Criminal Law

            Criminal Law is a tough area of law, and perhaps the most influential situation an individual may ever endure.  When the government accuses someone of committing a crime, he should take these allegations with the utmost seriousness.  Crimes that are felonies or a class one misdemeanor are punishable by jail and imprisonment.

The Bushman Law Group will assist you in felonies, misdemeanors, and traffic offenses whether you are charged in Federal Court or in a Virginia State Court.  We will explain the charge to you and the statutory requirements that the Commonwealth Attorney or District Attorney must prove in order for a conviction.  We will explain the penalties and any lesser but included offenses that may also be charged. 

Generally, the first stage of a criminal procedure is the arraignment.  At the arraignment, the accused is told by the judge what he has been charged with, his right to secure counsel, and may hear a bond motion.  If the defendant cannot make bond or the motion is not made, a bond motion may be the next stage.  If the charge is a felony, after the arraignment or any bond motion will be the preliminary hearing.  The preliminary hearing is the prosecutions attempt to prove to the judge that probable cause exists that the accused has committed the accused crime.  If the Judge finds probable cause that a misdemeanor was committed, the matter is set for trial or tried that day.  If the charge is a felony, the case will be sent to circuit court in state court.  If the charge is a misdemeanor, then there may be no preliminary hearing and the case will proceed directly to trial.

            If the case involves a juvenile in state court, then the case will be in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.  This court is designed to rehabilitate juveniles and not to punish them.  Although there is a list of available alternatives for a delinquent, the court may send the juvenile to a detention center as a last resort.

            Traffic infractions are usually a strict liability crime.  The question in these cases are not whether the accused intended to do what they are accused of, but whether or not they actually did what they are accused of doing.  Simply put, it is not the intention of the accused, just merely whether the accused committed the act.  Not all traffic crimes are non-jailable offenses.  Some traffic crimes are also misdemeanors and may subject the accused to jail time if they are found guilty.

            When a case proceeds to a trial, it can be before a judge or a jury.  When a jury is impaneled, which is to say the have been picked to decide whether a crime has been committed, the opening statement is the first chance at an attorney’s framing of an issue.  The other type of trial is a “bench trial,” so named because the Judge acts as both jury and referee.  A Criminal trial has essentially five stages:  Opening argument, Prosecution’s evidence, Defense evidence, Rebuttal, and Closing argument.   The opening argument is both parties ability to frame an issue or characterize what the trial is about and what evidence will be presented during the trial.

The prosecutions evidence begins at the end of the opening statements and it is the State’s opportunity to present evidence.  The prosecution must prove that a crime was committed by the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt.  All crimes have elements.  An element of a crime is one particular action that a person can commit.  If you group a bunch of related elements, actions, than a crime may have been committed.  The prosecution must prove each element beyond a reasonable doubt.

After the close of the prosecution's case, sometimes refereed to as case in chief, the defense has its opportunity to produce any evidence that may exculpate or impress doubt on the mind of the juror or judge.  Exculpatory evidence is any statement, photo, testimony that when taken as a whole would suggest the Defendant could not have committed the crime.

The defenses' case may be followed by a rebuttal from the prosecution.  The evidence introduced at this point in time is limited to what new topics have been introduced by the defense.

Following the presentation of both sides, closing arguments are the next stage.

This is followed by a rendering of a verdict and then a separate trial on Sentencing.

Sentencing In Virginia follows similar progression as a trial, but in this instance the focus is on arriving at the appropriate punishment for the Defendant relative to the circumstances in the case and to other similar dispositions.

            Please contact the Bushman Law Group at 703-524-0700, if you have further questions.