Tenacity, patience and courage can yield court victory says Fairfax criminal lawyer

Tenacity, patience and courage often can yield excellent results for the accused. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I have seen this happen again and again. When enabled and permitted by their superiors, Virginia assistant commonwealth attorneys / prosecutors can reduce their workload by agreeing to settlement and plea deals that the defense will accept. However, plenty of prosecutors do not have wide leeway in that regard. Nonetheless, when a prosecutor sees that a defendant will likely take up substantial prosecutorial time with a trial rather than to accept the latest prosecutorial settlement proposal, the prosecutor might examine negotiations more closely than with a defendant more likely to avoid a trial.

What priority is the prosecutor giving to evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of both sides’ cases, and your Virginia criminal lawyer’s tenacity?

For a prosecutor or Virginia criminal defense lawyer to ably negotiate a case settlement or plea deal, they need to have a good grasp of the strengths and weaknesses of each side’s case, and the tenacity of the opposing lawyers. On top of that, a criminal defense attorney needs to fully and continually consult with their client to get the client’s input, intelligence, perspective, viewpoint and informed decisionmaking. Prosecutors can be juggling so many prosecutions at once that your Virginia prosecution may not be as much on their radar screen a few months before trial than closer to the trial date. For misdemeanor prosecutions, many prosecutors are often waiting until the trial date even to get the reporting police officer’s and/or alleged civilian victim’s input about the strength and weaknesses of the case and settlement negotiations. Your Virginia criminal lawyer cannot force a prosecutor to move any more quickly than the prosecutor chooses. However, when your case’s assistant commonwealth’s attorney knows that your Virginia criminal defense lawyer is a force to be reckoned with, the prosecutor is more likely to recognize that to be a strength in your defense and also is more likely not to simply wait until close to your trial date to seriously consider the settlement negotiation possibilities in your case.

Your Virginia criminal defense lawyer must backup all settlement negotiations with trial readiness.

Settlement negotiation efforts must never weaken your Virginia criminal lawyer’s trial preparation and tenacity. Trial preparation must not be but a bluff to obtain a favorable settlement. Excellent trial preparation and trial readiness is essential for pure legal and morally ethical reasons, because a criminal defendant must never choose a guilty, no contest / nolo contendere, nor Alford plea for any reason other than realpolitik and the defendant’s goals, and not due to a fear of the criminal defense lawyer’s trial readiness, criminal defense excellence, and devotion to you as their accused client. When the prosecutor in your case knows that your lawyer’s trial readiness, ability and experience are behind their not sweating, speaking with powerful command, and not jumping at not-in-the-ballpark settlement overtures from the prosecutor, the prosecutor will take you, your defense, and your Virginia criminal lawyer more seriously, not only for settlement negotiations, but for all other aspects of your case.

How much of a grasp do my Virginia criminal lawyer and I need to have on my alleged victim’s alleged personal loss, financial loss and alleged non-monetary damages?

Virginia prosecutors and alleged crime victims do not always have the same prosecuting agenda. Sometimes, the alleged victim will want a proverbial pound from the Virginia criminal defendant’s flesh when the prosecutor seeks rehabilitation during supervised probation while out of incarceration. Sometimes the prosecutor wants a sentence / penalty worse than the alleged crime victim wants. Virginia law requires giving alleged crime victims to be heard at sentencing, whether or not they are going to ask for favorable and/or unfavorable treatment for convicted defendants. See, e.g., Virginia Code § 19.2-299.1. Your sentencing judge is likely to permit your alleged victim full voice before issuing a sentence (if convicted). At some point, your case’s prosecutor should work to reconcile how much of your proposed settlement should involve restitution, and what other forms of lawful payment or penalty should be made by you. An essential part of settlement negotiations is the Getting To Yes approach that I have addressed before, including here, and includes the right tenacity approach of your attorney. 

Fairfax criminal lawyer Jonathan Katz relentlessly pursues your best defense against Virginia felony, misdemeanor and DUI prosecutions. A great start to your Virginia criminal defense can begin with your free initial in-person confidential consultation with Jon Katz about your court-pending prosecution, by scheduling your meeting with Jon at 703-383-1100, Info@KatzJustice.com, and (text) 571-406-7268.