self defense
Fairfax LEO mall shooting- Virginia criminal lawyer on conviction
Fairfax LEO mall shooting was the headline last year when a police officer (Wesley Shifflett) from this county shot dead a suspect (Timonthy Johnson) fleeing the law enforcement officer(s) outside Tysons mall. As a Virginia criminal lawyer, I was disturbed, to say the least, at...
Imminent danger is needed for self defense says Fairfax criminal lawyer
Imminent danger [ID] must be present for a person to successfully advance a defense of self defense against an assault prosecutions. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I hear many of my clients and potential clients assert self defense, defense of others and pre-emptive attacks. Even...
Fairfax defendant gets judicial relief for prosecutorial disclosure violation
Fairfax defendant obtains partial judicial relief over prosecutor’s failure to timely disclose exculpatory evidence, Fairfax defendant exposes serious exculpatory evidence disclosure violation. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I read with great interest that a Circuit Court judge took the prosecutor’s office to task for a...
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...
A self defense claim requires being in imminent danger of harm
When a homicide defendant knows s/he will be found to have caused the decedent's death, the defendant often finds himself or herself pursuing a self defense claim, or else a claim of a lesser level of culpability than first degree murder (for instance manslaughter or...
Virginia homicide defense and self defense – No obligation to retreat in one’s own home
Alcohol and guns do not mix. Inside defendant/appellant Marvin Hines's home, Wayne Hudson -- drunk since the previous afternoon -- was in "the heat of this out-of-control temper tantrum," while having a gun in his hand. Hines walked away to obtain Hines's own handgun and...
Enabling the jury to convict on a lesser count
In Virginia, “'A defendant is entitled to have the jury instructed only on those theories of the case that are supported by [more than a scintilla of] evidence.'" Witherow v. Virginia, ___ Va. App. ___ (Dec. 1, 2015) (quoting Eaton v. Virginia, 240 Va....