The Loudoun County Commonwealth Attorney’s office prosecutes the cases for the Town of Leesburg. There is not separate Leesburg prosecutor as in many other jurisdictions in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Someone facing criminal charges in Leesburg should contact a criminal defense attorney as soon as possible to give themselves as much of a head start on crafting a defense.
The courts take a variety of cases very seriously. In Leesburg, just as in the rest of Loudoun County, certain crimes are prosecuted a bit more vigorously than others. Typically, crimes of violence, crimes of opportunity, especially involving children or minors, financial crimes and crimes of public safety such as assault, DUI, and injuring public are prosecuted vigorously. Leesburg courts take all criminal charges very seriously.
Other factors that may make Leesburg prosecutors extra vigilant include repeat offenders, meaning people who have been to the court on similar charges previously, acts of violence, crimes against public interests, and crimes against the vulnerable parts of the population whether it be crimes against children or crimes against elderly.
In order to secure a conviction, the Commonwealth’s Attorney will have to prove all the elements of your offense beyond a reasonable doubt. It doesn’t mean that they must exclude all doubts, but it just means doubts that are reasonable. The Commonwealth needs to prove each and every element beyond a reasonable doubt in order to get a conviction. If they are not able to meet the burden of proof, then the case must be dismissed. Hiring a defense lawyer may help your case.
The prosecution proves their case through the presentation of evidence. Depending on the type of case, this evidence may be offered through documentation, forensic evidence, testimony, scientific evidence or circumstantial evidence.
In general, the answer is that the prosecution must convince the fact finder. The fact finder can vary depending on the trial. In the General District Court or in a Circuit Court bench trial, the fact finder is the judge and the judge must be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt. In a Circuit Court jury trial, the prosecutor must prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt to a unanimous verdict of the jury. Virginia requires unanimous verdicts to make a finding of guilt.
Constitutional issues are at play every day in Leesburg criminal cases. Most common constitutional issues that arise are someone’s Fourth Amendment Rights also known as the right to be free of unreasonable search and seizure.
If your constitutional rights are violated, either through a search of your person, your vehicle, your home or other manner, then you may be able to exclude any evidences seized as a result of constitutional violations. This is typically done through what is called a “motion to suppress.”
The motion to suppress stricken the fact finder from considering any evidence that is obtained from the defendant violating after the constitutional rights. If the motion to suppress is granted, the offending evidence will be stricken from the case and you may have the charges reduced or dismissed.
Discuss your case by calling us today.
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