On behalf of A. Mark Nicewicz, Esq posted in Drunk Driving on Tuesday, February 21, 2012
The Virginia Senate recently passed a controversial bill that will require all first-time DUI offenders to install an ignition interlock device on their vehicles. Up to now, Virginia law has required that the interlock device be installed only for repeat offenders and those drivers who are convicted of driving with a blood-alcohol level of .15 percent or higher. But after the passage of the new law, even first-time offenders who were said to have blown .08 percent -- the legal limit for a driver -- will have to pay for the interlock device and have it installed.
Opponents of the bill pointed out that not everyone can afford to have the device installed in their vehicles. The cost of installation is said to be several hundred dollars, and the device must stay in the vehicle for a minimum of six months. Virginians who have been convicted of DUI will have to blow into the ignition interlock device before starting their cars. If any alcohol is detected by the device, then the person's vehicle won't start.
On behalf of A. Mark Nicewicz, Esq posted in Criminal Defense on Thursday, February 16, 2012
The primary purpose of a strong criminal defense is to protect the rights of the accused. That means a skilled criminal defense attorney in Virginia must stay abreast of changes to the law and ensure that police reports and prosecutors' complaints are thoroughly analyzed for flaws. Sometimes these reports are written after investigators conduct an interview with a person who wishes to file a criminal charge against another person. In such a case, physical evidence may be recorded, but the charges may also involve one person's word against another's. And readers in Fairfax County know that there are often many sides to one story.
That may be the case for one man from Sterling who was recently accused of assault. Police issued a warrant for the man's arrest after one of his co-workers told police that he assaulted her. The female employee claimed that she and the 30-year-old man got into an argument while at work in Vienna. She said the man assaulted her during the argument. The nature of the alleged assault was not disclosed in a local news report, nor was it indicated whether the woman suffered any injuries.
On behalf of A. Mark Nicewicz, Esq posted in Drug Charges on Tuesday, February 7, 2012
In Virginia, if a person is charged with and convicted of possession with intent to distribute drugs, the sentence is a mandatory minimum of five years in jail with a maximum of 40 years. In other words, the penalties upon conviction are severe. That is why a strong criminal defense is necessary to protect the rights of the accused under federal and Virginia laws. A strategic and meaningful defense will work toward a dismissal or reduction of drug charges, and to achieve that end, a careful analysis of the circumstances of an arrest is absolutely necessary.
With these concerns in mind, readers in Fairfax may want to take a look at what is known about a case involving two young men who were arrested recently near Manassas on a number of drug charges. Police claim that the men, both 22, were the subject of a narcotics investigation into the distribution of marijuana.
On behalf of A. Mark Nicewicz, Esq posted in Criminal Defense on Wednesday, February 1, 2012
During an arrest, police officers in Virginia and throughout the country have certain obligations with regard to the rights of the accused. One of those obligations is to ensure that a person who is taken into custody is presented with his or her Miranda rights, which must be relayed by police to any suspect who is taken into custody, regardless of the supposed crime. When arresting police officers don't follow proper procedure, then the evidence they collect in an attempt to convict an accused person can be dismissed through a strong criminal defense.
Readers in Fairfax County will be interested to hear that a Virginia legislator recently introduced a bill that would have required Virginia police officers to convey the Miranda warning in the native language of the arrestee. However, the bill did not get past a General Assembly subcommittee.
On behalf of A. Mark Nicewicz, Esq posted in Criminal Defense on Monday, January 23, 2012
Details in a local news report are scant as to why police have charged a 33-year-old Arlington woman with setting numerous fires in an office building in Fairfax County. Investigators from the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department claimed the woman started each of the fires in the McLean area over a span of several weeks. She now faces the criminal charge of burning an occupied commercial office building, Virginia Code 18.2-80, which is a Class 3 felony.
The report doesn't offer any motivation for the woman's allegedly setting the fires, which investigators say were started primarily in bathrooms and mechanical rooms. It was also not made clear exactly what evidence authorities used to charge the woman.
On behalf of A. Mark Nicewicz, Esq posted in Larceny & Theft on Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Readers in Fairfax County will be interested to hear that a Virginia legislator recently proposed increasing the state's extremely low felony larceny threshold from $200 to $500 or $750. Virginia has one of the lowest grand larceny thresholds in the country. Currently, if a person is accused of stealing an item that is valued at less than $200, the charge is petit larceny, a misdemeanor. But if a person is accused of stealing something that is valued at $200 dollars or more, the suspect is usually charged with grand larceny, a felony. In that case, upon conviction, the individual would lose the right to vote, as well as carry the felony conviction on record for years to come.
Senator Bryce Reeves has proposed two bills -- Senate Bills 71 and 72 -- that aim to raise the grand larceny threshold to $500 or $750, respectively. In addition to resulting in fairer charges against larceny suspects, the proposed bills would likely reduce the number of felony cases seen by Virginia courts.
On behalf of A. Mark Nicewicz, Esq posted in Drunk Driving on Tuesday, January 10, 2012
DUI charges are often not as cut and dry as prosecutors would like us to think. That would seem to be true in a recent case involving Rickie Harris, 68, a former football player for the Washington Redskins. Harris was accused of felony DUI in Fairfax County, but last week the judge in the case declared a mistrial after a jury remained deadlocked at 11 to 1.
A juror in the trial later said that she chose not to convict Harris because the defense raised reasonable doubts with regard to the accurateness of the breath test machine used to read Harris's blood-alcohol level. An expert for the defense said the reading from the breath test was likely unreliable because the machine hadn't been recalibrated after maintenance.
On behalf of A. Mark Nicewicz, Esq posted in Drug Charges on Tuesday, January 3, 2012
When people in Virginia are alleged to have large amounts of drugs on them or in their vehicles, prosecutors do their best to try to make the drug charges stick. One man who was arrested recently in Virginia may discover the extent to which police and prosecutors will go to seek a conviction. He is accused of possessing and transporting a sizeable amount of synthetic marijuana.
According to Virginia authorities, the accused man, who hails from Kingsport, Tennessee, was pulled over for a simple traffic violation. When officers looked into his 2005 Chevy van, they spotted what was thought to be a gun on the seat. The gun turned out to be a toy, but its appearance caused the officers to search the vehicle. Police claim to have discovered an estimated 2,700 containers of alleged synthetic marijuana, along with more than $13,000 in cash.
On behalf of A. Mark Nicewicz, Esq posted in Drug Charges on Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Sometimes when Virginia citizens are pulled over for a routine traffic stop, they wind up facing much more serious charges than what they were originally pulled over for. Even so, it is important for Virginians to remember that the law provides a number of rights and protections for accused individuals, even during a traffic stop. Charges related to drug crimes can often be dismissed in court; that is, if law enforcement fails to ensure that individuals' rights are maintained before, during or after an arrest. With these issues in mind, readers may be interested in the case of a Virginia man who is now facing drug possession charges after what started as a routine traffic stop.
The incident occurred recently in Manassas Park. Manassas Park Police reportedly pulled over a Kia Spectra driven by an 18-year-old man. However, initial press reports did not provide information as to what probable cause may have led the police to pull the young man over.
On behalf of A. Mark Nicewicz, Esq posted in Larceny & Theft on Tuesday, December 20, 2011
An active police officer in Virginia Beach has been charged with two counts of petty larceny. The charges were filed against a 16-year veteran and were made after a week-long investigation into thefts at the precinct during the month of December. The 56-year-old officer was released on his own recognizance following the arrest, and the matter will now proceed to be heard by the criminal courts.
While the alleged offense took place at the 2nd precinct in Virginia Beach, the items taken apparently did not directly belong to the police department. At the time of this report, it had not been revealed exactly what was taken, only that it was personal property. Whether or not the personal property was evidence held in connection with a criminal charge or was the personal property of someone else is not clear. Nevertheless, the experienced patrol officer has been placed on suspension following the allegations, and will remain inactive until the investigation into the larceny is completed.
