due process
Lawyer choice is your 6th Amendment right says Fairfax DUI lawyer
Lawyer choice is your right under the Constitution's Sixth Amendment, rather than merely allowing you to have an attorney. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that not only; does the Sixth Amendment guarantee that "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right......
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,...
License suspensions for unpaid Virginia court fines – soon to end
License suspensions and revocations are a harsh reality for those who miss Virginia court deadlines for paying court-ordered fines, costs and restitution. As a Virginia criminal lawyer, I know that driving on a suspended or revoked driving license can bring serious penalties.
SCOTUS bars Due Process vagueness challenges to voluntary sentencing guidelines
On March 5, 2017, I blogged about the importance of challenging criminal laws for vagueness and overbreadth. The very next day, the United States Supreme Court confirmed the overbreadth doctrine as it applies to statutes, but said that Due Process vagueness challenges do not apply...
5-minute Dakota War capital trials underline the need for eternal civil liberties vigilance
My public elementary school teachers taught us about "Honest Abe" Lincoln. None of my teachers ever taught me about Lincoln's approval for a mass hanging of thirty-eight Dakota Indians in 1862. Arising from the Dakota War, United States military commission trials of 392 American Indians...
When a judge makes an improvident evidentiary ruling at trial
Trial judges have nothing to lose and often much to gain by permitting at least brief voir dire/cross examination of prosecution witnesses before a damning exhibit is offered into evidence.