If the witness is simply refusing to testify, then tr witness could face charges of her own on the basis of obstruction of justice. However, if the witnesses testimony would potentially incriminate her in a crime, then the witness has a 5th amandment right against self incrimination. The witness... View More

Your question does not say whether the officer actually searched your car. If an officer smells marijuana in the car, Virginia courts have held that the odor of marijuana can provide probable cause to search a vehicle. However, in this case yoo say that the officer kept asking for consent to... View More

There are a number of possible crimnal offenses in Virgini related to threats being comminicated to a person. If the threats were comminicated in writing or electronic means, such as email, text message, social media, or voicemail, you should take those messages to your loval police or magistrate... View More

You need to check the orginial sentencing order in your case. More than likely, after you finish ASAP you were places on a period of uniform good behavior (unsepervised probation). If so, then you would not have any reporting obligations. However, you would need to check the court order in your... View More

If you want to challenge the protective order, then I would recomment retaining am attorney. Having a protective order against you can have long term legal consequences, including potential criminal charges for you if you ever own or try to purchase a firearm. Because of the potential long term... View More

If you want to challenge the protective order, then I would recomment retaining am attorney. Having a protective order against you can have long term legal consequences, including potential criminal charges for you if you ever own or try to purchase a firearm. Because of the potential long term... View More

You would need to check the sentencing order in the case in which you were originally placed on probation. The Court speaks through its written orders. I recommend checking with your original attorney or have your current attorney review the order. The letter from your probation might just be a... View More

If the accusation is merely a misdemeanor assault, then the statute of limitations woild be one year from the incident. However, your description of the incident mentions him choking her. Choking/strangulation or attempting it is a felony under Virginia law. In Virginia there is no statute of... View More

To bring any charges against you, your ex would have to establish that the dog was her property. However, if you bought the dog and did not give it to her as a gift, then the dog is your property and she would not be able to bring a criminal charge against you. At most, she may be ablebto bring a... View More

At the bond hearing, the prosecutor will provide the Court a summary of the alleged charges against your husband and your husband’s prior criminal record. Among the main factors the Court will consider in deciding on a bond is whether your husband would be a flight risk and wheether he is a... View More

Unfortunately, it appears you have no remedy available to you. You only had 10 calander days to appeal a misdemeanor criminal conviction. If you case was in November 2017, then you are well past the time limts for an appeal. If it was within 21 days or if you were still in custody in a local... View More

It depends of the facts and circumstances of your specific situation. As a general rule, speedy trial laws in Virginia require that after the indictment, the case must be tried withing 5 months if the defendant is in custody, or within 9 months if the defendant is out on bond. However, there are... View More

Everyone accused of a crime has a constitutional right to confront their accusers. Therefore, it is almost certain that if you testify, your testimony would be given in court with him in the room. In order for a judge to deny your child’s father the right to face his accuser in court, the judge... View More

You should consult privately with an attorney about the specific facts of your particulr case. When you consult with the attorney, yiu should take copies of the court orders from your convictions so the attorney can have the most accurate information to advise you. Simply relying on a website... View More

You should immediately consult with an experienced criminal defense attorney in your local jurisdiction.

No you can not. It was an option some years ago. But no longer. Under current Virginia law, serving a jail sentence on weekends is only an option for misdemeanor jail sentences. But felony time is not authorized to be served on weekends.

Once your husband was arrested and charged, th case is out of your hands. It is up to the prosecutor to decide how to proceed. You can express to the prosecutor your desire not to proceed with the case. However, the prosecutor has the final authority to decide whther or not to prossecute the... View More

You should discuss this matter privately with an experienced criminal defenseo attorney. While evidence of injuries to you could be helpful in certain respects, it does nothing to address any of the elements relevant to a criminal assault charge.

It could be beneficial in mitigation for sentencing to help reduce the amount of jail time to which a judge may sentence you (although it will not reduce the mandatory minimum jail time you are still facing for a conviction). Hiwever, it would not offer any help as to your defense against the... View More

Bith obtaining money by false pretenses and construction fraud are criminal offenses in Virginia. However, for a number of reasons they can be difficult to prove in the criminal context. If the person has taken your money but done none of the agreed upon work, then you can certainly pursue... View More