Edmund R. Michie
​Attorney at law

Representing ​Virginia Clients
For Over 30 Years

Criminal Law

Experience Matters

Personal Attention to Every Case

Free Consultation and Reasonable Rates

Office in Charlottesville, Virginia
​
​​(434) 296-1198

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I've been honored to be chosen by multiple lawyers and law professors for
​legal representation of themselves or their family members. 
​Let me put my experience to work for you.

Criminal Law

A conviction of any crime in Virginia stays on your record forever.  
​Consequently, it is wise to take criminal charges seriously. In Virginia, the only record of a crime that can ever normally be expunged is the record that a person was arrested, and this record can only be expunged if and only if the defendant was found not guilty or the charge was dismissed. Va Code  § 18.2-12

Will Hiring an Attorney Make a Difference?

The outcome of all criminal cases
can be greatly affected by:

Whether You Decide to Hire an Attorney
&
20 COMMON ISSUES and DECISIONS 
(follow the link to learn more)

Common Criminal Charges

     I represent clients on all misdemeanors and most felonies but below are the most common. (click links for more information)

​​All misdemeanors, e.g.

• Abusive phone calls, curse and abuse, 
  
• Assault and battery,
  
• Concealed weapon charges, brandishing firearms,
  
• Disorderly conduct,
  
• Destruction of property,
  
• Failure to appear in court / capias, violation of court orders
  
• Larceny, shoplifting, concealment of merchandise, theft, receiving stolen property,
  
• Marijuana possession,
  
• Obstructing justice, giving false information to police,
  
• Trespassing,
  

 
Felonies e.g.

• Grand larceny, embezzlement, credit card fraud, forgery, and shoplifting. 
  
• Possession of drugs (not drug distribution charges),
  
• Probation violations 
  

        and many other non-violent felony charges .​

Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt.

        As is commonly known, a person charged with a crime is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. This is the highest burden of proof required in a court of law. By contrast, the usual burden of proof in a personal injury case is just proof that it is 'more likely than not' that an event or fact happened (i.e., a 51% chance it happened).  In a criminal case, however, the courts have made it clear that "It is not sufficient to create a suspicion or probability of guilt, but the evidence must establish guilt of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt. It must exclude every reasonable hypothesis except that of guilt. The guilt of the party is not to be inferred because the facts are consistent with his guilt, but they must be inconsistent with his innocence."  Allen v. Commonwealth, 211 Va. 805, 808, 180 S.E.2d 513, ___ (1971)

Crimes are generally classified as Felonies or Misdemeanors 
The distinction is essentially that a felony is any crime punishable by more than a year in jail. There are also some "unclassified" crimes which the statutes don't define as either felonies or misdemeanors but instead simply spell out the range of punishment for. Any unclassified misdemeanor that does not set out a penalty is treated as a class 1 misdemeanor per Va. Code § 18.2-12.

Misdemeanors

Felonies

Va Code § 18.2-11 establishes the maximum punishments for the different levels of misdemeanors under Virginia law.

"Punishment for conviction of misdemeanor. The authorized punishments for conviction of a misdemeanor are:

(a) For Class 1 misdemeanors, confinement in jail for not more than twelve months and a fine of not more than $2,500, either or both.

(b) For Class 2 misdemeanors, confinement in jail for not more than six months and a fine of not more than $1,000, either or both.

(c) For Class 3 misdemeanors, a fine of not more than $500.

(d) For Class 4 misdemeanors, a fine of not more than $250.

     For a misdemeanor offense prohibiting proximity to children as described in subsection A of § 18.2-370.2, the sentencing court is authorized to impose the punishment set forth in subsection B of that section in addition to any other penalty provided by law."
1975, cc. 14, 15; 1990, c. 788; 2000, c. 770.

Va Code § 18.2-12 provides that a "misdemeanor for which no punishment or no maximum punishment is prescribed by statute shall be punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor." Code 1950, § 18.1-9; 1960, c. 358; 1975, cc. 14, 15.

Mandatory Sentences

Over the last 10 or 15 years, the Virginia legislature has created more and more mandatory sentencing laws (as Congress has done with federal crimes). 
​
​§ 18.2-12.1. Mandatory minimum punishment; definition. "Mandatory minimum" wherever it appears in this Code means, for purposes of imposing punishment upon a person convicted of a crime, that the court shall impose the entire term of confinement, the full amount of the fine and the complete requirement of community service prescribed by law. The court shall not suspend in full or in part any punishment described as mandatory minimum punishment.
2004, c. 461.

Va Code § 18.2-10 establishes the maximum punishments for the each level of felony under Virginia law (click link for full listing).

    In my practice, I have decided not to handle felony-level cases involving allegations of serious violence against the victim, nor do I handle drug distribution cases.

Below are felony levels relevant to my practice.

​"Punishment for conviction of felony; penalty. The authorized punishments for conviction of a felony are:

(c) For Class 3 felonies, a term of imprisonment of not less than five years nor more than 20 years and, subject to subdivision (g), a fine of not more than $100,000.

(d) For Class 4 felonies, a term of imprisonment of not less than two years nor more than 10 years and, subject to subdivision (g), a fine of not more than $100,000.

(e) For Class 5 felonies, a term of imprisonment of not less than one year nor more than 10 years, or in the discretion of the jury or the court trying the case without a jury, confinement in jail for not more than 12 months and a fine of not more than $2,500, either or both.

(f) For Class 6 felonies, a term of imprisonment of not less than one year nor more than five years, or in the discretion of the jury or the court trying the case without a jury, confinement in jail for not more than 12 months and a fine of not more than $2,500, either or both.
. . . 
     For any felony offense committed (i) on or after January 1, 1995, the court may, and (ii) on or after July 1, 2000, shall, except in cases in which the court orders a suspended term of confinement of at least six months, impose an additional term of not less than six months nor more than three years, which shall be suspended conditioned upon successful completion of a period of post-release supervision pursuant to § 19.2-295.2 and compliance with such other terms as the sentencing court may require. However, such additional term may only be imposed when the sentence includes an active term of incarceration in a correctional facility.
. . . 
​1975, cc. 14, 15; 1977, c. 492; 1990, c. 788; 1991, c. 7; 1994, 2nd Sp. Sess., cc. 1, 2; 1995, c. 427; 2000, cc. 361, 767, 770; 2003, cc. 1031, 1040; 2006, cc. 36, 733; 2008, c. 579; 2017, cc. 86, 212."

Deferred Dispositions of Criminal Cases

In 2020 and 2021 the Legislature made big moves toward helping people who have made the mistake of taking something that is not theirs avoid a potentially very damaging convictions on their record.  In certain types of cases, like drug possession, it has been true for a while that the Legislature had explicitly given Judge's and prosecutors the power to put a defendant's case in a deferred disposition status, whereby the defendant agreed the evidence was sufficient to find guilt but instead the Judge puts the case off for some specified time.  Then, if the Defendant took specified steps during the deferred time period (e.g. x hours of community service, substance abuse treatment, paying restitution and court cost . . .) then the charges could be reduced or even dismissed.  If, however, the defendant did not successfully complete the assigned tasks, then he/she would likely be found guilty and sentenced.

Generally, the laws that allowed for this type of deferred disposition were aimed at first offenders. In 2020 the Legislature gave Judges the additional specific power to take cases involving first offense larceny charges under advisement and ultimately dismiss the charge if the defendant meets certain specified conditions prior to the case being finalized.  See Va Code §19.2-303.2.   This law should be a great help to those able to take advantage of it because convictions involving theft are particularly harmful to have on one's record.

The Legislature has now also given Judges and prosecutors even broader discretion as of March 1, 2021 to put essentially any criminal case on a deferred disposition status whereby the defendant is given a chance to meet certain conditions over a period of time in exchange for reducing or even dismissing of the criminal charges.  See Va Code § 19.2-298.02.  Prior to the passage of this law many Judges did not believe they had the intrinsic power to take a case under advisement except in the cases where the Legislature had made it clear they could do so. 
​

Federal Crimes

     In my practice I have chosen not to handle any federal felonies, but I do handle all federal misdemeanors which can be state-defined crimes that happened on federal land (e.g. Shenandoah National Park). The punishment levels for federal offenses are set out below. For a full version of the code section, click on the link. 

​18 US Code §3559. Sentencing classification of offenses
"(a) Classification.—An offense that is not specifically classified by a letter grade in the section defining it, is classified if the maximum term of imprisonment authorized is --
(1) life imprisonment, or if the maximum penalty is death, as a Class A felony;
(2) twenty-five years or more, as a Class B felony;
(3) less than twenty-five years but ten or more years, as a Class C felony;
(4) less than ten years but five or more years, as a Class D felony;
(5) less than five years but more than one year, as a Class E felony;
(6) one year or less but more than six months, as a Class A misdemeanor;
(7) six months or less but more than thirty days, as a Class B misdemeanor;
(8) thirty days or less but more than five days, as a Class C misdemeanor; or
(9) five days or less, or if no imprisonment is authorized, as an infraction.

(b) Effect of Classification.—Except as provided in subsection (c), an offense classified under subsection (a) carries all the incidents assigned to the applicable letter designation, except that the maximum term of imprisonment is the term authorized by the law describing the offense."