A Loudoun County criminal attorney discusses the biggest mistakes that he sees people make in criminal cases in Loudoun County, VA.
The three most common mistakes I see individuals charged with criminal offenses make are:
Regarding the first one, representing themselves—just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should. The Constitution grants us all the right to represent ourselves if charged with a criminal offense but that does not really mean we should. Even lawyers hire other lawyers when they’re facing criminal charges.
You have no obligation to speak to a police officer at the time of your arrest other than to provide biographical information and answer questions of that nature. You don’t have to answer factual questions regarding elements of offense and you should talk to an attorney prior discussing anything related to the case with law enforcement.
If you are charged with a crime in Loudoun County, the very first thing you should do is to call an experienced Loudoun County criminal defense attorney. I would advise that you call us, but regardless of who you call, call an attorney right away before you speak to the police, or if speak to law enforcement, and before you go to court.
It is important to contact an attorney if you are charged with a crime while visiting Loudoun County because you need to potentially make arrangements to return or to have an attorney appear in your behalf. Whether you are eligible to have an attorney appear on your behalf will depend on the specific nature of your charge.
Well, strong defense strategies are different in every case. In some cases a strong defense strategy may be entered by arguments of the facts that do not meet the legal elements required by law. In other cases that defense strategy may be anchored by showing that the Commonwealth’s evidence is inconsistent or that their witnesses cannot remember what they’re alleged to have remembered. Also the defense strategy may be built on presenting my own evidence. Oftentimes, law enforcement officials in doing their job are only able to present some of the facts of the case prior to making an arrest. They may have overlooked, intentionally or not, certain favorable facts that may help my client. So in order to bring those facts to light when they help my case.
Northern Virginia Criminal Defense Group
