Mandatory minimum sentences have long been controversial, particularly in reference to drug crimes. A legacy of the “get tough on crime” directives of the 1980s-90s, mandatory minimums take the power to adjudicate a just and reasonable sentence completely out of the...

You went to college to further your career, long before that career had even started. You wanted a degree so that you could get a good job and have the life you want. And then you got arrested. Now that you’re facing criminal charges, it’s important to understand how...

Whether a teen in Virginia or another state can be sentenced to life in prison for murder may depend on the potential to rehabilitate that offender. The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard arguments regarding the life sentence of a then-15-year-old convicted of...

Knives are useful tools, but they can also be dangerous weapons. People ranging from mail carriers to cooks handle knives every day as part of their job, and the vast majority of knives serve a practical purpose rather than one of intimidation or violence. Virginia...

You have always wanted to be a nurse, so the fact that you were recently arrested on felony charges has you thinking more about the future ramifications than anything immediate. Beyond any jail time or fines, would that conviction keep you from following your dream?...

If convicted of voluntary manslaughter in Virginia, you could face up to 10 years in prison. If charged, you need to consider the defenses available to you. What does voluntary manslaughter mean? If you kill someone, the law has to decide why and how you killed them....

For most adults, owning a firearm is a basic constitutional right. However, states around the country have placed certain rules or restrictions on the ownership, use and carrying of certain firearms. A common rule involves the requirement to secure a permit for the...

One of the most important questions that you can ask a police officer who has stopped you is whether or not you are free to go. Their answer helps dictate where the conversation is going to go, as well.  If the police are detaining you or arresting you, they have to...

With many drug crimes, the root of the problem is actually a medical condition known as addiction. Someone who gets hooked on painkillers may know that it’s illegal to keep buying them and abusing them, but they can’t stop without medical intervention, no matter how...

Someone you know or work with did something illegal or deeply unethical, and you were either a witness or somehow wound up with evidence of what occurred. Most people in this situation will do the right thing and go to the police with the evidence they have or to...