Fourth Amendment

Drug scheduling and Virginia sentencing defense are key things to consider when fighting your controlled substance prosecution, whether that be for allegations of  possession / use, dealing, or manufacturing. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I have successfully defended hundreds of people accused of controlled substance...

Citizen's arrests (CA's) are permitted to a certain extent by Virginia appellate caselaw. As a Fairrax criminal lawyer, I know that a police officer without jurisdiction to act as a police officer generally is empowered by Virginia appellate caselaw to detain and arrest people the...

Drug dog sniffs -- and all canine searches (for instance also for weapons and contraband -- need to be challenged by criminal defendants found with contraband as a result of such sniffs. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that the federal Supreme Court enunciated...

Police tactics are many for extracting confessions from criminal suspects, consenting to searches by law enforcement officers (LEO), and agreeing to engage in field sobriety testing (FSTs or SFSTs) for Virginia DUI investigations. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know you have a Fifth and...

SCVA DUI decisions are infrequent, which makes them all the more worthy of attention. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I see that the Poulson v. Commonwealth of Virginia opinion reinforces limits on entitlement to Miranda warnings and does without an arrest warrant requirement when police already are on...

Civil liberties (CL) / Bill of Rights defenses are an essential part of defending the criminally accused. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, in all my cases I file motions to suppress evidence that include challenging the detention and arrest of my client under the Constitution's...

Search arguments are needed when your Virginia prosecution is based on the alleged discovery of controlled substances or other alleged contraband. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, i know it is important that if you lose your evidence suppression motion under the foregoing circumstances, to talk...

Police searches (PCs) for contraband are part of their stock in trade. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I constantly pursue ways to invalidate PCs and the fruits of those searches. One thing that would repeatedly confound me -- at least if not so commonplace --...

Car privacy (CP) is an oxymoron in Virginia. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that you can be a sitting duck for police if they pursue a fishing trip or worse against you in a motor vehicle that contains contraband or otherwise has evidence...

Intrusive warrantless searches of one's body are ripe for challenges. As a Fairfax drug lawyer, I am delighted that the Virginia Court of Appeals overturned a grossly bodily-invasive streetside search of a suspect, even pulling on his underwear to see his bare skin underneath, followed...