Felony & misdemeanor defense · Virginia
Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. defends people charged with felonies and misdemeanors in Virginia. The firm has practiced since 1997.
Request a consultation: (888) 437-7747Since 1997
The firm has practiced since 1997.
State & federal
Virginia state courts and the United States District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia.
Felony & misdemeanor
Defends people charged with felonies and misdemeanors in Virginia.
01 — The forum
A criminal charge in Virginia enters one of three trial courts, and which one it enters shapes everything that follows.
A felony does not reach Circuit Court directly. A general district court judge first determines at a preliminary hearing whether probable cause exists. If it does, the case is certified to a grand jury, which decides whether to return an indictment. Each of those stages is a point at which the Commonwealth's case can be tested.
i.
Hears misdemeanor trials and holds preliminary hearings in felony cases.
ii.
The court of general jurisdiction: felony trials are held there, jury trials are available there, and a misdemeanor conviction from general district court is tried again there on appeal.
iii.
Handles matters involving juveniles and certain offenses between family or household members.
An accusation is not a conviction, and the burden of proof does not shift at any stage.
02 — Statutory ranges
Virginia sorts offenses into classes, and the class sets the punishment range a court is authorized to impose. The figures below describe those statutory ranges. They are not predictions, and they do not describe what happens in any particular case.
Not every felony carries a class. Some offenses set their own penalty range inside the section that defines them, and the range in that section governs. Distribution and possession with intent to distribute under Va. Code § 18.2-248 is one of them. A reader who assumes an unclassified offense maps onto a class may badly misjudge the exposure involved.
03 — Practice
Va. Code § 18.2-57 and related sections, including offenses charged between family or household members.
Possession under Va. Code § 18.2-250, and distribution or possession with intent to distribute under Va. Code § 18.2-248.
Including grand larceny under Va. Code § 18.2-95 and petit larceny under Va. Code § 18.2-96.
Including carrying a concealed weapon under Va. Code § 18.2-308 and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon under Va. Code § 18.2-308.2.
The provisions grouped in Title 18.2, Chapter 4, Article 7 of the Code of Virginia.
Including obtaining money by false pretenses under Va. Code § 18.2-178 and identity theft under Va. Code § 18.2-186.3.
Va. Code § 19.2-306.
Charged in general district court, with appeal to Circuit Court available.
Filed in the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia, which operate under rules, procedures, and sentencing practice distinct from the Virginia state courts.
04 — Registry consequences
These cases carry consequences that reach well past any sentence, and those consequences are frequently described in absolute terms. The statutory position is narrower.
Registration under the Virginia Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry is required following conviction for many of the offenses in Title 18.2, Chapter 4, Article 7. Registration duration, reporting frequency, and whether a person may ever petition for removal are set by statute and differ by offense and by history. Failure to register is a separate offense, and the level at which it is charged also depends on the offender's classification and prior record.
What follows from that is practical. A person deciding whether to contest a charge or resolve it needs to know which provisions apply to their specific offense, not a general description. That determination is part of the case, not an afterthought to it.
The firm defends these allegations. Where an investigation is underway and no charge has been filed, counsel can be involved at that stage.
05 — Constitutional protections
The rights below exist under the United States and Virginia Constitutions. This section describes what they are. It is not instruction for any particular encounter, and it is not a substitute for advice from a lawyer who knows the facts.
01
A person may decline to answer questions from police. Where a person is in custody and subject to interrogation, courts have held that the right must be invoked clearly rather than by silence alone.
02
Once a person in custody clearly requests a lawyer, interrogation is required to stop until counsel is present.
03
Police may ask permission to search a person, a vehicle, or a home. Consent is a waiver of a constitutional protection. Whether consent was given, and whether it was voluntary, is frequently contested later.
04
Calls placed from a jail are ordinarily recorded and are routinely obtained by prosecutors. Text messages and social media content can be subpoenaed. Communications with a person's own attorney are protected; communications with friends, relatives, and cellmates are not.
If any of these questions is live in your situation, speak with a lawyer who knows the facts.
06 — Method
The firm's attorneys generally work through a case in the following order.
Charging documents, the officer's narrative, body-worn camera and dash camera footage, dispatch audio, and any recorded statement are obtained and compared against one another.
Whether the initial contact was supported by the required suspicion, and whether any search was supported by a warrant, consent, or a recognized exception, are assessed first, because the answers govern what evidence is available to the Commonwealth. Where a constitutional defect appears, evidence may be subject to a motion to suppress, subject to the exceptions Virginia and federal courts recognize.
Whether warnings were given, whether a waiver was knowing and voluntary, and whether questioning continued after a request for counsel are reviewed against the recordings rather than against the summary in a report.
The Commonwealth must prove each element of the charged offense beyond a reasonable doubt. In a possession case that often means knowledge and dominion. In a fraud case it often means intent. Identifying which element carries the weight shapes the rest of the work.
Chain of custody, laboratory method, and the qualifications of the analyst are examined, and independent review may be sought where the case warrants it.
Depending on the evidence, a matter may proceed to trial or to negotiation. A Virginia court has discretion over disposition in many cases, and defense counsel may raise mitigation. Whether any particular resolution is available depends on the facts, the charge, the jurisdiction, the prosecutor, and the judge. Results may vary.
07 — The firm
Three attorneys of Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. take Virginia criminal matters. Each is admitted in the jurisdictions listed in their entry.
Owner & Founder · Former Prosecutor
Licensed in VA · MD · DC · NJ · NY
Criminal defense and family law. He has practiced since 1997 and served as a prosecutor before entering private practice.
Full profile →
Of Counsel · Former Virginia State Trooper
Licensed in VA
DUI, criminal law, and traffic law. He served as a Virginia State Trooper before entering the practice of law.
Full profile →
Of Counsel · Former Prosecutor
Licensed in VA · MD
Criminal law, DUI defense, and traffic law. She served as an Assistant State's Attorney in Maryland before entering private practice.
Full profile →Bryan Block and Kristen M. Fisher serve as Of Counsel to Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C.
08 — Service area
Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. accepts criminal defense matters in Virginia state courts and in the United States District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia.
Court procedure is uniform across the Commonwealth. Scheduling practice, docket volume, and local rules differ from one jurisdiction to another, and counsel confirms those details for the specific court before appearing.
09 — Questions
A misdemeanor is punishable by up to twelve months in jail, a fine, or both, and is divided into four classes under Va. Code § 18.2-11. A felony is the more serious category and is divided into six classes under Va. Code § 18.2-10, though some felonies are unclassified and carry a range set in the section that defines them. Class 5 and Class 6 felonies are an exception worth knowing about: the court or jury may impose a prison term or, in the alternative, confinement in jail for up to twelve months and a fine.
No. The period before a charge is filed is a stage of the case, not a stage before it. Counsel can communicate with investigators on a person's behalf, and decisions made during an investigation frequently affect what charges are brought.
Once a person in custody clearly requests counsel, interrogation is required to stop until a lawyer is present. Courts have held that the request has to be unambiguous. Whether a particular request met that standard is a question that often has to be litigated afterward, which is one reason the recordings matter.
A magistrate or judge decides whether a person will be released while the case is pending and on what conditions. The considerations include ties to the community, the nature of the charge, prior record, and whether the person presents a risk of flight or of danger. Conditions of release can be revisited.
It can matter a great deal. Whether a search was supported by a warrant, by consent, or by a recognized exception determines what evidence the Commonwealth may use. Where a constitutional defect appears, a motion to suppress may be available, though courts recognize exceptions that can limit that remedy.
Not necessarily. A misdemeanor conviction from general district court may be appealed to Circuit Court, where the case is tried again rather than reviewed. There is a deadline for noting that appeal, and it is short.
It can. Reporting obligations for cleared personnel are set by federal directive and by agency policy, and they are commonly triggered by an arrest rather than by an outcome. Immigration consequences depend on the offense charged, the disposition entered, and the person's status. Both are considered while the case is open, because the disposition is what drives them.
Prior convictions, including out-of-state convictions, can affect charging decisions, sentencing guidelines, and eligibility for certain dispositions. A record disclosed to counsel early is more useful than one discovered late.
Fees depend on the charge, the court, whether the matter is a felony or a misdemeanor, and whether it is contested. The firm charges a fee for the initial consultation and sets out a written fee arrangement after reviewing the case.
A federal case proceeds under different rules, different procedure, and different sentencing practice from a Virginia state case. The firm accepts matters in the federal district courts of Virginia and confirms at the outset which system a given charge sits in.
Deadlines for appeal, for motions, and for preserving evidence begin running immediately, and the material a defense depends on is time-limited.
Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. accepts criminal defense matters throughout Virginia.
