manslaughter
Exculpatory evidence must be timely disclosed says Fairfax criminal lawyer
By sheer happenstance, the night before Alec Baldwin's legal team convinced the trial judge on July 12, 2024, to dismiss Baldwin's involuntary manslaughter prosecution with prejudice -- meaning for the prosecution never to return to court -- my son and I started watching Just Mercy, about criminal...
Jury instructions must be correct says Fairfax criminal lawyer
Jury instructions need to be correct. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that might sound obvious at first blush, but the appropriate instructions are not always given to jurors, and can result in serious harm to criminal defendants. Praised be the Virginia Court of...
Homicide convictions can arise from alcohol says Virginia DUI lawyer
Homicide is a risk of impaired driving, because in many ways, as Ralph Nader urged, cars can be unsafe at any speed. As a Virginia DUI attorney, I advise everyone to stay away from driving a motor vehicle for at least twenty-four hours after consuming...
Self defense – Fairfax assault defense lawyer on pursuing acquittal
Self defense is a common defense in assault cases, in addition to claims that no assault happened in the first place, or that the defendant has been misidentified as the assailant. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know how harsh can be the consequences of...
Beware throwing that punch if you do not want a manslaughter conviction
As banal and even irritating as the admonition sounded when I was in public school, a person can avoid plenty of aggravation and heartache by always keeping his hands to himself, unless needed for self defense.Â
Virginia criminal defense- Preserving double jeopardy protection
Any time a criminal defendant is charged with multiple offenses, it is time for the defendant's lawyer to check for double jeopardy issues. Double jeopardy protection not only applies against being tried twice on different occasions for the same offense -- U.S. Const. Amend. V...