preliminary hearings
Evidence suppression may be argued at Virginia preliminary hearings
Evidence suppression arguments are critical to Virginia preliminary hearings (which cover felony cases) and for all Virginia misdemeanor and felony trials. As a Virginia criminal lawyer, I had thought this was a given for preliminary hearings, but in the last few months, a Fairfax District...
Preliminary hearings in Virginia – Fairfax criminal lawyer on the PH right
Preliminary hearings are an important part of Virginia criminal defense for felony prosecutions. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that such hearings are important for obtaining discovery before the hearing date, for working to negotiate a mutually agreed settlement, to learn more about the...
Withdrawal of felony counsel and marijuana 251 license suspension
Virginia's 2017 legislative session concluded with the following two important criminal law bills: 1. On February 18, 2017, I blogged that legislative efforts failed to exempt marijuana 251 dispositions (enabling an ultimate dismissal of a drug possession charge after a finding of facts sufficient to...
Virginia Criminal Defense – Beware when District Court recordings boomerang back at you
In this day and age of quality and relatively inexpensive recording devices, Virginia should join the 21st century by having its District Courts record their proceedings. Until that day comes, I will bring a court reporter or my audio recorder, depending on the situation.