An May Law attorney was in the Fairfax General District Court on January 5 on a bond motion for a young man charged with Attempted Rape, Aggravated Sexual Assault, and Animate Object Sexual Penetration. The standard for release on bond (bail) is whether one is a risk of flight or if one is a danger the community. For many felonies, there is a presumption that one charged should never be released on bond.
Unfortunately, Judge Minor refused to release our client. (Our client is from abroad, visiting the USA as a tourist. The judge was concerned that he would return to his home country and not return to court for trial. This is a common problem). We immediately filed an appeal and will argue it again in the Circuit Court tomorrow.
These are serious charges, but we think that they stem from a huge misunderstanding.
Another May Law attorney was in the Fairfax General District Court to defend a Reckless Driving charge. By negotiation with the prosecutor, the case as dropped from the crime of Reckless Driving down to the mere traffic infraction of Speeding at a slower speed (which means fewer points along with a clean criminal record).