Satisfying misdemeanor criminal complainants for a dismissal needs to be in your Virginia attorney’s arsenal, says Fairfax criminal lawyer

Satisfying misdemeanor complainants to recommend a judicial dismissal is critical for you and your Virginia attorney to consider. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I have lawfully obtained many misdemeanor dismissals by bypassing the prosecutor, and negotiating a civil settlement with the complainant. This is a law that is not available for Virginia felony cases, nor for charges of assaulting a family member. I do not know of any other jurisdiction that has such a useful law, which provides: “When a person is in jail or under a recognizance to answer a charge of assault and battery or other misdemeanor, or has been indicted for an assault and battery or other misdemeanor for which there is a remedy by civil action, unless the offense was committed (i) by or upon any law-enforcement officer, (ii) riotously in violation of §§ 18.2-404 to 18.2-407, (iii) against a family or household member in violation of § 18.2-57.2, or (iv) with intent to commit a felony, if the person injured appears before the court which made the commitment or took the recognizance, or before the court in which the indictment is pending, and acknowledges in writing that he has received satisfaction for the injury, the court may, in its discretion, by an order, supersede the commitment, discharge the recognizance, or dismiss the prosecution, upon payment by the defendant of costs accrued to the Commonwealth or any of its officers.” Virginia Code § 19.2-151. This law is called Satisfaction and Discharge, also Accord and Satisfaction. 

Can I pay a misdemeanor complainant to make my prosecution go away via Satisfaction and Discharge / Accord and Satisfaction?

Make sure you have a qualified lawyer handles your efforts for dismissal by satisfying the complainant through Satisfaction and Discharge / Accord and Satisfaction. Is Accord and Satisfaction a legal bribe? No. Instead, when a remedy exists by civil action / civil lawsuit for the parallel alleged crime, the criminal defendant and criminal complainant can settle the civil matter — whether by payment or otherwise — and the civilian complainant may ask the court to dismiss the criminal action, and the trial judge has the discretion whether to then dismiss the prosecution with the condition that the defendant pay court costs. Here is a sample accord and satisfaction order that I commonly use. When a complainant is not represented by a lawyer, I often will hand the complainant the satisfaction and discharge law and the foregoing draft order, to show why such a disposition is permitted by law. Plenty of unrepresented complainants already know about Virginia’s accord and satisfaction law, for instance many experienced loss prevention officers from retailers that are alleged crime victims. Not all attorneys for complainants will necessarily know about this law if they do not practice criminal defense.

Will my Virginia judge dismiss my case for my agreement satisfying the complainant?

As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that two hurdles need to be met for satisfying a misdemeanor complainant on the road to pursuing a dismissal of your misdemeanor case. First, a dismissal is not available without the complainant’s agreement. Second, your judge has discretion whether to accept the complainants’ request to dismiss your prosecution. Additionally, a prosecutor does not always understand Virginia’s satisfaction and discharge law, and may be ready to object to such a dismissal. However, I am ready to suggest to the judge that the language and clear intent of the Satisfaction and Discharge law removes the prosecution from having a voice (and the prosecution certainly has no say) in the matter. I do expect that a judge will be more likely to grant an Accord and Satisfaction dismissal when the alleged crime seems to have caused less alleged damage to a complainant (for instance shoplifting versus assault amended from strangulation). For instance, in Fairfax I have not yet seen a judge decline dismissing my client’s case when the complainant has requested such a remedy through the Accord and Satisfaction law.

Why would a Virginia criminal complainant want to dismiss my prosecution through Accord and Satisfaction?

A whole host of reasons can exist for a criminal complainant to want to accept your lawyer’s proposal for satisfying your Virginia misdemeanor prosecution by dismissal through Accord and Satisfaction. Negotiations need to be from the Getting to Yes approach of overlapping the parties’ goals, rather than sticking to positions (other than that dismissal is the sole result that a Virginia criminal defendant seeks in negotiating for an Accord and Satisfaction disposition.) For instance, the following might persuade the complainant to seek dismissal by Accord and Satisfaction: Relevant self improvement / self rehabilitation already completed by the defendants; financial incentive from settling the parallel civil action; a proverbial handshake agreement for no further contact by the defendant with the complainant; saving the time from remaining in court for a trial; and finality rather than risking an acquittal at trial.

What should my Virginia criminal lawyer do if the complainant rejects satisfaction and discharge?

Interestingly, in two recent instances where the complainant either rejected satisfying the prosecution through satisfaction and discharge or took many weeks to decide whether to proceed in that manner, I ended up obtaining dismissals of the Virginia misdemeanor prosecution where the complainant did not appear on the continued trial date. In one instance — which I can address because the statute of limitations has passed — the assault complainant did not appear for the continued trial date, asserting that a continuance was needed as he obtained more documentation to determine what my client should owe financially for an Accord and Satisfaction agreement. The prosecutor had no interest in such a continuance, and dismissed the prosecution.

Fairfax criminal lawyer’s recent dismissal by satisfying the complainant

In a recent successful result for my client in Fairfax court, the complainant accused my client of property destruction. I fully prepared my client for trial — as always — and he engaged in such self improvement as over fifty hours of voluntary community service. This being my only case in court that day, I took my time to even approach the complainant. I first let him see from a distance in the courthouse hallway the excellent rapport that I have with my client. I then approached the complainant informally with a friendly “good morning” greeting. I told him who I was. I gave him a full opportunity to air his grievances to me. I responded with sincere empathy, told him of my client’s self improvement, and worked out a satisfaction and discharge agreement. The judge then dismissed the case.

Is an Accord and Satisfaction dismissal expungable?

Yes. A Virginia Accord and Satisfaction dismissal is expungable. Talk with your lawyer about how to petition for expungement of your criminal prosecution from public view after satisfying your case through Satisfaction and discharge.

Fairfax criminal lawyer Jonathan Katz knows that the stakes can be high in defending against your Virginia felony, misdemeanor or DUI prosecution. You will thank yourself for meeting with Jon Katz; by the end of your consultation with Jon, you will feel more confident and better informed about your defenses. Your initial in-person confidential consultation with Jon Katz is free about your court-pending case, at 703-383-1100, Info@KatzJustice.com and (text) 571-406-7268.