What Happens if my daughter and I cannot make our court date? Q: We are out of town for a family situation and I have called the General district court several times but the operating machine hangs up every time. My daughter is being brought to court for Grand Larceny. What happens if we don't sh...
I came across an article in the Washington Post about plea bargains. It does an excellent job of explaining why innocent people sometimes accept a plea bargain even though they did nothing wrong. You can read the article at https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/in-theory/wp/2016/01/20/americans-are...
The year-end holiday season is coming soon with Thanksgiving less than 2 weeks away. You know what that means: family and parties galore. You might be surprised to hear I tend to get asked about some charges more than usual after the parties. It's sad but true, during that time of year when peopl...
Unfortunately, it is true that not everyone who is arrested for a crime is in fact guilty of that crime. It has occasionally appeared in the news in recent years in the context of people being freed from death row when DNA testing proves the convicted “murderer” couldn't have been the real killer...
People often question why they should have to retain an attorney to represent them when they didn't do anything wrong. Sometimes, they believe the attorney isn't going to be able to do anything to help them and they would just be wasting their money. This happens with people who are both guilty a...
I received an interesting email tonight, which I thought I would share with you. At first glance, it says it's from EZPass and claims I have a toll road violation. Here's what it says: Notice to Appear, You have a debt to pay for using a toll road. Please, do not forget to service your deb...
Many thanks to the kind person who nominated to the Global Directory of Who's Who. Your thoughtfulness led to me being listed as a “top lawyer” in the 2015 directory. I am deeply touched to receive this honor.
During the fall and winter months, I worked on a project that I thought could benefit many people. I wrote a book about what it's like to go to court in a felony case. It covers everything from a police investigation and arrest all the way through sentencing if a defendant is convicted. I've alre...
I recently saw a man in the Fairfax County courthouse hallway wearing a tee shirt that made me gasp in shock and left me so amazed at his poor judgment that I actually stopped dead in my tracks and asked out loud “what were you thinking when you got dressed this morning?” Fortunately, he was far ...
Jen Raimo has signed a contract to open a new satellite office in Manassas, Virginia. Everything became official on June 1, 2015. The new office is conveniently located near the intersection of Sudley Road and Interstate 66 at 10432 Balls Ford Road, Suite 300, Manassas, Virginia 20109. Now you ca...
It used to be very common for me to see cases that started with a traffic stop where the police officer said the reason for the stop was an object dangling from the rearview mirror. In many of those cases, it seemed obvious that wasn't the real reason for the stop; it was just an excuse for a st...