Dave Albo – Attorney
Dave Albo – AttorneyLoudoun County General District Court – What to expect on your court date
When you get charged with an offense in Loudoun County Court, whether it is a simple Traffic Offense or up to even a Criminal charge, you can get very stressed out. Even knowing where to go and what to do is stressful. Have your DUI / DWI or Reckless Driving Lawyer Loudoun VA explain how it works in Loudoun.
Location: The Loudoun County Court is located at 18 East Market Street, Leesburg, VA.
Parking: Parking is a pain. There is an outdoor lot about two blocks from the Court behind the Court House. If fills up, so look for a lot even further back. If that fills up, then parking on a street is your best bet. They are expanding the Court House and it looks as if parking improvements will be included. But until then, everyone must suffer.
Entry: The Court House entrance has only one check in place. They have only one screening machine and seem to use only one metal detector. Security never seems to take a long time as the court is not that busy.
Electronics – What you can and cannot bring in: No cell phones or any device that takes pictures is allowed in Loudoun County Court. But they do have free lockers in case you don’t leave your cell phone in your car.
Actual location of the court rooms: Loudoun Court not very busy, but since it is one of the fastest growing counties in America, that won’t last long. After you get through security, walk down stairs to the Traffic and Misdemeanor Courts. The Court assignments are indicated on t.v. screens in front of each court room.
Where to meet your lawyer: You and your DUI / DWI or Reckless Driving Lawyer Loudoun VA should know how to meet up. In Loudoun it is easy because there is rarely more than one court going on at any given time and never more than two operating. So, meeting in the hallway outside the court room is the best.
What your expectations should be on your court date: In Loudoun, it is rare that a Prosecutor will have looked at your case prior to the day of Court. Most Prosecutors go the Court and begin discussing cases with the Deputy Sheriffs. (Note: Loudoun does not have a County Police Force, so all local offenses are done by Deputy Sheriffs or State Troopers.) If you do not have an attorney, it is rare that you can speak to a Prosecutor. Prosecutors do, however, converse with attorneys, usually after they hear from the Sheriff. Often, the Loudoun Prosecutors will let the Defense Attorney sit in on the meeting where the Sheriff gives the facts to the Prosecutor. After the Prosecutor gets the facts from the Sheriff or the Trooper, he will discuss with the Defense Attorney and see if there is any plea agreement that can be reached. If an agreement is reached, your attorney will discuss it with you to see if you want to take it. It is your decision. You do not have to accept any Plea Agreement. A good DUI / DWI or Reckless Driving Lawyer Loudoun VA will go over all of your rights so you know what you are giving up in exchange for accepting a Plea Agreement. If you do not accept the Plea Agreement or the Prosecutor does not offer one (we can’t make a Prosecutor do anything), then you will have a trial that morning. If there is a Plea Agreement and you accept it, the Prosecutor will write it up into a form. Your Defense attorney will present that form to the Judge. In 99% of the cases, the Judge accepts the deal. If he does not, then the deal is off and your attorney and the Prosecutor have to come up with another, or you go to trial.
An excellent Loudoun County criminal and traffic will handle one case a day. Some cheap lawyers do three to five a day. Be careful of attorneys with very low fees. They charge you a little, but have a bunch of other people they are charging. That way they make the money they need to stay in business, but they have to be in two to four other court rooms and often have to travel to another county that morning! To be able to get in and out of Court, they will usually just take any deal the Prosecutor offers because they need to get your case done and move on.
The Loudoun Court process seems efficient. You can expect to be out by noon. But, if there is a trial, it can take longer.
Conclusion: Loudoun Court is growing. Right now it is a simple process and the Prosecutors openly talk to attorneys that morning. But to have access to a Prosecutor, you need an experienced DUI / DWI or Reckless Driving Lawyer in Loudoun VA from Dave Albo. I have been practicing law for 29 years and am very familiar with the Loudoun Court.
General District Court of Loudoun County – Where to meet your lawyer.
Serious Traffic Offenses and Criminal charges are stressful to say the least. So the last thing you want is to wonder where your attorney is on “game day”! Thus, when you hire a Criminal – DUI / DWI – Reckless Driving Lawyer Loudoun VA, he / she should have a simple system for meeting you in the Court.
Loudoun Court location. The Loudoun County Courthouse is located at 18 East Market Street
Leesburg, VA 20176. Parking is free but it is a pain and hard to find. The lots are not close to the Court. They are about two blocks away, North East of the Court house.
Getting into the Courthouse and through Security. Cell phones are NOT allowed. Leave them in your car. But conveniently, there are free lockers in the courthouse right before the magnometers. Attorneys can have cell phones.
Meeting your attorney in the court house. At the time of writing this, the Loudoun General District Court is only two rooms on the first floor. A courthouse expansion is funding and planned. Usually, a Criminal – DUI / DWI – Reckless Driving Lawyer Loudoun VA, will just wait for his / her client in the hallway directly in front of the Court room. We like to meet our clients 15 minutes prior to the Court start time. The start times are as follows:
Courtroom #1C (e.g. First Floor Courtroom “C”) Monday – Friday Criminal Motions: 8:30 a.m. Bond Motions: 1:00 p.m. Monday Town of Leesburg Traffic: 8:30 a.m., 10:00 a.m. & 1:30 p.m. Tuesday – Thursday Loudoun Sheriff’s Dept, Criminal Misdemeanors: 8:30 a.m. Preliminary Hearings: 1:00 p.m. Tuesday & Thursday Town of Leesburg, Criminal Misdemeanors: 10:00 a.m. Wednesday Animal & Game Warden Violations: 10:00 a.m. Friday Probation Violations: 8:30 a.m. & 10:00 a.m. 1st & 3rd: Greenway 2nd & 4th: VDOT Courtroom #1D Monday – Friday Arraignments: 11:15 a.m. Traffic Motions: 8:30 a.m. Monday Loudoun Sheriff’s Office: Traffic, 8:30 a.m. & 10:00 a.m. & 1:30 p.m. Tuesday Loudoun Sheriff’s Office: Traffic 1st – 3rd, 8:30 a.m. & 10:00 a.m. Virginia State Police: 1:30 p.m. Wednesday Virginia State Police: Traffic & Criminal Misdemeanors: 8:30 a.m. & 10:00 a.m. Loudoun Sheriff’s Dept. Traffic: 1:30 p.m. Thursday Virginia State Police Traffic & Criminal Misdemeanors: 8:30 a.m. Dulles: Traffic & Criminal Misdemeanors: 8:30 a.m. Loudoun Sheriff’s Office: Traffic, 10:00 a.m. & 1:30 p.m. Friday Town of Middleburg & Purcellville Traffic & Criminal Misdemeanors: 8:30 a.m. Loudoun Sheriff’s Office:Traffic, 10:00 a.m. Dulles: Traffic & Criminal Misdemeanors: 10:00 a.m.
We arrive early so we can see our clients prior to Court. Some lawyers just ask their clients to go into the Courtroom and wait for them. These cheaper lawyers have low fees because the
Represent a large number of clients to represent each day at the same time. This can save clients lots of money, with that savings, there is no individual attention. So, if you have hired a cheap lawyer they usually arrive. So just sit in the Court room and they will try and find you.
How do I know the actual court room? After going through security, just walk downstairs and the two court rooms are immediately in front of you. By each Court room door is a t.v. with names listed alphabetically. If you see your name, then you are in that Court room.
What to expect in Court? In Loudoun, the Prosecutors will actually talk to Defendant’s who are not represented by lawyers. There is no law that says you have to have a lawyer. If you want to save some money and represent yourself, when your case is called by the Judge, just say “I would like the opportunity to talk to the Prosecutor.” The Judge will set you case aside. Remember, though, that when talking to the Prosecutor, his / her job is to convict you. You can try and negotiate a deal, but unless you know the law, you probably have nothing to bargain with. If you want something to bargain with (e.g. decent legal arguments, information about your background that would make a Prosecutor sympathetic, etc.) then you should not talk to the Prosecutor directly, but rather, hire a Criminal – DUI / DWI – Reckless Driving Lawyer Loudoun VA from Dave Albo, that can get you the best possible outcome.
