Felonies

Felony Defense Attorney in Hampton and Chesapeake

If you are charged with a felony offense in Virginia, a conviction can result in devastating consequences to your life both now and in the future. The immediate penalties and long-term impact of a felony conviction can scarcely be overstated. Felonies constitute the most serious criminal charges and carry the harshest punishment. Under Virginia law, felonies are criminal offense that can carry a penalty of a year or more in prison. If you are convicted of a felony, you can be sentenced to a lengthy term of many years to life in state prison and fines up to $100,000 depending on the severity of the offense.

Challenging Law Enforcement and Prosecutors to Protect the Rights of the Criminally Accused

In addition to incarceration in prison and hefty fines, a felony conviction can involve many other penalties which include:

  • Mandatory participation in drug, domestic violence or other classes or counseling
  • Loss of certain constitutional rights, such as the right to own or possess a firearm and right to vote or serve on a jury
  • Felony criminal record
  • Loss of driving privileges
  • Exposure to unannounced searches without probable cause
  • Mandatory drug testing
  • Lifetime registration as a sex offender (for certain sex crimes)
  • Supervised probation
  • Potential loss of immigration benefits, removal or permanent bar on re-entry
  • Exposure to more severe charges and penalties for subsequent convictions

When you face these types of life-altering penalties and the full prosecutorial power of the state or federal government, experienced Virginia felony defense lawyer Lu Aloupas can balance the scales of justice by fiercely defending your rights and protecting your freedom, future and reputation. Although the potential penalty in a felony case will depend on a range of factors that include the underlying facts, prior criminal record, grounds for penalty enhancements, criminal charges and other relevant issues, an experienced criminal defense attorney can significantly impact the outcome of your case.

Informal Life-Altering Consequences of a Virginia Felony Conviction 

The penalties imposed for a serious or violent felony can be staggering. However, the shadow cast by conviction of a felony will last long after you are released from a penitentiary and have fulfilled the terms of your sentence, including completion of the terms of probation. At the Virginia criminal defense law firm of Lu Aloupas, P.L.L.C., we carefully conduct an independent investigation and effectively identify exculpatory evidence, cross-examine witnesses, expose mishandling of forensic evidence, attack violations of our clients’ constitutional rights and leave no stone when forcing prosecutors to prove every aspect of an offense.

Lu Aloupas begins defending you as soon as our firm is retained because pre-charge intervention can have a dramatic impact on a criminal prosecution. When weaknesses in the prosecutor’s case are exposed at the investigation stage, the prosecutor might be persuaded to bring fewer or less serious charges, agree to pre-charge diversion or decline to file formal charges at all. This tenacious defense from pre-charge investigation through trial or even appeal can prevent such informal long-term consequences of a Virginia felony conviction, such as:

  • Limitations on travel
  • Ineligibility for certain state occupational licenses
  • Bars on admission to college, expulsion and/or denial of financial aid
  • Loss of security clearance or inability to qualify to be a bonded employ
  • Discovery by future employers leading to denial of jobs or promotions
  • Damage to your personal reputation because of status as a convicted felon
  • Denial of housing by landlords
  • Lack of access to some loans

Effective Proven Criminal Defense Strategies to Protect Your Freedom and Future

While the defense strategies employed by our criminal defense lawyers are customized based on the unique facts and circumstances of the case, some of the defenses we might consider to protect your freedom might include:

  • Excluding incriminating statements based on Miranda violations or lack of voluntariness
  • Exposing unreasonable search and seizures in violation of the Fourth Amendment
  • Attacking the chain of custody of physical evidence
  • Revealing contamination by labs, investigators and forensics employees
  • Challenging ballistics and other forensic evidence
  • Identifying biased witnesses
  • Exposing faulty witness identification
  • Emphasizing failure of the prosecutor to prove every element of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt
  • Uncovering racial profiling or otherwise biased targeting of citizens

These are merely a handful of potential defense tactics that we might explore when fervently protecting your liberty, rights are reputation.

We invite you to contact Lu Aloupas, P.L.L.C. to schedule a free consultation in one of our conveniently located offices in Chesapeake or Hampton, so we can explain your rights and discuss potential defense strategies.  Our first priority is to seek an acquittal or dismissal of the charges, but we will pursue the best possible resolution when this is not possible. Call us today at 757-707-8560 or email us to schedule a consultation with a knowledgeable and experienced Virginia criminal defense lawyer.