and stress over your pending court case is interfering with my clients’ mental and/or physical health, or their sleep schedule, I want them to tell me. While I cannot be a replacement for mental health and spiritual counselors, I can dispel concerns that are not likely to come to fruition, and work with my clients to take approaches that will address their concerns, while never candy-coating any aspect of their case and the teamwork we need to do for their defense.

Treat the days leading up to your court date — and your court date — as you would for a major all-day exam

When I took the LSAT (Law School Aptitude Test), I stayed at a hotel the night before the test (which was among the lessons from my program teacher), to avoid possibly rowdy noise in my dorm hallway. Similarly for your court date, it is important for you to decompress the day before and leading up to when you depart for court. Make sure to get some nutrition that morning, at the very least to avoid weakness. My court date nutrition excludes all caffeine (which can cause bathroom visit urges, and can cause dehydration), includes hydration throughout the day, taking a daily B12 supplement, and keeping eating simple (for instance and orange or grapefruit and/or sliced avocado on a rice cake or bread possibly with some Himalayan or Celtic sea salt and fresh ground black pepper atop). Be ready for insufficient lunch-buying options at court. Some of my favorite foods to bring in my briefcase (or leave in my car, while considering freshness) for lunch are baby carrots and ripe avocado, hummus with celery and carrots and dippers, or to snack on a small bag of trail mix (for instance a mix of unroasted pumpkin seeds, hazelnuts, walnuts, and/or pecans and some raisins (not wanting to overdo the raisins (due to sugar) nor nuts and seeds (due to fat). Dress right for court in terms of dressing respectfully, comfortably (select sensible footwear that will be comfortable throughout the day, and that will be comfortable walking from place to place), and with sufficient layers to adjust for heat and cold. Nothing beats a walk of at least a few blocks on your court date. When I arrive early enough at court, I sometimes like to walk around the entire courthouse, which underlines my sense of harmony with the courthouse, that this is a place where my client and I can obtain justice for them. Be careful about whom you bring to court with you; ideally they will be people who uplift you, or else it might be better to come to court by yourself. Be ready to have the stamina needed in the event that your case does not conclude until many hours after court starts. Have a book or other items to handle while waiting for court to start, especially in courthouses that do not permit you to bring a cellphone.

Do not let others in the courthouse be a distraction to you and the lessons from your Virginia criminal defense lawyer

The courthouse is full of drama by many people, excessive anxiety by many others, and the thrill of victory and agony of defeat. You have enough to handle with your own case and following the lessons from your Virginia criminal defense lawyer, than to let other people and their cases be an unnecessary distraction for you. I tell my clients that if a police officer or other witness in their case approach them — and if the prosecutor approaches them — to direct them to me.

Fully prepare with your lawyer before your court date and learn your case lessons before that date

The court date is show time, and not the time to start learning your defensive lessons for the first time. Many courthouses have insufficient private meeting areas to have lengthy discussions on court dates. It is ideal for my clients to fully prepare with me for their court dates well before their court dates, for multiple reasons, including being fully prepared, and fully focused on the court date. Certainly, case settlement negotiations do not always begin until the court date, which does require finding a confidential space for that to be discussed between me and my Virginia criminal defense client. At the same time, I advise my clients for us to have the pre-court date time be when we discuss what we are able to discuss before the court date. This includes fully preparing me and my client for a possible trial, preparing them for what to do and how to act during trial, preparing their possible testimony, reminding them of their right to remain silent but the need for them to answer the judge’s questions to assure that any settlement has been reached by my client knowingly and voluntarily, and preparing them for how to handle the results of court, whether they be a victory (ideal), a settlement, or a trial that is not a victory.

How to prepare for possible cases of nerves, stress or discomfort during your court date

Plenty of court date discomfort — and discomfort over your case in general — comes from the unknown and the matters over which you do not have control, including who will be your judge, prosecutor and potential and actual jury members (if set for a jury trial); what will be the outcome of your case; and whether your case will conclude on that date. There are matters you can control, including your choice of a lawyer, how you and your lawyer interact and work with each other; and your internal reactions to and handling of events in court. I do not push my own personal practices and lessons for powerful groundedness on my clients. When they read my weekly newsletter, and see the design of and artwork in my office, my clients know how important to me is not only mindfulness practice, but finding powerful calmness even in the eye of the storm, which includes my daily taijiquan practice, which I never miss, no exceptions. On top of calmness are the benefits of productive humor (so long as you are not laughing in the courtroom) and enchantment and engagement with life. Plenty of criminal defense is about harmonizing an imbalanced situation, where the prosecution itself is a sort of imbalance. If nothing else, focusing on the now and one’s breath(and to keep breathing as naturally as possible, rather than to hold the breath) can work wonders in so many ways for a Virginia criminal defendant and their lawyer to be more powerfully grounded. The past is past and cannot be changed. The future is not real until it happens. We can forecast the future, but plenty of predictions are only that.

What to do if a Virginia criminal defendant is victorious in court- Lessons on not undoing that

Nothing beats a victory. I encourage my clients to wait until we are safely out of the courthouse for us to celebrate their victory. Your judge will want to move on to their next case or obligation after your case concludes, and will appreciate not having any courtroom celebration activity. Talk with our lawyer about your expungement petition option (here is the Fairfax County, Virginia, Circuit Court expungement webpage), and the importance of obtaining a sufficient number of certified copies of your case disposition (and putting those copies in a variety of safe places) before petitioning for expungement. Make sure to follow these lessons on not undoing any victory you obtain in court.

What to do if you are not victorious in court

Talk with your lawyer before your court date for lessons on what you will do if you are not victorious in court, including but not limited to your appeal options and appeal procedures, designating a person(s) who will pay any appeal bond (if needed) and verifying with your bail bond company (if any) in advance of your court date if the company will agree to continue your bond payment into the appellate stage; paying court fines and costs timely; and handling any sentencing or probation obligations. For Virginia Generally District Court fines and costs, they are typically due within ninety days of sentencing, and often can be extended by arrangement with the court clerk’s office. A 4% processing fee is charged for using a credit or debit card.

How to handle restricted licenses for Virginia DUI and reckless driving convictions

I tell my clients the following lessons / ideas for dealing with restricted licenses when their driving licenses (or privileges) are suspended for a Virginia DUI or reckless driving conviction: If my client’s driver’s license is not from Virginia, it is important for us to discuss if they need to get a Virginia driver’s license if they are resident in Virginia (not everyone has to, for instance military members), and to deal with what might happen to their out-of-state license if convicted. If my client has a commercial driver’s license, we are fighting to save their CDL, and a conviction that harms the CDL may be a factor in my client’s deciding to appeal a conviction. My clients should realize that applying for a restricted driver’s license can be a point of no return to the Virginia DMV’s requiring ignition interlock device (IID) driving for certain minimum period of time. If the IID is required for restricted driving, the IID typically needs to be installed within thirty days of obtaining a restricted driver’s / operator’s license, unless such an application is renewed. Some Fairfax judges and judges in other counties will permit you to drive yourself to install the IID; others will not. Most Virginia judges before whom I appear permit my clients to drive straight home after their license is suspended, if granted a ROL (restricted operator’s license) with the IID; otherwise, the defense can ask the judge to only effectuate the sentence after the time expected to take to drive home. A Virginia paper restricted license is only good by itself for sixty days. Virginia driver’s license holders should take the paper restricted license to a full service DMV within 31 to 59 days after receiving the restricted license, to pay for a plastic restricted license to supplement the paper restricted license. If the DMV does not have your plastic restricted license ready before then, you can ask the DMV for a non-license photo ID if you want one, and can also endeavor to use your unexpired United States passport before then as identification. The defendant should go to the DMV at the end of the license suspension period to pay for a new regular license (if a Virginia licensee) or to pay for a reinstatement fee to continue driving in Virginia. If the IID is not the only limit for restricted driving, I talk with my clients about how to handle such practicalities as when and how to purchase gas for their car. I talk with my clients about my recommended IID installer and how to deal with the IID company.

Most important is to pursue your best defense

Most important among all the important lessons is to pursue your best defense. Beware if your lawyer reassures you about your case without giving reasons for that reassurance. Beware if your lawyer swats down your questions and ideas. When my clients feel it is important enough to ask me a question or to raise an idea, then it is important enough for me to engage with my client about their questions and ideas. Scripts and game plans are but scripts and game plans, and sometimes need to be adjusted as circumstances require. I alert my clients that plenty of unknowns and shifting circumstances may take place in their case, and that I will fully focus and work with my clients on handling all such transitions.  Again, the most important thing is pursuing your best defense, as you define it.

Fairfax criminal lawyer Jonathan Katz relentlessly pursues your best court defense against Virginia felony, misdemeanor and DUI prosecutions, by integrating his many years of success defending thousands of defendants, successfully taking hundreds of cases to trial, and successfully negotiating hundreds of case resolutions. A great start to your Virginia criminal defense is to schedule your free strictly confidential initial in person consultation with Jon Katz about your court-pending prosecution, by contacting us at 703-383-1100, Info@KatzJustice.com, and (text) 571-406-7268.