Tuesday, December 9, 2014

HOW TO HELP YOUR ATTORNEY HELP YOU, Part 3

If you have been arrested or given a summons for a traffic or criminal offense you will probably need to seek the advice of an attorney. There are several things you can do that will assist you in allowing your attorney to do the best job possible for you.

In this four part series of "How to Help Your Attorney Help You", Attorney at Law Michael S. Davis discusses:
When should I contact an attorney?
What should I look for in an attorney?
What should I bring for my appointment?
What do I tell my attorney?

WHAT SHOULD I BRING FOR MY APPOINTMENT

Cases can range from very minor to very serious. In some cases little more than a summons is needed for the interview process. In other cases it is very important that you bring any paperwork that you have received from the police or the courts in addition to miscellaneous notices you may have received from DMV or other agencies.

Also, you should be prepared to give the names, addresses and phone numbers of any witnesses, victims or others that you are aware of that might be important to your case. This does not only include people who might be favorable to your defense, but those who may testify against you. Sometimes you may not have this information, but where it is available always present it to your attorney. If it is not available at least advise your attorney if you know of witnesses that exist. There may be ways for your attorney to track them down such as through the use of a private investigator or the police.

At the Law Office of Michael S Davis, we would be happy to discuss your situation at no cost and help you determine your best course of action.

Monday, November 10, 2014

HOW TO HELP YOUR ATTORNEY HELP YOU, Part 2

If you have been arrested or given a summons for a traffic or criminal offense you will probably need to seek the advice of an attorney. There are several things you can do that will assist you in allowing your attorney to do the best job possible for you.

In this four part series of "How to Help Your Attorney Help You", Attorney at Law Michael S. Davis discusses:
When should I contact an attorney?
What should I look for in an attorney?
What should I bring for my appointment?
What do I tell my attorney?

WHAT SHOULD I LOOK FOR IN AN ATTORNEY

In Virginia attorneys are not permitted to hold themselves out as specialists. There are some exceptions to this rule but they do not apply to traffic or criminal law. When selecting an attorney you want to look for someone who has a heavy concentration in the area of practice that your case involves. For example, you may not want to go to a divorce lawyer for a DUI or a tax attorney for a weapons charge. Michael S. Davis Attorney at Law is an experienced traffic and criminal defense attorney with experience as with experience as a police officer and expertise in other fields that relate to traffic and criminal defense.

You want to find an attorney that you can communicate well with. Your attorney should return calls and be willing to meet with you as needed to pursue your case. If your attorney will not explain things or return your calls you may want to think about whether this is the right attorney for your needs.

Last, you must trust your attorney and listen to his or her advice. If you do not trust your attorney or you are not willing to listen to advice you do so at your own peril. This is not to say that you do not have the right to question advice or make a decision that your attorney does not agree with, but remember that your attorney is looking out for your best interests and tries to ensure the best outcome possible for you. Attorney Michael S. Davis will tailor his representation to your needs and use his collective experience and training to best serve your needs.


Read part one of this series: "How to Help Your Attorney Help You, When Should I Contact an Attorney" 

Thursday, October 9, 2014

HOW TO HELP YOUR ATTORNEY HELP YOU, Part 1

If you have been arrested or given a summons for a traffic you will probably need to seek the advice of an attorney. There are several things you can do that will assist you in allowing your attorney to do the best job possible for you.

In this four part series of "How to Help Your Attorney Help You", Attorney at Law Michael S. Davis discusses:
  • When should I contact an attorney?
  • What should I look for in an attorney?
  • What should I bring for my appointment?
  • What do I tell my attorney?


WHEN SHOULD I CONTACT AN ATTORNEY

After you have been charged, it is important that you contact an attorney as soon as possible. Depending on the complexity of your case your attorney will need time to properly prepare your case. In many cases your attorney will need to research the applicable case law and statutes that apply to your circumstances. Research can sometimes be a time consuming activity that requires more than just a cursory review of the cases. Often, in more complex cases, the attorney may want to actually prepare a written brief to present to the court that will give the judge deciding your case a better understanding of the issues. In these cases, the courts sometimes require that these briefs be submitted well ahead of your hearing or trial date.

In addition, your attorney needs time to consult with you about what happened in your situation so that he or she has a complete understanding of the circumstances and issues in the case. Many times more than one meeting with your attorney will be needed. This may involve talking to witnesses, police officers, victims and others such as lab technicians, breath test operators or others that may have had some involvement in the matter.

Depending on the case, you may need to have an expert in a particular field who can interpret, both for your attorney and the court, the result of certain types of technical evidence. It takes time to find and secure the services of experts.

You may also want to secure the services of a court reporter. Your attorney can arrange this but, it is best to arrange for this service well in advance of your trial date.


Remember, your attorney wants to help you and do the best job he or she can, but the old saying applies, “garbage in, garbage out.” If you do not take the time to help your attorney it makes it very hard for your attorney to help you.  At the Law Office of Michael S Davis, we would be happy to discuss your situation at no cost and help you determine your best course of action.

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

THINGS YOU CAN DO TO HELP YOURSELF

There are a number of things that you as someone suspected of committing a crime can do to help yourself.  First, never be disrespectful or belligerent to an officer.  Remember, you are playing on his or her turf and he or she has all of the advantages and resources.  In addition, it will give the officer an incentive to make your case more difficult for you than it otherwise might be.

Second, other than identifying yourself to the police you are not required to speak to them about any aspect of the facts that they are investigating or to give any written or recorded statements.  You have this right under the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution.  Many times the only evidence that a police officer has to convict you of a crime is what comes out of your own mouth.  The police are very well trained in persuading individuals to give statements.  Common examples are the officer telling you that he only wants to help you or, that if you tell him what is going on he won’t charge you or he won’t charge you with a more serious crime.  Often they will tell you that without your statement they can only go by what the other side is saying and that would be bad for you.  In some cases they will even try and get you to admit guilt by asking you to write a letter of apology to a victim and then using that as an admission of guilt.  Do not fall into these traps.  If the police are going to arrest you they are going to do it anyway and you are not going to talk your way out of it.  Let your attorney deal with the police when you get to court.

Third, never consent to a search of your person, car, home or other property.  When you decline to give permission be respectful but be very clear that you do not give permission. This may not make the officer happy but there is very little they can do about it. There are many times that the police will ask you for permission to search and they can be very intimidating about it. You must stand up to this pressure while at the same time not being rude or belligerent to the officer.  If the officer searches without your permission do not try to stop him.  If the search is illegal your attorney can take steps to correct that in court. Often they have no legal right to search other than your consent.  Many people think that if they don’t allow a search that they look guilty and hope that by allowing the search the officer won’t find anything illegal and that they will treat you better because of your cooperation. That will not work, if they find something they are going to charge you, and police will find illegal items if you have them, so don’t think you hid them that well.

Never assist the police in obtaining evidence that they will use against you in court.  You do not have to tell the police where you have been, where you are going, who you have been with, what you were doing or anything else other than to identify yourself.  You do not have to submit to field sobriety tests if stopped for DUI or a breath test at the scene of the stop.  (You do by law have to submit to a breath test at the station after being arrested for DUI).  You do not have to give writing samples or provide DNA without warrants.  The more information you give the police the more you are assuring your own conviction.  Remember the old saying that a fish that keeps his mouth shut never gets a hook in it!

Contact an attorney as soon as you have been charged and even sooner if you know that you are under investigation and believe you may be charged.  The sooner an attorney can evaluate your situation and make recommendations for a course of action the better your chances of success in court.  If the police insist that you come in to talk to them contact your attorney who can go with you and prevent you from incriminating yourself.  The police will usually try and persuade you that you don’t need an attorney.  They have good reason to tell you this because they know if you have an attorney that he or she is not going to let you do anything that will incriminate you, which is the reason the police want to talk to you in the first place.

Feel free to contact Michael S Davis, Attorney at Law, for more information or visit our website www.michaelsdavislaw.com


Wednesday, July 30, 2014

BOND HEARING AND GETTING OUT OF JAIL

In the event you have been arrested whether for a minor offense or a more serious charge you will be taken to a detention center where you will be brought before a magistrate. At that time the arresting officer will present his case against you to the magistrate and request that a warrant be issued holding you for the charge. At the same time the magistrate will evaluate whether you should be released from custody or held. If the decision of the magistrate is that you be held he will determine whether or not to set a bond for your release or whether to hold you without bond.

The magistrate has the power to release you on your own recognizance which essentially means that you will be released on your word to appear in court. He or she also has the power to set a cash bond. The magistrate determines a cash amount that you can deliver to the court that will be held to assure your appearance. If you fail to appear for your court appearance this money is forfeited to the court. The third option available to the magistrate is to hold you without bond. This means that you cannot be released from jail until you appear in court and have a judge set a bond, or until the case is resolved if a judge determines that you should not have a bond. Generally magistrates will set a personal recognizance or cash bond in most cases. A finding of no bond is usually reserved for very serious cases only.

The magistrate is required to determine two criteria in deciding if you will receive bond and in determining what the amount of a bond is going to be. The first is whether you are a flight risk. Information that the magistrate uses to determine this comes from a wide range of factors. If the magistrate determines that you have failed to appear for court appearances in the past he or she is less likely to release you on bond. Also the magistrate will evaluate whether you have a job that would be likely to encourage you to remain in the area and appear for court.  Family ties are also something the magistrate will consider. The more family you have locally the thought is that you are less likely to leave the area and not appear. If you own property locally that is something to be taken into consideration. There is another factor that is often taken into account by magistrates and that is whether you cooperated with the police or if you gave them a hard time. Many times a police officer will recommend to the magistrate that someone not be given bond simply because they were not cooperative. For that reason it is usually better to be respectful with the officer. Please understand that being cooperative does not mean that you should waive your rights or give a confession just so the officer will like you and recommend bond. Remember, giving that kind of information might get you out of jail that night but may very well end with your being convicted and spending a great deal more time in jail. The second criteria used to determine whether you will be given bond is whether you are considered a danger to the community. This determination usually comes into play in more serious cases such as people accused of violent crimes like robbery, assaults, murder and other crimes of that nature. In fact, there are certain crimes where there is an automatic assumption that you should not have bond. In these cases no bond will be set and you will have to appear in court to have a judge set a bond if he or she thinks it is appropriate.

If it has been determined that you are entitled to bond you will be released if you have a personal recognizance bond without putting up money. If it has been determined that you have a cash bond you will either have to give that money to the court in full to be released or you will have to contact a bondsman to put up the money for you. Generally, bondsmen charge a fee of 10% of the bond value as their fee for putting up the bond. This rate can vary. If you put the money up yourself you will have it returned when you appear in court and the case is resolved. If you hire a bondsman the 10% that you give to him will be the fee for writing the bond and you will not get that back. These fees are usually 10% but they can vary as stated. Attorney Michael S. Davis is familiar with several bondmen in your area and can recommend or make arrangements for someone to bond you out and provide you with the best rates available.

If the magistrate sets a bond at a high cash value and you are unable to make the bond even with the help of the bondsman or if the magistrate refuses to set bond you will need to contact a lawyer who can arrange a bond hearing to have a bond set or have it lowered if it is too high for you to pay. Usually bond hearings can be set within one day of the date you are arrested but in some jurisdictions it will be longer and on week-ends it will not be set until sometime the following week when court is in session. Attorney Michael S. Davis can assist you in getting into court for a bond hearing and has represented hundreds of clients in this situation. Generally he is able to persuade a judge to set a bond that will allow you to get out of jail until your case is resolved. As stated earlier, there are some cases where the client is considered by the court simply too dangerous to be released but these cases are infrequent.

Under normal circumstances your first bond hearing will be in the General District Court unless you are a juvenile or have been directly indicted and by-pass the General District Court. If you have a hearing in the General District Court and a reasonable bond is set nothing further needs to be done. If the judge at that level refuses to set a bond or leaves a bond at a level too high for you to pay the matter can be appealed to the Circuit Court where your attorney will have a second opportunity to persuade a different judge to set a bond that you can pay and be released.


Attorney Michael S Davis can assist you in obtaining a bondman who will provide you with fair and reasonable rates and that will respond day or night to have you released from jail as soon as possible. If you cannot make bond he can assist you in getting into court quickly where a bond can be lowered or granted. Attorney Michael S Davis has years of experience in handling these matters and stands ready to assist you day or night should the need arise.

Contact Attorney Michael S Davis at 757-721-6453 or visit www.michaelsdavislaw.com for more information.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

KNOW THE PENALTIES

There are two distinct classes of crimes in Virginia. The first are misdemeanors and the second are felonies. Misdemeanors are classified as minor crimes where on the other hand felonies are considered serious and the two different classes are treated very differently.

Misdemeanors are broken down into various classes. They range from class one to class four. A class one misdemeanor carries the possibility of up to 12 months in jail and up to a $2500 fine, either or both. A class two misdemeanor carries the possibility of up to 6 months in jail and a fine of up to $1000, either or both. A class three misdemeanor carries the possibility of up to a $500 fine but does not include the possibility of jail time and a class four misdemeanor carries the possibility of up to a $250 fine but does not include the possibility of jail time.

Misdemeanors can be charged by either a summons, such as a ticket for a driving offense or by a warrant. In the case of a summons you will probably be issued the summons and be allowed to leave after signing it with your promise to appear in court. Generally they are given for class three and four misdemeanors but can also be issued for class one and two misdemeanors. A summons does not state the class of offense committed.

You may also be charged through the issuance of an arrest warrant and generally these are issued for more serious misdemeanors such as class one or two. Warrants are issued by a magistrate or a judge as opposed to an officer with a summons and state on the face of the warrant the class of offense committed. A warrant usually results in the defendant being taken into custody and being held in jail until brought before a judge or being released after appearing before a magistrate and being given a bond.

Felonies are divided into six classes. A class one felony is very serious and if the person is 18 years or older can carry a penalty of death or of life in prison along with up to a $100,000 fine. A class two felony carries a possibility of up to life in prison but not less than 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. A class three felony carries up to 20 years in prison but not less than 5 years and a fine of up to $100,000. A class four felony carries up to 10 years in prison but not less than 2 years and a fine of up to $100,000. A class five felony carries up to 10 years in prison but not less than 1 year or at the discretion of the judge or jury up to 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500. A class six felony carries up to 5 years in prison but not less than 1 year and at the discretion of the judge or jury up to 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine. There is also a felony that is unclassified which means that for that specific offense the penalty is indicated within the statute for the crime. An example of this is Grand Larceny which carries up to 20 years in prison but not less than 1 year.

Felonies are always by warrant and usually result in incarceration until brought before a judge for a determination of whether bond will be given. Felony warrants will indicate the class of the offense on the face of the warrant.


As can be seen, all but class three and four misdemeanors are punishable by jail, and sometimes significant prison time as well as a fine that can be extremely high. If you are charged with a crime it is important to consult a competent attorney as soon as possible to protect your rights and ensure the best possible outcome for the circumstances of your case. Attorney Michael S Davis is very experienced at handling criminal and serious traffic matters, and will afford you immediate and individual attention in providing you representation in handling your case.