In an unusual move, a client of ours recently avoided jail on a Reckless Driving case by “turning state’s evidence.” The defendant was charged with Reckless Driving by Speed 106 miles per hour in a 65 mile per hour zone.  The judge in his county has a consistent rule for sentencing in such cases — one day in jail for each mile per hour over 90.  So, for this case, the defendant was facing 16

In strong economic times, divorce cases are often litigated over the division of assets.  Parties spend thousands and thousands of dollars arguing over who gets the house, the car, or even the family dog.  In more difficult economic times like those we are experiencing today, parties and their attorneys have to pick their battles carefully in order to limit the costs of litigation.  And when deciding whether something should be litigated or settled, they also

American Apparel, Inc., along with Bluewater Defense, Inc. provides coats and other all-weather clothing to the United States Defense Logistics Agency under a government contract.  The Agency wanted to purchase additional apparel not specifically listed in the contract via a Request for Additional Items.  It awarded the add-on order to Bluewater Defense, Inc. based on price.  American Apparel complained that this was a new procurement necessitating new bids with which the Agency should consider non-price

Reversing a seven-year old policy, the Arlington County General District Court has eliminated its Pre-Trial Conference procedure for DUI cases, effective January 1, 2013. There are three important “take aways”: Discovery — Prior to this change, the Arlington prosecutors offered “open file discovery” at the Pre-Trial Conference.  In the past, this was not available.  We don’t yet know if “open file” will continue now that the conferences are ended. Continuances – These will be routinely

An expert witness on BB guns testified at a trial that such guns could cause serious bodily injury or death.  Since the jury was, alone, responsible for answering the question as to whether a BB gun was a “deadly weapon,” this testimony was improper.  The defendant’s conviction of entering a bank with a deadly weapon was reversed by the Court of Appeals of Virginia.  The case was Justiss v. Commonwealth (December 11, 2012).