Fairfax DUI lawyer

Every city and county in Virginia has a General District Court, and the Fairfax County court describes its work as traffic cases, minor criminal cases known as misdemeanors, and civil cases. It does not conduct jury trials: every case is heard by a judge, and jury trials happen only in the Circuit Court. For a misdemeanor DUI, that makes the General District Court the first trial, and the Circuit Court the place a jury can be asked for on appeal.

This page covers what the court publishes about how a DUI moves through it. The penalties, the priors and the interlock are on the Virginia DUI law page.

Where a Fairfax DUI is heard

The Fairfax County General District Court sits in the Fairfax County Courthouse at 4110 Chain Bridge Road. Its Traffic Clerk’s Office is in Room 106 (703-246-2815), the Criminal Clerk’s Office in Room 204 (703-246-3305), and Court Services in Room 203 (703-246-7530). The offices are open 8am to 4pm on weekdays, and the phones close at 3:30pm. The clerk answers email at GDCMail@fairfaxcounty.gov but, as the court notes, cannot give legal advice.

The same judges also sit elsewhere. They hear cases in the Town of Vienna and the Town of Herndon, where only traffic and criminal misdemeanors and infractions are heard, and they visit the City of Fairfax Courthouse, which has its own clerical staff and handles its own payments and filings.

If you were held, the Pretrial Evaluation unit may already have looked at your file. The court says it is co-located with the Magistrate’s Office and the Adult Detention Center, runs on a nearly 24/7 schedule, and makes recommendations to judges and magistrates on whether a person awaiting trial can be released under supervision. Its investigation includes an interview, calls to references, and record checks including Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles and court records.

The seven days, then the court date

The license. The suspension started when the warrant or summons was issued: seven days on a first charge, sixty on a second, until trial on a third. Under Virginia Code section 46.2-391.2(C) you can ask the general district court of the jurisdiction where you were arrested to review it, but only while it is running. The court must hear the review with the precedence of a bail appeal, and rescinds the suspension if you prove there was no probable cause. There is no agency hearing to request instead.

A lawyer. The court says anyone charged with a crime that may bring jail has the right to an attorney and can ask the court to appoint one; you will be interviewed for financial eligibility, and the assignment arrives by email within two business days (by mail at the Adult Detention Center if you are in custody). An appointed attorney may be a Public Defender, reachable at 703-934-5600, or a private attorney who accepts appointments. If you are found guilty, the court says, court costs and attorney fees are added to the fines and cannot be waived or suspended by the judge.

A continuance. For a DWI, the court’s traffic continuances page says the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office must consent on the court’s continuance form before a judge will review it. If the prosecutor does not consent, the request is marked not agreed and a motion must be filed. The request must be filed at least two days before the court date, and without an attorney a motion is required.

The restricted license, and the appeal

Restricted license. The court’s restricted license page for DWI and reckless driving says the petition can be made at conviction or later by motion. A motion filed with the Traffic Clerk’s Office, Room 106, by 8:30am is heard on that day’s 9am motions docket. Before the license issues, a Virginia license must be surrendered; out-of-state licenses are not. A motion after the conviction date needs a driving record and a compliance summary from the DMV, both no more than seven days old, and an Application for a Restricted Driver’s License, Form DC-263, giving the purpose of the hours requested and the name and address of any employer, school, daycare or medical provider. Once the court issues it, the driver must go to the DMV between 30 and 60 days later for the plastic restricted license, and keep carrying the court’s paper version, which lists the restrictions. For an adult’s first offense, state law makes the ignition interlock the only restriction on that license, for at least twelve months.

Appeal. A traffic or criminal conviction in the General District Court can be appealed to the Fairfax Circuit Court within ten calendar days of the conviction, in writing at the Clerk’s Office, and the court says there is no cost for the appeal. If the defendant was sentenced to jail, the judge may set or increase a bond. If a jury trial is requested, the defendant gets a return date in the Circuit Court to select a trial date, and the court notes that the jury option adds a cost if the defendant is found guilty.

Which courthouse

From the court’s contacts and court schedule pages. Charges brought from within a town’s corporate limits go to that town’s docket.

Town courthouses hear only traffic and criminal misdemeanors and infractions, and are staffed by clerks from the Fairfax County Courthouse, the court says.

Court costs are due within 90 days of conviction, and the clerk can arrange more time. The court’s procedures page notes that since July 1, 2019 the DMV no longer suspends licenses for failure to pay, though a payment plan still keeps an unpaid balance from accruing interest or going to collections. The other Virginia material on this site is on the Virginia DUI law page.

Common questions about Fairfax DUI cases