double jeopardy
Public masturbation – Fairfax criminal lawyer on multiple counts
Public masturbation (PM) is a jailable offense in Virginia. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that the number of possible counts for that crime is totaled from the defendant's alleged actions, and not his or her number of victims. Samuel Harris was caught red...
Suppression appeals- Fairfax criminal lawyer comments
Suppression appeals by Virginia assistant commonwealth's attorneys / prosecutors are not automatically precluded by res judicata / estoppel grounds. Perez Flores v. Commonwealth of Virginia, ___ Va. App. ___ (Oct. 1, 2024). As a Fairfax lawyer, moving to integrate my suppression motion into the trial is...
Virginia criminal charging documents- Must they name a victim?
Virginia criminal charging documents- Fairfax criminal lawyer urges that they name the alleged crime victim Virginia criminal charging documents all too often do not list the name of the alleged crime victim for such proceedings as theft and assault prosecutions. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer,...
Broker deals that erase landmines ahead says Fairfax criminal lawyer
Broker criminal case settlements that minimize harm to the criminal defendant. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that needs to be a criminal defense lawyer's watchword. A case in point is Evans & Conway v. Commonwealth of Virginia, ___ Va. ___ (Dec. 3, 2020), where...
Continuous offense doctrine in Virginia- Fairfax criminal lawyer comments
In Francis, the Virginia Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that the evidence was sufficient to convict in two separate neighboring county circuit courts for felony eluding police from the same police officer during the same chase. Rejecting that the two separate convictions protected Francis under...
Mistrial can Trigger Double Jeopardy
A mistrial can happen for a number of reasons in Virginia, including a hung jury and evidence of misconduct in the jury room. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that a criminal defendants' Fifth Amendment Double Jeopardy rights bar a retrial after a mistrial...
Double jeopardy and one handgun – Fairfax criminal lawyer comments
Double jeopardy protections apply not only to successive prosecutions on acquitted conduct, but also for multiple duplicative counts for the same act. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know the necessity of always looking for double jeopardy defenses.
Howard Groffel learned the hard way that...
Double Jeopardy Limits When FEDs Prosecute
Double jeopardy rights are enshrined in the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution: No person shall be "subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb." As a Fairfax County, Virginia, criminal defense lawyer, I have long known...
Jeopardy Attaches Once a Witness is Sworn Confirms a Fairfax Judge
Jeopardy is among the essential avenues for criminal defense lawyers to consider. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that prosecutors might have the temptation to dismiss a case mid-trial when they see their chances of victory slip, but that such action precludes later renewing...
Collateral estoppel’s limits, addressed by Fairfax criminal lawyer
Collateral estoppel law generally prevents prosecutors from relitigating facts already established at certain prior criminal court proceedings. Unfortunately, today the Virginia Supreme Court placed strict boundaries on the extent to which criminal defendants can benefit from collateral estoppel relief, which is grounded in the United...