restorative justice
Fairfax prosecutorial flexibility to suit the situation
Fairfax prosecutorial flexibility to suit the situation is claimed by the county's chief commonwealth's attorney / prosecutor to be his approach to prosecution. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I have this mid-June 2025 short video of Steve Descano at the ready, in which he distinguishes...
Fairfax diversion pilot program- Virginia criminal lawyer weighs in
Fairfax diversion is a pilot program called Taking Root, that was announced in April 2022 by county commonwealth's attorney Steve Descano, with this news release. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I have looked for but not found many details about this program outside the foregoing...
Virginia judges will lose veto over unbiased party-agreed dismissals
Virginia judges -- at least some in Northern Virginia, Norfolk and Portsmouth courts -- have engaged in pushback of one sort or another after self-styled reformist chief prosecutors took office there. As a Fairax criminal lawyer, I am delighted to report that on October 21,...
Restorative Justice Must Not Get Judicial Hurdles
The November 2019 elections brought in new prosecutors in Fairfax County and three other Northern Virginia counties who presented themselves as reformers or progressives to one degree or another. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I support the effort of one county's chief prosecutor to eliminate...
Restorative Justice Programs – Fairfax Criminal Lawyer Wants Their Expansion
Restorative justice (RJ) is an alternative dispute resolution approach that enables criminal cases to be resolved without convictions (and sometimes without even having formal court charges). As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that with RJ the alleged victim and accused (the accused needs the...