Defending Clients Against Criminal Charges
- Driving under the influence (DUI)
- Larceny charges
- Drug charges
- Sexual assault
- Gun charges
- Domestic violence
- Murder
We also represent clients in traffic law violations including speeding and reckless driving.
Our services also include helping clients with post-conviction and post-trial issues such as expungements and restoration of rights, including the right to possess firearms. Attorney Fehrenbach also represents clients on appeals in the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of Virginia.
Helping You Understand Your Rights
“I want to speak to a lawyer.”
You have a right to speak with a lawyer prior to questioning by the authorities, but only if you clearly demand it. You need to say, “I want to speak to a lawyer now.” Don’t say anything else to the authorities until you have spoken with a lawyer. If you are reading this because you fear you might be charged, remember to ask for your lawyer if you are.
Police officers are trained interrogators, and they are permitted to lie during interrogation, even make you promises they never intend to keep. You likely won’t know when or how you are hurting yourself by answering their questions or volunteering information—even if you are one-hundred-percent innocent. Demand your lawyer.
Television shows and other bad sources of legal information often result in serious misunderstandings about your rights. For example, the authorities have no duty to read you your “Miranda rights” unless you are “in custody” and they are “interrogating” you. Reams of scholarship and cases try to define what “in custody” means, but it’s not always perfectly clear.
Also, popular culture might lead you to believe that you cannot be convicted without forensic evidence. Unfortunately, that is dead wrong, and prosecutors sometimes argue vehemently for people to go to prison for as long as a life sentence based solely on the testimony of another person. Call your lawyer.
We can guide you through police questioning and all stages of the trial, from bond hearings to appeals.