Earlier this month, federal prosecutors in Virginia agreed to dismiss child pornography distribution and obstruction of justice charges against our client, a criminal defense lawyer, less than a month before the trial was scheduled to begin.
The charges were brought against our client who was allegedly using sexually suggestive images of a minor to confront what he believed was false testimony in a separate state criminal trial where he was representing the defendant who had been convicted at trial. Our client had not created the images, and had not distributed them to anyone outside of the case. He was simply being an aggressive lawyer and trying to defend his client in the state case as best he could. It was arguably a technical violation of the law, but we believed the circumstances justified his actions and supported our defense.
Having been charged in a federal child pornography case, our client’s freedom, career and reputation were all on the line. We had rejected all plea offers and were prepared to litigate the various motions we had filed, including a compelling motion to dismiss. In the event the motions were not granted, we were confident we would win the case at trial. Of course, we had no objection to the dismissal and our client was very pleased with the result. He can resume his legal practice and start the process of putting this case far behind him.
Our firm has successfully represented many people facing federal child pornography charges in federal district courts across the country. But this case was definitely unique. We appreciate the fact that this experienced criminal defense lawyer out his trust in us when he himself was facing very serious criminal charges.
