Every case is unique. There are several factors that will have tremendous influence on the ultimate outcome of your case. It is impossible to say definitively predict an end result. That much said certain things take place on nearly every DWI in Fairfax.
Court will start at 9:30. The judge will take the bench and begin calling cases. The names called are for those individuals who did not hire a lawyer. Cases where a defense attorney is involved are placed in a separate pile and given to the Prosecutor before court starts. This allows the Prosecutor assigned to the courtroom to talk to the officers in the courtroom about the facts of their specific cases.
Practicing DWI law in Fairfax is less formal than most people expect. Typically, nobody from the Commonwealth Attorney’s office looks into cases before the actual day of court. This presents challenges to a defense attorney, but it also presents an opportunity. The downside is obvious. Without knowing what the full evidence is or even what Prosecutor is going to be assigned, clients are often required to make tough decisions on relatively short notice.
The upside to this informal set up is tremendous. A good Fairfax DWI lawyer will have been working on the case for some time and will be infinitely more prepared than his counterpart in the Prosecutor’s office. While it is impossible to know every single detail, experience allows a lawyer to get a reasonable idea of what potential issues or defenses may exist with regards to a specific DWI. Additionally, the defense attorney will only be handling one case that day. By comparison, the Prosecutor will be responsible for an entire courtroom worth of cases. It is not unusual for a Prosecutor to have to handle 9 or 10 DWIs on any given day. And that’s in addition to the other Reckless Driving and traffic cases that are also in the court. All in all, the way Fairfax prosecutes DWIs presents an excellent opportunity for a skilled DWI attorney to have cases slip through the cracks in order to accomplish a great result for their client.
After the Prosecutor has talked to the police officers they will begin meeting with the DWI attorneys. These meetings take place in a little room just outside the courtroom. Defendants do not attend these sessions. During these meetings, the Prosecutor will discuss the evidence they have against the Defendant. They will also listen as the defense lawyer discusses any mitigating factors that should play in the Defendant’s favor. At the conclusion of this discussion, the Prosecutor will extend a plea offer. A plea offer is an agreed punishment that will be offered in exchange for a guilty plea. There is a negotiation but ultimately the terms of the offer are up to the Prosecutor’s discretion. The decision you and your DWI lawyer will have to make is deciding whether or not to accept the offer.
The decision on whether accepting an offer is logical depends on several factors. The most important factor is obviously the terms of the agreement. If an agreement calls for an overly severe punishment the indication is to reject it. Conversely, if the plea calls for a very lenient punishment, acceptance is more likely. What is severe and lenient is also relative. We must also factor in the strength/weakness of the evidence, the judge’s disposition, the risk awareness of the client, and the presence or absence of complex legal issues.
