PNA Law - Northern Virginia Criminal Lawyers
If drugs are found in a car and no one takes responsibility, every person in the vehicle can be charged with possession. This is known as “constructive possession” and it carries the same weight as drugs being found directly in your possession. A Criminal Attorney can potentially fight these charges and get them thrown out, but…
The United States Constitution guarantees all American citizens certain rights. Specifically, the 4th Amendment guarantees that every person has the right to avoid unreasonable search and seizure. There have been many court cases throughout the years determining when a search is unreasonable and what actions actually constitute a search for 4th Amendment purposes. The Supreme…
When Virginia lawmakers meet for the 2013 legislative session, they will consider measures to increase penalties for illegal cigarette trafficking. During the 2012 legislative session, the General Assembly asked the Virginia State Crime Commission to study the practice and make recommendations before the start of the 2013 session. The panel voted to keep the offense…
Fifty two people were convicted on guns and weapons charges after a crime sweep throughout a year. According to the Department of Justice, fifty-one of those indicted pleaded guilty in federal court and the remaining person pleaded guilty in state court. All of those had been charged in May in a federal indictment after officials…
The leader of a methylone trafficking ring pleaded guilty this week to purchasing and distributing multi-kilogram amounts of the illegal substance from China and distributing it throughout Virginia. Nineteen-year-old Matthew Scott Baker of Fairfax, Va. was the last of eight people charge in the case to plead guilty, according to a press release from the…
More than a dozen drug defendants have been released and three state officials have resigned in the wake of charges a 34- year-old Massachusetts chemist lied about drug sample results. Annie Dookhan was arrested Friday for allegedly faking drug results, forging paperwork and mixing samples at a state police lab. Officials estimate Dookhan handled more…
A Supreme Court ruled Monday that police violated a suspect’s 4th Amendment Right when they attached a global positioning system tracker to his vehicle without a prior search warrant. In the unanimous decision, the justices said people in the United States should expect “to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches.” This…
Twelve people have been indicted in what officials said is a large-scale cocaine trafficking ring, bringing narcotics from Mexico to Virginia. According to Neil MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, 41 people have already been convicted in connection with this alleged ring, which was funneling the drugs into Prince William County in northern…
A Vietnam war veteran and founder of Vietnam Veterans of America is accused of attempting to send a package containing more than a pound of marijuana from a FedEx Kinko’s to another veteran residing in Vermont. According to an AP article, Robert O. Muller tried to ship the package in September, but employees alerted police…