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Private prosecutors are the exception to the usual Virginia practice of having prosecutors be elected officials or their employees, or private practicing lawyers hired by incorporated cities or towns. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I am ready to seek the disqualification of a private prosecutor...

Marijuana odor detection is a favorite of law enforcement to justify detaining and arresting people; searching them, their vehicles and their other property; and obtaining search warrants to seek further evidence of criminal activity. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer and civil libertarian, I am overjoyed...

Welcoming court at first feels counterintuitive for most Virginia DUI defendants and criminal defendants. However, as a Fairfax criminal lawyer I know that once a Virginia criminal defendant is forced into the courthouse battlefield, s/he has only one choice, which is to fight, fight and...

Fairfax Circuit Court Judge David Bernhard early on in his judgeship made clear his inclination against imposing cash bail. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer and civil libertarian, I read with interest how Judge Bernhard this month went one step further with a letter opinion (which...

Criminal defense victory usually does not come easy, but is more possible when the Virginia criminal lawyer is powerfully calm and maintains a sense of humor, wonder and enchantment in life. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know by experience the power of this approach,...

Curitlage seizures take place when police detain a person on “'the land immediately surrounding and associated with the home.'" Saal v. Virginia, 848 S.E.2d 612 (2020) (quoting Oliver v. U.S.., 466 U.S. 170 (1984). As a Fairfax DUI lawyer, I know that because "the curtilage is 'considered...

Virginia DUI breath testing is always ripe for trial challenges. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I always explore this line of attack, including with the breathalyzer twenty minute rule. The Virginia Department of Forensic Science's own breath test operator instructional manual ("DFS Manual") provides the...

Sentencing success is less preferable than trial success. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know, nonetheless, that it is folly to prepare for trial without also being prepared for sentencing in the event of a conviction or an eventual plea deal. Recently, the sentencing judge's...

Trial for me is like breathing and brushing teeth. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer and Virginia DUI attorney, I know that being fully prepared for trial is a given. Truer than true is that being full trial readiness makes one's Virginia criminal or DUI case...

Family members and friends often express profound concern to me about their relatives / friends who have been charged  witha Virginia criminal or DUI offense. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that such concern and support -- in measured fashion -- can be beneficial...