Jurors

Opening a judge’s and jury’s ears and beings to a lawyer’s evidence and arguments is essential for persuasion. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that merely throwing raw and disorganized facts and law to a judge and jury can fall on deaf ears. Judges...

Masked people abound as Covid-19 continues without a care, moving from host to host, slowing here and surging there. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that coronavirus must not be permitted to water down justice. For Due Process and the Sixth Amendment's Confrontation Clause...

Persisting with a challenging judge and other courtroom challenges is essential for a criminal defense lawyer, As a Fairfax DUI lawyer, I know that the only alternative to working with a challenging courtroom situation is to throw in the towel, which is neither an option...

Jury selection and voir dire in Virginia are arts in themselves, where criminal defense lawyers and all other lawyers have a chance directly to ask questions of and persuade potential jurors. As a Fairfax County, Virginia, criminal defense lawyer, I know the value of having...

Judges usually will not question jurors after post-verdict polling, says Fairfax criminal lawyer. Rarely do judges question jurors on their verdicts after they are polled -- within moments of the jury verdict being read in open court -- to assure that this verdict was indeed...

Virginia criminal lawyer on winning through devotion and ability, rather than being slick. Devotion to clients and persuasiveness win for criminal case clients. Slickness and polish may look good, but devotion, preparation, realness and persuasiveness win in court. As a Virginia criminal lawyer, I know...

Virginia criminal lawyer on winning through openness, embracing all, and eliminating negative words. Negative words are a downward spiral. We know that already, but negative words permeate daily dialogue, starting with car stereos blasting F-bombs and proceeding with referencing others as sex organs, and calling...

Persuasive engagement and well-cultivated vibrations persuade in criminal court. Manipulation is not what persuades, as I have learned time and again as a Virginia criminal lawyer. 

Opening hearts and minds and ears is an essential part of persuading in criminal defense and in any other endeavor. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I fully understand and follow that principle.

A key part of criminal defense victory is for the lawyer to be convinced that the client should be acquitted, to feel that in the lawyer's heart, guts and bones, and to persuasively convey those feelings to the judge and jury.