Jefferson Memorial

Burglary, robbery and assault charges dismissed in D.C. Superior Court

Jamison KoehlerAssault, Investigations, Other Criminal Offenses

The government recently dismissed burglary, robbery, and assault charges against a Koehler Law client in D.C. Superior Court. The key to the case was investigation. Ring camera footage, building surveillance video, and cell phone records contradicted critical parts of the complainant’s account. The evidence gathered by our investigator, Robert Kapler, ultimately helped secure the dismissal of every charge against our …

DC Flag

Hit-and-run charges dismissed in D.C.

Jamison KoehlerOther Criminal Offenses

The government has dismissed charges against a Koehler Law client in a hit-and-run case.  Our client was accused of leaving the scene of an accident involving personal injury without calling police or providing identifying information.  We were able to produce evidence that our client had in fact called 3-1-1, which is the non-emergency number for police.  We also had an …

Front of D.C. Superior Court

Resisting arrest charges dismissed in D.C.

Jamison KoehlerAssault, Other Criminal Offenses

Resisting arrest charges against a Koehler Law client were dismissed recently by the government.  This was after our trusty investigator Robert Kapler secured surveillance recordings that conclusively disproved the claims of Secret Service officers. As I often tell Robert, sometimes our wins are attributable to my legal acumen.  Other times we win because of what he produces.  This win belongs …

D.C. Superior Court

Koehler Law client found not guilty after D.C. simple assault trial

Jamison KoehlerD.C. Superior Court, Other Criminal Offenses, Trial Advocacy

A Koehler Law client was acquitted of simple assault after trial last week in D.C. Superior Court. Our client was charged with simple assault after he was accused of threatening another person with a knife. The case was the second of two misdemeanor trials heard by the same judge that day. Both trials resulted in not-guilty verdicts. Back-to-back trials as …

DC court of appeals with sign

Defining “malice” in destruction of property case in D.C.

Jamison KoehlerLegal Concepts/Principles, Opinions/Cases, Other Criminal Offenses

Roman Wiley (aka Kamaal Mumin) believed he owned a particular house in D.C.  This, as it turns out, was a delusion.  The real owner, who was renovating the property, kept finding Wiley on the property.  At one point, Wiley changed the locks on a wrought-iron gate securing a back door.  He did this by unfastening the two screws that kept …

D.C. Court of Appeals entry way

Unlawful entry and the “independent justification requirement”

Jamison KoehlerCriminal Procedure, D.C. Superior Court, Defenses to Criminal Charges, Opinions/Cases, Other Criminal Offenses

According to the “independent justification” requirement, an order to leave public property must be given by a person with authority based on some established policy, rule or regulation.  Otherwise, the government cannot prove the elements of the criminal offense of unlawful entry. *** Dr. Derek J. Morris was attempting to file a pro se petition for a writ of certiorari …

Jefferson Memorial at night

The “voluntary intoxication” defense in D.C.

Jamison KoehlerDefenses to Criminal Charges, Legal Concepts/Principles, Opinions/Cases, Other Criminal Offenses

According to recent opinion issued by the D.C. Court of Appeals, Darrell Jones v. United States, __ A.3d __ (D.C. 2025), the defense must prove “incapacitating intoxication” in order to negate the mens rea element of a criminal offense.  ***** “Voluntary intoxication” is generally not a viable defense to a criminal charge in Washington, D.C.  As Joshua Dressler puts it …

Baltimore graffiti

Unlawful Entry in D.C.: Odumn v. United States

Jamison KoehlerOpinions/Cases, Other Criminal Offenses

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.”

revenge porn d.c.

Analyzing D.C.’s “Revenge Porn” Statute

Jamison KoehlerOther Criminal Offenses

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.”

Jefferson Memorial

In Re S.W.: Context is Critical When Proving Criminal Threat

Jamison KoehlerOpinions/Cases, Other Criminal Offenses

I have never been a fan of D.C.’s “threats to do bodily harm” statute. For one thing, it criminalizes behavior that is already covered under the assault statute.  After all, is there any real difference between threatening to hurt another person and intending to frighten someone?  For another, with almost identical language in both the felony and misdemeanor threats statutes, …

Jefferson Memorial

Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle: Applying the Notion of a “Grace Period”

Jamison KoehlerDefenses to Criminal Charges, Legal Concepts/Principles, Other Criminal Offenses

  The judge doesn’t like my idea of a “grace period.”  In fact, he chuckles when I propose it:  “I have never seen any case law on that,” he says. I was not trying to be funny. My client has been charged with both unlawful entry and unauthorized use of a stolen car in which he was a passenger. Unlawful …

American flag

How Criminal Charges Can Jeopardize a Security Clearance

Jamison KoehlerOther Criminal Offenses

  Of all the collateral consequences of a criminal arrest or conviction, one of the issues of greatest concern in the DC/Maryland/Northern Virginia area could be the effect of an arrest or conviction on a person’s security clearance.  After all, with many military personnel and defense contractors living in the area, there are many people here who require a security …

U.S. Capitol building

On Challenging a Prostitution/Sexual Solicitation Case in D.C.

Jamison KoehlerOther Criminal Offenses

A couple of years ago, I was representing a client on a prostitution solicitation charge in Philadelphia. I had worked out a deferred prosecution agreement with the government according to which the assistant district attorney would postpone prosecution and then dismiss the charges against my client if he successfully completed a period of 9 months of probation. As my client …

Rakofsky Dismissed in D.C. Murder Trial

Jamison KoehlerCurrent Events, Other Criminal Offenses

I have always been somewhat suspicious of reports in the criminal law blogosphere about lawyers who misrepresent their credentials or who otherwise fail to meet the needs of their clients. Maybe I am naïve but I have questioned how frequently this actually occurs. And just as anything I might say could be viewed as suspect, I have been struck by …

U.S. Capitol building

Erik Prince Meet Susan Burke

Jamison KoehlerCurrent Events, Other Criminal Offenses

  My wife Susan Burke heads to the United Arab Emirates this weekend to depose Blackwater Founder Erik Prince as part of one of her civil lawsuits against him. As reported in yesterday’s New York Times, Susan has brought suit against Prince on behalf of former Blackwater employees accusing Prince of defrauding the government. Susan has already settled seven suits …

Disorderly Conduct: D.C. Court Narrows The Scope

Jamison KoehlerDrug Offenses, Firearms/Weapons, Opinions/Cases, Other Criminal Offenses

  Disorderly conduct is a really annoying charge. The first problem is that the offense is usually so broad and poorly defined that it is too easy for police to charge and too easy for the government to prove at trial.  For example, since intent to cause a “public inconvenience” is a major element of the offense in Pennsylvania, the …

American flag

A Probation Officer Should Be A Client’s Best Friend

Jamison KoehlerOther Criminal Offenses

It is amazing to me how many clients spend more time in custody than they need to.  The sad fact is, violating the terms of probation is frequently a major cause of people going back to jail when they could be serving the remainder of their sentence on the street. There are many reasons people violate the terms of probation.  …

Jefferson Memorial

Felony-Murder and the Case of Annie Le

Jamison KoehlerOther Criminal Offenses

A loyal reader (okay, it’s my brother-in-law George) has asked me to explain the difference between murder and felony-murder.  George learned of the distinction while reading about yesterday’s not guilty plea in the Yale graduate student murder case.  For those of you who are not familiar with the case, Raymond Clark III was charged last week in connection the murder …