Loudoun County criminal lawyer
The prosecution has to prove all the elements of the given offense beyond a reasonable doubt. This doesn’t mean beyond any doubt but a reasonable doubt. In other words, the prosecution must prove each element while excluding any reasonable hypothesis of innocence.
The prosecution proves their case typically with the presentation of evidence and testimony. The two main types of evidence they present are direct evidence and circumstantial evidence. By direct evidence I mean evidence that is witnessed by law enforcement officials or evidences witnessed by another witness or physical evidence. By circumstantial evidence, I mean evidence that tends to support guilt and disprove innocence. Examples of circumstantial evidence include, a vehicle being in the wrong place at the wrong time, items found that are not themselves illegal by typically associated with illegal conduct, dishonesty, and taking steps to “cover tracks.”
A criminal defense attorney has the privilege to be able to cross examine any witnesses presented by the Commonwealth. This allows me to potentially discredit their testimony or to impeach their testimony. In addition, I can call my own witnesses to offer alternative versions of the fact. Likewise, I can review the case law to argue that the evidence presented does not meet the legal verdict given the facts of the case.
Constitutional issues come up quite often in criminal defense cases. The most common constitutional issue is violation of the Fourth Amendment, or unreasonable search and seizure. Unreasonable search and seizure comes up in a variety of different contexts including whether or not the law enforcement officer has authority to stop the vehicle or whether they have the authority to search.
Whenever a constitutional issue arises, an attorney can file something called a motion to suppress. This motion seeks to exclude any evidence that is obtained as a result of the constitutional violation. If the judge rules in favor of the defense attorney and suppresses evidence, then it severely limits the Commonwealth’s abilities to present their case. If you suppress enough evidence or suppress the right evidence the case can be dismissed on that type of motion.
Well, aggressive is a word that gets tossed around a lot with criminal defense attorneys. The advantage of hiring an aggressive attorney is they won’t be afraid to ask the hard questions. It may be difficult to confront a law enforcement official, a police officer, or a judge on an issue in which you think or have very good faith to believe that you’re right on. A more meek or diminutive attorney that is not confident in their abilities may shy away from this confrontation when in fact conversation may be necessary to seize the very best result for the client. So that’s why an aggressive attorney is needed to make sure their client is well represented.
Northern Virginia Criminal Defense Group