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The courtroom persuasiveness of a powerfully respectful approach backed by strength
When a client urges the necessity of my destroying an opposing witness on cross examination, I respond that the backlash from destroying the opposing witness can be much more harmful than my telling the defense story through cross examination, bringing out important evidentiary points, and...
Criminal Defense and Fighting for Social Justice Unfold from Similar Basics
Donald Trump is facing so much dissent on the streets and in airports, in the courts, and beyond that one wonders whether he will get any rest from dissidents until he reverses course from his xenophobic approach to non-United States citizens and his ill-fated insular,...
“You always smile when you object,” the prosecutor told me
A prosecutor recently pointed out "You always smile when you object" when we try cases together. I replied that I smile while firing my proverbial bullets, and mentioned the great World War II movie scene where the American soldier calmly smiles in the moment, while...
Virginia homicide defense and self defense – No obligation to retreat in one’s own home
Alcohol and guns do not mix. Inside defendant/appellant Marvin Hines's home, Wayne Hudson -- drunk since the previous afternoon -- was in "the heat of this out-of-control temper tantrum," while having a gun in his hand. Hines walked away to obtain Hines's own handgun and...
After the fatal Charlotte police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott – The importance for police and all people to practice de-escalation
The aftermath of the September 20, 2016, fatal Charlotte police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott includes police insistence that Mr. Scott was displaying a handgun, and his family's claiming the opposite. (Finally released police video footage of the shooting is here.) Even assuming for argument's...
Obtaining victory by vibrating away the dung
If we let it happen, we are constantly bombarded with gunk, garbage and negative energy. With me, it can start with something as small as facing a choice between cursing or blessing the driver in front of me who sticks his stinky burning cigarette outside...
Winning through owning the outcome- Fairfax lawyer comments
One weekend day I went for a long distance run, intending on taking a beautiful nearby trail into a much longer trail. I was pumped, I warmed up, I started running, and then I twisted my ankle in a small ditch in the dirt after...
Make Marijuana Legal By The Next 4/20
By now, with medical marijuana legalized in so many states and legalized in four states for recreational use, we know that marijuana appeals far beyond stereotypical stoners. Its medicinal uses for pain, anxiety, depression, and attention deficit disorder come without many of the undesirable side...
Three police officers shot in Prince William County, one fatally
Prince William County, Virginia, police officer Ashley Guindon was slain when responding to a domestic violence call,
The fight for justice is no popularity contest, and the battle can be exhilaratingly powerful
My client can get swept up with me in that fireball of positive energy that focuses on directing a fan at any dirt thrown our way rather than descending into curses and complaints.