Wishful thinking does not win you justice against your Virginia DUI, felony nor misdemeanor prosecution, says Fairfax criminal lawyer

Wishful thinking is for fantasy films, but not for your fight for justice against your Virginia DUI, felony nor misdemeanor prosecution. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer I know that at least three things are essential for full preparation before your trial date: Full trial readiness and trial preparation; a strong settlement negotiation strategy, plan and flowchart (where negotiating an immediate or ultimate dismissal is better than a conviction); and preparedness for any sentencing. Numerous potential Virginia criminal defense clients tell me they are seeking a lawyer to get them a great settlement. What do you do, though, if you do not obtain a desirable settlement? Your Virginia criminal defense lawyer will be caught with their pants down if not fully ready for trial, and you will suffer for such non-preparedness. Furthermore, when the prosecutor knows that your attorney is fully prepared for trial, that can lead to more favorable settlement negotiations.

What do I do if my assistant commonwealth’s attorney / prosecutor has orders not to convert my Virginia DUI prosecution to a reckless driving disposition, or other criminal accusation to a more favorable one?

In some respects, Fairfax County is among the more favorable Northern Virginia counties for obtaining beneficial settlement negotiations for DWI and other prosecutions, but not always, so do not engage in wishful thinking no matter where you are defending. Fairfax prosecutors are generally, but not always, afforded wide discretion by their supervisors for settling cases, but that can run in both directions. One Fairfax prosecutor in particular stands out as a particularly conservative negotiator. If you are arrested by Fairfax City, Vienna or Herndon police (all in Fairfax County) for an alleged General District Court misdemeanor charge, you will be prosecuted in District Court not by a Fairfax County prosecutor, but by a private practicing lawyer with one of the two respective law firms handling such prosecutions, where those prosecutors often are less favorable with settlement negotiations than with plenty of Fairfax County assistant commonwealth attorneys. In two Northern Virginia courthouses, it is particularly common for prosecutors to say that they are generally required to decline to break down a DUI charge to a reckless driving charge. The solution there is for your Virginia criminal attorney to consider checking with a supervisory prosecutor on the matter, to find a legitimate ground for continuing your trial date to further pursue more favorable settlement negotiations, or to go to trial. Keep in mind that a tough prosecution approach does not automatically mean the prosecutor is a very good trial lawyer. I prepare for and proceed to trial not to go through motions, but to obtain as much justice as possible for my Virginia criminal defense clients. I do not always know which of my client will obtain an acquittal or a more favorable case settlement mid-trial, but many times I obtain one or the other.

Why is my Virginia prosecutor not more accommodating to my Virginia criminal defense lawyer’s settlement overtures?

Your Virginia prosecutor has a top boss who is either an elected official / commonwealth’s attorney, or a lawyer hired by a municipality to prosecute General District Court misdemeanors. Both are political situations and do not favor wishful thinking by you. An chief prosecutor might find it easier to justify to the voting public going to trial and losing some or more than some trials, rather than agreeing to dismissal or plea deals that might lead to public outrage. Too many prosecutors take cookie cutter, one size fits all approaches to settlement negotiations, rather than to take the wiser Getting to Yes (authored by Fisher and Ury) approach of your Virginia criminal defense lawyer and prosecutor sitting down to identify overlapping goals (rather than positions) and to be willing to be open minded and creative to reaching a negotiated settlement. Trials and settlement negotiations are arts and not science. Trial advocacy skills are more often taught in law schools than settlement skills, and even trial advocacy classes cannot take the place of actually taking cases to trial excellently and as second nature.

Useless is to have wishful thinking that your trial judge will accept your negotiated settlement

Your trial judge does not have to accept your negotiated settlement in your prosecution. When your Virginia criminal defense lawyer is fully ready for trial, that is your Plan B in case the current trial judge and subsequent judge(s) reject the settlement reached between you and the prosecutor in your case. The prosecutor and judges have their own roles and agendas, which will often differ starkly from your goals and agendas. Obtain a Virginia criminal defense lawyer who does not engage in wishful thinking, but instead is tough as nails, ready to fight like hell for you, and ready to obtain justice for you in court.

Fairfax criminal lawyer Jonathan Katz relentlessly pursues your best defense against Virginia DUI, felony and misdemeanor prosecutions. Find out how through your free initial in-person confidential consultation with Jon Katz about your court-pending Virginia prosecution. To schedule your consultation with Jon, contact our staff at 703-383-1100, Info@KatzJustice.com, and (text) 571-406-7268.