Although it is often helpful to have physical evidence to corroborate your version of events, the only thing you absolutely need to bring to a restraining order hearing in D.C. is yourself.
With D.C. Superior Court now closed because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Civil Protection Orders (CPOs), Temporary Protection Orders (TPOs) and other forms of restraining orders must be obtained remotely.
I am nosy. I am also a snob. I am curious what people choose to display in the background behind them during virtual hearings.
The judge issues the order on the very same day that I complain publicly on the SCTLA listserv. On a Saturday. After sitting on the motion for over 9 months.
The photograph depicts Bianca Forde sitting in a New York criminal courtroom. In this courtroom, however, she is sitting at the defense table. She is in casual clothes. And she is looking pretty unhappy.
This website is my claim to fame at D.C. Superior Court. It is not my commanding courtroom presence or my oral advocacy skills. It is not even my good looks. It is this website.
Some clients will hire the first lawyer they reach by phone. Others will take more time. They interview multiple lawyers in person. They ask questions.
Q: Well, let me spell it out for you. At the airport, you showed up out of the blue, uninvited. Just like in the song. A: I had no idea she and her boyfriend would be there.
The changes now being effected in response to the pandemic — specifically the trend toward on-line hearings — could pose challenges for new lawyers seeking to start criminal defense practices in D.C.
We will learn. We will adapt. But as with so many other things in our lives, there will be the pre- and the post-Covid eras. Things will never be the same.
Offenses that have been decriminalized (for example, the possession of a small amount of marijuana) present one of the most promising options for sealing or expunging a criminal record in Washington, D.C.
According to D.C. Court of Appeals decision in Odumn v. United States, “a landlord may not prohibit a tenant from inviting a third party onto leased premises for a lawful purpose, nor may the landlord prohibit such third party from entering or exiting the property through the property’s common space.”
You have to love the “no-lose” questions on cross-examination. Yes or no. You win no matter how the witness responds.
How do you write about COVID-19 and the D.C. jail without resorting to hyperbole? How do you ask the judge to bend the rules?
Police officers have all the answers on direct examination. The clarity and animation disappear when it comes time to answer questions from the defense.
The judge does not say: I am not willing to take your word for this, and I need to have a law clerk check this out. What he says instead: It is time for lunch. We will pass this matter until 2:00 pm.
My mother once said that the hardest part about getting old was the fear of being marginalized. She felt this particularly acutely as an older woman. She complained about feeling invisible.
With almost 100 people making their way through arraignment court every day, it is inevitable that there will be a melt-down or two. After all, we are dealing with people who are finishing what for many of them will be the worst day of their lives.
Complaining witnesses lie on the stand. This never ceases to amaze me. They could be telling the absolute truth about events that led to the criminal prosecution. But when they get on the stand and they are challenged on details during cross-examination, they abandon the truth.
Last year I found out that Nabeel Kibria of Ervin Kibria Law had lifted whole blocks of language from my website for use on his.
The fastest and most effective way to remove an arrest from your criminal record is to file a motion alleging actual innocence under D.C. Code §16-802.
Thirty-five years ago, my wife would take a break from her law school studies to join me in the tiny bedroom of our apartment to watch a half hour of TV before bed. The world seemed so big back then; our concerns in retrospect so small.
According to recent D.C. Court of Appeals opinion, Foster v. United States, D.C. Housing Authority residents cannot be barred from accessing areas covered by their leases.
I have taken 63 cases to trial since 2015. I have secured outright acquittals in 23 of these cases – roughly 37 % – and partial acquittals in an additional 8.
Different people require different motivations. Schuman’s approach may have worked with some people. But it didn’t work with me: I was already trying as hard as I could. I didn’t need to be shamed into working harder.
There are tons of criminal defense lawyers eager to tell their war stories. But how many people have been acquitted of a felony criminal offense?
Police officers have an instinctual unwillingness to agree with a defense attorney. Call me old-fashioned but I think it should be “just the facts, ma’m.”
The best strategy, I have found, is to begin the conversation with an expression of concern about whatever grievance it was that launched the criminal proceedings to begin with.
In Weems v. United States, 191 A.3d 296 (D.C. 2018), the D.C. Court of Appeals defines “possession, custody, or control” for purposes of Rule 16.
When marketing your writing services through mass emails, it is a good idea to make sure there are no typos, misspellings or grammatical errors in your message.
The evidence was consistent with an intent to open the car door, not to damage the door handle. The prosecution was therefore unable to prove criminal intent.
I have a new font: Century Schoolbook. My writing has improved already.
When it comes to hearsay, there is only one phrase you need to keep in mind: Hearsay is an out-of-court assertion offered for the truth. If it doesn’t satisfy that definition, it is not hearsay.
Imagine my delight upon seeing the term “stuporous” used in the police report. Sometimes officers try to do too much. They should stay in their lane.
Jackson spoke with three separate women, and he was a different person depending on which of the women he was on the phone with. He had phone sex with one woman.
According to the police report, our client was hanging out by one of the gas pumps when police pulled in. The body worn cameras proved otherwise. Not guilty!
The evidence suggested that our client intended to exit the store, not damage property. There was also a question as to who actually broke the door.
I have four questions for the person who is giving free legal advice. Are you a lawyer? Do you do criminal defense? Do you do criminal defense in D.C.? If so, are you an idiot?
Q: So you followed him back to his house? A: I didn’t follow him. I was on my way to my mother’s house. She lives in that area. Q: You told police that your mother lives on B Street, right? THE COURT: Is that Northeast, Southeast – DEFENSE COUNSEL: — You told police that your mother lives on B Street, Southeast. Right? A: I don’t remember what I told …
In unlawful entry cases in which the defendant is charged with violating a DCHA barring order, the underlying order must be authorized by D.C. statute.
In addition to contemporaneity and spontaneity, the proponent of a “present sense impression” hearsay exception must prove that the declarant personally perceived the event described.
Mike O’Neill of “Mike and Heather” has died. We drive up to the wake in Lansford, Pennsylvania. It is reassuring to see Heather and their four adult children.
It is true that police officers have no stake in the outcome of the case. But they are hardly neutral and disinterested witnesses.
Although it is no fun to be fired by an unhappy client, there is no excuse for contradicting the client or for betraying client confidences.
If the government introduces new evidence during re-direct examination, the defense has a constitutional right to question the witness about that new evidence.
The court found in Rahman v. U.S. that remaining in a restaurant for 10 minutes after being asked to leave was sufficient to be found guilty of unlawful entry.
As part of my effort to improve the look of this website, I am replacing stock legal photos with two types of images: D.C. landmarks and graffiti.
“Intent-to-frighten” assault is defined as threatening or menacing conduct that is intended to cause the victim to fear immediate bodily injury.
People who are arrested for shoplifting in Washington, D.C. are often surprised to find themselves charged with “theft II” when they show up for court.
An Assistant U.S. Attorney has been referred for disciplinary action after being caught misrepresenting facts before a U.S. District Court.
Jail time that is “suspended” will only be served if the defendant fails to comply with the terms of the sentence.
Spitting on someone would satisfy the definition of an “offensive touching” provided that the government could prove that the defendant’s actions were intentional and not by mistake or accident.
Although a civil protection order (CPO) is a civil matter, not a criminal one, being the subject of a CPO can lead to criminal charges if you are accused of violating the order.
The standard for asserting self-defense in an assault case involving a police officer is still whether or not the police officer used excessive force during the arrest.
According to a plain reading of D.C.’s new resisting arrest statute, you can lawfully resist your own Terry stop.
The court may not have “jurisdiction” (i.e., power) to issue the order. Or the court may decide, after holding a hearing, that there is not “good cause” to believe a crime was committed.
My wife and I have gone full circle. We started off our lives together in a small rental apartment in D.C. Three kids, four cities, six houses and a lifetime later, we are now back in a small rental apartment in D.C.
The letter from the Metropolitan Police Department sounds ominous. Your car has been involved in a hit-and-run accident in D.C. You should come in for an interview at a specific time and place.
I am sitting with Jimmy Klein and Alice Wang in Klein’s office on the third floor of 633 Indiana Avenue, NW. Samia Fam and Jackie Frankfurter stopped in earlier. This is the dream team of appellate lawyers in D.C. and they are all offering input on an appellate brief I have been struggling with.
There is good news for D.C. criminal defense lawyers: Prostitution-related arrests can be expected to rise in the coming months.
Q: Ms. Jones. You realize that when the police interviewed you, they were wearing body worn cameras? A: Actually I didn’t know that. That’s not something I was aware of.
D.C. Code § 48-904.01(e) provides for the expungement of a drug case in Washington, D.C. upon the successful completion of pre-sentence probation.
Although the usual practice is for the CPO hearing to “trail” the criminal case, the defendant/respondent might want the CPO hearing to go first.
If you have been served with a civil protection order (CPO) petition in D.C. and you yourself are the victim of abuse, you can file for a CPO of your own.
Although many people proceed without legal representation, a good lawyer can serve as your advisor and advocate, particularly if you decide to litigate the CPO.
In most cases, the FBI will – as a courtesy – comply with a state court’s order to remove a criminal record from the National Crime Information Center (NCIC).
There is always a defense in domestic violence cases in Washington, D.C.
A specific crime (e.g., simple assault) should not be confused with a general category of crimes (e.g., domestic violence).
We were not the first tourists to visit the village of Tolo. But we were the first foreign family to spend a significant amount of time there — almost a year in 1972 followed by multiple summers. And with seven of us in the family, including five children, it was inevitable we would make a lot of friends. Forty-seven years …
A criminal record for simple assault in D.C. can be sealed either immediately on the grounds of actual innocence or after two years in the interests of justice. A conviction for simple assault can be sealed after eight years. Expunging/sealing an arrest for simple assault There are two different ways to expunge/seal an arrest for simple assault. The first way is …
My website is making its comeback on Google. But I am troubled to find that people have been plagiarizing the site — in one case, whole paragraphs were lifted from my site and reproduced on someone else’s.
Everyone who has been arrested for a criminal offense in Washington, D.C. has some type of criminal record. This would include being arrested for prostitution/sexual solicitation.
At a recent trial, I called my client’s mother as our only witness. I regretted this almost immediately. We had interviewed her. We had subpoenaed her. We had prepared her. And I should have left her sitting in the hall outside the courtroom as I rested my case.
The process after filing normally takes four to six months after filing in D.C. This includes a 60-day period for the government to respond.
The first option for sealing a felony arrest in D.C. would be to file a motion immediately on the grounds of actual innocence under D.C. Code § 16-802. The second option would be to wait two years to file it under D.C. Code § 16-803.
The court will typically order all relevant prosecuting offices, law enforcement agencies, and pretrial, corrections or community supervision agencies to remove all publicly available records that the person was arrested, charged and/or convicted in the case.
Tyler tells me to be patient. A couple of months ago I complained about how my Google rankings have tanked, and Tyler Suchman – my website guy from Tribalcore– has been working with me to try to reverse the trend.
“Expungement” of a criminal record suggests that it is destroyed, thereby restoring the person to the position he/she occupied before the arrest. “Sealed” records still exist. They are just hidden from public view.
Yes. Most jurisdictions now have some form of a law to deal with the issue of “nonsensual pornography” (also known as “revenge porn”). There are three forms of the criminal offense in Washington, D.C.
“What is your name?” That is a non-leading question. Compare that with “Your name is John Smith, isn’t it?” That would be leading. It basically tells the witness what his answer should be.
A man is charged with soliciting a prostitute. He is a Lyft driver who, on the night in question, drops off a customer in D.C. A female undercover officer approaches the car while he is pulled over. What happens next is contested.
In Crawford v. D.C., the Court of Appeals confirmed that the Leaving After Colliding statute requires the government to prove mens rea.
In enacting the statute to criminalize the behavior commonly known as “revenge porn,” the D.C. City Council created “three separate offenses aimed at capturing the three primary forms of non-consensual pornography: (1) unlawful disclosure; (2) first degree unlawful publication; and (3) second degree unlawful publication.”
Concurrent sentences are served simultaneously. Consecutive sentences are served in sequence (i.e., back-to-back). One sentence does not begin until the other sentence has concluded.
The man standing at the bar of the court is a nicely dressed, middle-aged white guy. He looks like a lawyer. That’s because, as it turns out, he IS a lawyer. He is seeking the court’s permission to represent himself.
A person who has been served with a CPO petition in D.C. can enter into a “consent CPO without admissions.” The CPO is granted to the petitioner without a hearing. In exchange, there is no adverse finding of facts against the respondent.
When are police required to read you your rights? The answer actually is never. That is, not unless the suspect is in custody and is being subjected to interrogation (hence the term “custodial interrogation”) and only then if police want to use the statements against him in court.
Yes. If a witness testifying at trial made a prior statement that a party would like to introduce and that statement was intended as an assertion and is now being offered as substantive evidence to prove the truth of the matter, then the statement would still be hearsay. It is immaterial whether or not the witness is present in court to be cross-examined with respect to the earlier statement.
Whether or not an out-of-court statement is hearsay depends on the purpose for which it is offered. If it is offered to prove the truth of the matter, it is hearsay. If offered only to impeach (i.e., discredit) a witness, then it is by definition not hearsay.
A deposition is a witness’s out-of-court testimony that is reduced to writing (usually by a court reporter) for discovery purposes or for later use in court. As such, it would appear to be quintessential hearsay (i.e., an out-of-court declaration that is asserted for the truth of the matter) and would only be admissible if (1) it were offered for a non-hearsay purpose or (2) it satisfied the “prior recorded testimony” or some other exception to the hearsay rule.
Whether a receipt constitutes hearsay would depend on the purpose for which it is being offered. If it is being used to prove the value of an item, it would be hearsay.
I have worked with this particular court-appointed client now on a number of cases, and I guess he is beginning to feel more comfortable with me. “Give it to me straight, Mr. Koehler,” he says to me over the phone. “You get paid more money if I cop to a plea on this case, don’t you?”
There might circumstances in which a person’s silence could be interpreted to communicate something. For example, silence in response to the traditional challenge “speak now or forever hold your peace” during a wedding ceremony could be interpreted to communicate assent. If offered to prove that the “declarant” endorsed the union, it could constitute hearsay, thereby requiring the proponent of the evidence to introduce it through an exception to the hearsay rule.
Conceivably, yes. Hearsay is as an out-of-court assertion that is offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted. If the evidence in question satisfies all three conditions (that is, it is out-of-court, it is an assertion, and it is offered for its truth), then it would be hearsay and could only be admitted through an exception to the hearsay rule.
“Past recollection recorded” is frequently confused with the “refreshing the recollection” of a witness. The former is an exception to the hearsay rule. The latter isn’t. In both cases, a witness is presented with something after failing to recollect a material event. In the case of refreshing recollection, that something can be virtually anything: “a line from Kipling or the dolorous …
Here is what every lawyer appearing in D.C. Superior Court should know about handling an arraignment for a U.S. citation.
I used to be King of Google for criminal defense in D.C. Traffic to my site was both wide (many visitors each day) and deep (visitors would stay for a long time, clicking on multiple pages each visit and then dwelling on them). More importantly, my site ranked number #1 for a number of important search terms that could lead to potential business: “simple assault dc,” prostitution solicitation dc,” “destruction of property dc,” “theft II dc,” “unlawful entry dc,” “expungement/sealing of criminal records dc,” and so on.
Q. Officer. When you arrived, the altercation was still on-going, right?
A. That’s right.
Q. So you have no idea how it started?
A. No, I don’t.
Q. When you arrived, my client had a bottle in her hand?
A. Correct.
Q. And he had a piece of wood in his hand, right?
Felony 1 Calendar Judge Ronna Beck, Room 316 Judge Danya Dayson, Room 318 Judge Craig Iscoe, Room 313 Judge Milton Lee, Room 302 Judge Juliet McKenna, Room 215 Felony 2 Calendar Judge Steven Berk, Room 321 Judge Kimberley Knowles, Room 319 Judge Michael O’Keefe, Room 310 Judge Robert Okun, Room 216 Judge Michael Ryan, Room 217 Judge Robert Salerno, Room …
I like most of the police officers I work with. Access to body worn camera footage has also given me greater respect for what they do: I have seen them deal with volatile and potentially dangerous situations with sensitivity and respect. But this notion of police officers as neutral, disinterested third party observers who testify impartially on behalf of the government is ridiculous. The officers do pick a side – and it is the government’s.