Reasonable articulable suspicion
Frisking absent reasonable suspicion- Fairfax criminal lawyer’s view
Frisking without reasonable articulable suspicion is only allowed in very narrow circumstances. As a Fairfax criminal defense lawyer, I know it is essential to challenge such searches tooth and nail. Unfortunately (but at least in an unpublished opinion, that therefore is not binding), a 2-1...
Departing the Sight of Police Sometimes Permits a Stop
Departing the sight of police sometimes permits an arrest, at least when coupled by more than mere flight. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that the federal Supreme Court in April 2026 found Fourth Amendment-permissible reasonable suspicion for a police officer to stop a...
Prolonged Police Traffic Stops Can Violate Fourth Amendment
Prolonged police traffic stops too often fly in the face of the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that police try to use traffic stops as a pretext to investigate for such more serious and unrelated...
Virginia DWI defense – Mere brief weaving is not sufficient for a police traffic stop
Mere momentary, short and limited weaving is not sufficient for a police traffic stop. Moreover, Virginia has not recognized a community caretaking ground to allow a police traffic stop (to assure the welfare of the driver of a car driving less than perfectly). Barrett, 250...
