Virginia Robbery Trials

Following a robbery offense, one of the first things you might be wondering is, what your expectations of Virginia robbery trials should be. An experienced legal advocate could answer your questions and determine what defense strategies and options are available to you. If you have been charged with robbery, seek the services of a skilled robbery attorney that could build a solid defense for you.

Commonness of Robbery as an Offense

Robbery is tried in Virginia often. They often go to actual trials, because it is such a serious offense. It has a mandatory minimum. For the public safety purpose, there is a policy for prosecutors who are not going to be breaking down robberies, especially if it is an armed robbery.

Robbery means that the person is going to get five years to life, depending on the seriousness of the charge. That could be increased, depending on the facts of the case. People often want to take these to trial or at least set it up for trial and take a plea once the evidence is brought out, so that is common.

When the police are involved, it is usually much closer to the trial. People are afraid of those mandatory minimums, so if those get knocked down, it is something that people want to take a plea on.

Duration of a Trial

Virginia robbery trials could take a couple of years. If a person ends up going to trial, it could potentially take one to two years.There is no chance that the case will be resolved on the first court date, which is the arraignment date. It is not going to be resolved there unless the officer and the prosecutor show up and they say that the other person is just dropping these charges completely, which is not going to happen.

Jury Versus Bench Trials

In the State of Virginia, a lot of people have the option to take a jury trial. The prosecution can choose a jury trial and the defense can choose a jury trial. Both sides have to waive their right to a jury trial to get a bench trial.

The prosecution usually wants a jury trial for a robbery charge, because the jury is going to be harsher than the judge. There are some circumstances where they do not want that, but usually, that is what they want. It is usually a situation where they ask for that jury trial so they can get the harsher sentence with a jury.

How Do Robbery Trials Differ From Other Criminal Trials?

Virginia robbery trials differ from other trials because there are usually a lot more eyewitnesses for a robbery trial, and because of that, there tends to be more eyewitness evidence, which is inherently unreliable. There is a whole science to cross-examining eyewitnesses in that type of situation. With more witnesses, there is potentially more forensics with things like facial recognition and fingerprints. In that type of situation, there are a lot more elements that need to be proven for a robbery trial. Jury instructions are usually considered serious.

Public Nature of Robbery Cases

Robbery cases are always going to be open to the public. It is rare that a case is closed because all cases are public in the State of Virginia unless there is some kind of element of confidentiality that needs to be preserved. Situations involving someone under the age of 18 or with reason that it remains confidential because it is sensitive might potentially be under seal under some type of privacy situation, but everything else is public. That is because they want the transparency in the justice system.

How a Virginia Robbery Attorney Can Help

The Virginia robbery trials process is long and difficult to navigate alone. Many things are going to happen. and an experienced lawyer could help guide someone through that long and difficult process. A qualified robbery attorney could advise an individual on how to dress appropriately, and when it is appropriate to speak in court. If someone has been charged with robbery, they should consult a skilled local robbery lawyer that could build a solid defense for them.