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Virginia Criminal Evidence Rules

Disclosing exculpatory evidence- Fairfax criminal defense lawyer weighs in

February 28, 2020

Disclosing exculpatory evidence is the obligation of all prosecutors. As a Fairfax criminal defense lawyer, I know that prosecutors risk running afoul of this Brady disclosure rule by not making full inquiry of the police in the case and by not erring on the side...

He is always prepared and has thoughtful arguments for the Court to consider

Jon is one of the most experienced and knowledgeable lawyers in the Area. He is always willing to help and teach younger attorneys the ins and outs of the good practice of law. He is always prepared and has thoughtful arguments for the Court to consider.

Terry Adams
Source: Google
He runs a meticulous outfit, and his support staff was excellent.

FAIRFAX CRIMINAL LAWYER I met Jon two days ago. He had started driving from Fairfax at six in the morning – crossing nearly the entire state to defend me in a small town that looked like it was frozen in the nineteen-forties.

The town looked like a set for Mississippi Burning. There were some beautiful buildings – but it also seemed menacing. I had been charged in this small town, and had spent months trying to arrange an adequate legal defense – from my home in Miami.

When I was first charged, I was overwhelmed by the situation. I then did what you are doing now: looked thru online reviews for the best lawyer for my case. Jon fit the bill so I called him. Since then, it has been several weeks of intense back and forth with him. He runs a meticulous outfit, and his support staff was excellent. They worked very hard to collect and compile all the useful documents. Everything worked. No mistakes.

I had multiple phone conversations with Jon, but, because of the long distance, had not met him in person. The court date was two days ago. I had arranged to meet Jon in a diner a few blocks from the courthouse. Before Jon arrived, I was in pretty bad shape. I had made a series of stupid mistakes, which had led to the charges, and I understood that, if things didn’t break my way – I was facing serious prison time. Jon walked into the diner, and sat down across from me. He has more than a passing resemblance to Bobby Kennedy. He also has something rare: Star Power. People in the diner, and later in the courthouse, followed him with their eyes. He is a person who immediately meets your eyes, and holds the eye contact. It was like suddenly being in a John Grisham movie, and you are on the side of the angels. Think of it like having Gus Grissom from CSI Las Vegas, sit down across from you at a diner- and he says he can help you. Jon ordered a black coffee and lifted two huge brown paper binders on to the table. He carefully flipped thru pages that he and his staff had organized with tabs. He had all my important defense documents immediately accessible.

Jon and I walked a few blocks to the courthouse. The sky was a steely overcast slate grey. We went thru the security guards with their holstered Glocks. He went thru some heavy doors to talk to the Prosecutor. The court doors then opened and we were directed to approach the bench. The prosecutor was an attractive woman, in a perfectly tailored outfit. She started talking to the Judge and seemed to be advocating FOR ME! I don’t fully understand what happened, but Jon had arranged for the case to be amended downwards, and then an on the spot dismissal with no guilty plea, no conviction, and several thousand dollar fines were reduced to a hundred dollar court cost.

We left the Courthouse – back into the worn brick town. He drove me to my hotel in his vintage sport’s car. I was left standing there outside my hotel on a cold January day in rural Virginia. My life had changed in a matter of hours. Jon had saved my life.

K. H.
Source: Google
I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome and it was a lesson learned.

A few years ago when I was younger I got DWI and the next day was pulled over driving without a license since it was suspended due to the DWI the night before. Talk about double bad luck. Anyways I went to several lawyers but I didn’t feel they were the right ones until I went to see Jon. At first he didn’t want to take the case because he felt it was to easy and wasn’t challenging. Here I’m thinking he must be out of his mind, I’m in big hole with two different court dates and he thinks it’s not a big deal for him to take it on. Anyways to make this short, I ended up hiring him as my lawyer and he knew exactly how to handle each of the prosecutors for the different court dates and the DWI was reduced to reckless and the charges for driving on suspended license was 7 days restriction. I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome and it was a lesson learned.

F. C.
Source: Google

Virginia Criminal Evidence Rules

Disclosing exculpatory evidence- Fairfax criminal defense lawyer weighs in

Jon Katz Practices in the Following Courts and Beyond