Possibilities abound in your Fairfax DUI defense and Virginia criminal defense. Beware lawyers who say otherwise

Possibilities abound in your Fairfax DUI defense and Virginia criminal defense. As a Fairfax DUI lawyer, I have many times heard my clients tell me about other attorneys who have told them how tough are their cases, only for me to achieve great results for so many of my clients. (Disclaimer: Past successes do not guarantee your own court results.) The bottom line is that yes, you often gotta bust ’em to obtain great results in Virginia criminal court, but that hard work is essential and often pays off in amazing ways. To my clients and potential clients who question whether they are wasting their time and money doing their share in engaging in self improvement / self rehabilitation pending their trial and Virginia preliminary hearing dates — and who ponder whether doing so admits guilt (the prosecutor is open to your being guilty by not having dropped your case, and the judge does ordinarily not know about such steps before you are convicted)  — I say that I have repeatedly persuaded prosecutors to agree to very favorable case resolution when I show the great lengths to which my clients have gone to self improve and when I detail (when my clients okay revealing it) the talks I myself have had with my clients for avoiding committing such an offense in the future (without admitting culpability), for instance through such simple steps with drinking and driving as not driving within twenty four hours of consuming beer, wine or alcohol; having a designated driver; and having the funds available for a taxi/ Uber / Lyft and even for a hotel room, which all will cost less than paying a Virginia DWI attorney.

Possibilities for trial, even with the most challenging seeming judges

Great trial lawyer Terry McCarthy has called non-jury trials slow pleas. However, in Virginia, unless a case is directly indicted, misdemeanor trials start as bench trials in General District Court. Consequently, as a Fairfax DUI lawyer, I must find ways and possibilities to win trials in front of judges, and I often do, including a trial before a judge who is not known for being among those more likely to say “not” before guilty than plenty of other judges. I learned from talking with my client that at the time of drinking and arrest, she was wearing a removable dental veneer that made it look like she had some gold teeth. My client removed her dental veneer before blowing into the breathalyzer / Intox EC/IR II machine. On the witness stand, the police officer / law enforcement officer (LEO) acting as the breath technician, admitted to me that no more than fifteen minutes passed between the time of removing my client’s veneer and blowing into the breathalyzer machine. This contravenes he Virginia Department of Forensic Science’s (DFS) Intox EC/IR II Breath Test Operator Instructional Manual (July 7, 2008), which provides that the breath tech “operator should always inspect the subject’s mouth for any foreign objects. If found, they should be removed, and the subject must be observed for 20 minutes prior to providing a breath sample.” DFS Intox EC/IRII Operator Manual at 22. The judge agreed with me that not waiting at least twenty minutes after my client removed her dental veneer to have her blow into the breathalyzer machine made her breath test results unreliable. The judge articulated that she would not have so concluded had the veneer remained in my client’s mouth, but that the removal of the veneer risked dislodging alcohol into my client’s mouth. Finding the absence of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt for DWI under Virginia’s non-BAC (blood alcohol concentration) definition of DWI (having drunk enough alcohol to noticeably affect the suspect’s appearance or behavior), the judge acquitted my client. Consequently, never expect that any judge does not have the potential to acquit you.

Possibilities for negotiations by overcovering risk against Virginia DUI prosecutions under Virginia Code § 18.2-266

As I have said before, one day a more advanced taekwondo practitioner told me that when he breaks boards with his fists and feet, he aims for a point beyond the board, lest he breaks a bone by stopping at the board (which may also be made so thin as to be easier to break in the first place). This is about overcovering risk, which Virginia DUI defendants should also do, by obtaining the best possible lawyer for them, by working closely as a team with their attorney, and by engaging in substantial self improvement steps, for instance, with DUI, completing a driver improvement class, obtaining a favorable evaluation from a state-licensed drug treatment/ education program, attending several self help meeting (for instance Alcoholics Anonymous/ AA), and attending the very persuasive (not to drive after drinking) Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Victim Impact Panel. Prosecutors see so many Virginia DUI defendants who engage in no self improvement, that following the foregoing steps make you stand out positively so much more in negotiating for a favorable settlement of your Virginia DWI case. Prosecutors have repeatedly and sincerely pointed out to me that all of my client’s concerted effort to self rehabilitate made the difference between the favorable plea deal we reached only through those efforts.

Tackling Virginia DUI sentencing

In the category of the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, of course winning your Virginia DUI case is not guaranteed. Be ready for any sentencing. By engaging in relevantly beneficial self improvement, you help give the prosecutor comfort that your Virginia judge will more likely accept a sentencing agreement reached by the parties. Nobody likes discomfort, which means a prosecutor may be less willing to make a plea offer that s/he expects the judge may reject, let alone if a judge also lectures the prosecutor in the process. Beyond that, your Virginia DUI lawyer can better persuade the judge to accept a party-agreed sentence or to impose the most favorable possible sentence after a post-trial conviction or any other conviction not connected to a plea deal, by showing impressive documentation of your self rehabilitation/ self improvement steps, which also provide a barometer on your potential for success on probation.

Virginia DWI defense involves constantly moving parts, often in-depth data and evidence to absorb and challenge, and often convoluted aspects of law that need to be synthesized, simplified and persuasively argued. Fairfax DUI lawyer Jonathan Katz tackles all of that in pursuing your best defense against Virginia DWI prosecutions, having successfully defended hundreds of DWI defendants. Jon Katz repeatedly deals with forensic science experts to attack the equipment and procedure used in testing your BAC, and Jon is among the small percentage of Virginia DUI defenders who is a member of the essential National College of DUI Defense (NCDD) or its equivalent, and an even smaller percentage of such defense attorneys who have been trained not only in administering standard field sobriety tests (SFSTs / FSTs) to people who have consumed alcohol, but by one of the nation’s top trainers to police for such testing. Don’t throw in the towel when charged with violating the Virginia DWI law. Fight, fight, and fight, and discover the benefits and possibilities of doing so. Call 703-383-1100 for your free initial in-person confidential consultation with Fairfax DUI lawyer Jon Katz about your court-pending prosecution.