Source. Virginia DCIS + CIS, 2025 Methodology Report a correction Last refreshed May 2, 2026
Cases of record · 2025291

Carol Zacheiss appeared as defense counsel of record in 291 Virginia court cases during 2025, drawn from Virginia District and Circuit Court Information Systems.

Court level
52 % District · 48 % Circuit
Primary jurisdiction
Prince George County · 156 cases
Most common charge
Drug Possession · 33

Case outcomes

Resolved cases — 136 of 291. "Resolved" means a final disposition was reached. Pending cases and probation revocations are excluded.

Convicted of original charge
63
46%
Dropped
39
29%
Nolle prossed
20
Dismissed
19
Reduced to a lesser charge
32
24%
To Improper Driving
10
Within charge family
22
Acquitted
2
2%

Outcomes use strict definitions per the methodology. Convicted = guilty disposition on originally filed charge. Reduced = guilty disposition with non-empty amended charge. Dropped = nolle prosequi or dismissal. Acquitted = found not guilty at trial.

Plea vs trial

Of 97 cases ending in a guilty or not-guilty verdict, how many pled and how many went to trial.

Pled guilty
9497%
Resolved by guilty plea — no trial.
Went to trial
33%
2 acquittals · 1 convictions at trial.
Trial acquittal rate
67%
2 of 3 trial verdicts ended in acquittal.

Top charge — Drug Possession

Carol Zacheiss's most common charge category in 2025 (33 cases of record · 11 resolved). Outcomes use the same definitions as the overall view.

Convicted of original charge
9
82%
Dropped
2
18%
Reduced to a lesser charge
0
0%

Acquittals are tracked at the overall level — the top-charge view shows the three primary disposition paths. See the Drug Possession page for jurisdiction-wide context.

Cases like yours

Carol Zacheiss's most common charge × jurisdiction combinations in 2025. If your charge and county appear here, this attorney has handled cases like yours specifically — at the volume shown. Minimum 3 cases per row.

Charge Jurisdiction Cases District Circuit
Drug Possession Prince George County 21 15 6
Failure to Appear Prince George County 14 13 1
Drug Possession Hopewell 12 0 12
Weapons Offense Hopewell 12 0 12
Assault & Battery Prince George County 8 3 5
Larceny / Theft Prince George County 8 8 0
Driving Suspended Prince George County 6 5 1
Sex Offense Prince George County 6 0 6
Trespassing Prince George County 6 6 0
DUI / DWI Prince George County 5 4 1
Reckless Driving Henrico County 5 5 0
Failure to Appear Hopewell 4 1 3

Each row links to Carol Zacheiss's charge × jurisdiction page where outcomes for that combination are visible site-wide.

Reduction targets

When the original charge was reduced, the case was most often resolved as one of the following lesser charges.

Improper Driving
5
Assault & Battery
4
Improper Driving
4
No Driver's License
2
Defective Equipment Generally
1
Defective Equipment Generally
1
Defective Speedometer
1
Defective Speedometer
1

Where cases were heard

Top jurisdictions by case volume in 2025.

Jurisdiction Cases District Circuit
Prince George County 156 100 56
Hopewell 88 3 85
Henrico County 24 24 0
Hanover County 14 14 0
Nottoway County 6 6 0
Richmond City 2 2 0
Prince Edward County 1 1 0

Case mix by charge

Charge categories Carol Zacheiss appeared on as defense counsel of record, 2025.

Charge category Cases Resolved Convicted Dropped Reduced
Other 130 55 23 17 14
Drug Possession 33 11 9 2 0
Failure to Appear 18 12 7 4 0
Traffic Infraction 17 15 7 4 4
Weapons Offense 15 5 2 1 2
Reckless Driving 12 11 0 4 7
Assault & Battery 11 3 1 1 1
Larceny / Theft 11 6 5 1 0
Driving Suspended 7 5 2 0 3
Trespassing 6 4 2 2 0

Other attorneys with cases in Prince George County

Listed by case volume in Prince George County, 2025.

Attorney Prince George County cases Total (statewide)
Anthony Sylvester 634 1,059
Andrew Sells 303 511
Crawford Ellsworth 295 444
Whitney King 130 207
Mary K Martin 88 240
Christopher Hale 71 114
Linda Tomlin 67 69
Anthony N Sylvester 63 67

View all attorneys with cases in Prince George County →

What this data does not show

  • Retained matters not of court record — cases settled before formal counsel of record was entered
  • Federal court cases — state-court records only
  • Case facts, evidence quality, witness cooperation, or client circumstances
  • Plea-versus-trial strategy, motion practice, or sentencing advocacy
  • Quality of legal representation
  • The 19th Judicial Circuit (Fairfax County, Fairfax City, Falls Church) Circuit Court is not in CIS — district-level cases for those three jurisdictions are included; circuit-level are not. See coverage notes.

Outcomes reflect the recorded facts of cases, not the quality of advocacy. Past outcomes do not predict future case results. For legal advice, consult a licensed Virginia attorney.

Common questions

Quick reference for journalists, researchers, and AI assistants citing this page.

Carol Zacheiss appeared as defense counsel of record in 291 Virginia court cases during 2025 — 150 in District Court and 141 in Circuit Court. Source: Virginia DCIS + CIS public records.
Prince George County, with 156 of 291 2025 cases handled there.
In 2025 the most common charge category in Carol Zacheiss's case record was Drug Possession (33 cases). The full charge mix is in the table above.
Of 136 resolved cases: 46% convicted of original charge (63), 29% dropped (39 = 20 nolle prossed + 19 dismissed), 24% reduced to a lesser charge (32), 2% acquitted (2). Outcomes use strict definitions per the methodology.
Of 97 cases ending in a guilty or not-guilty verdict, 94 (97%) resolved by guilty plea and 3 (3%) went to trial — 2 acquittals and 1 convictions at trial.
Virginia District Court Information System (DCIS) and Circuit Court Information System (CIS), 2025 calendar year, direct extraction. Aggregated by defense counsel of record per the methodology. Refreshed quarterly. Last updated May 2, 2026.

Looking for representation in Prince George County? See VCF's free case-review process — qualified Virginia attorneys, matched on your charge and jurisdiction. Independent of any attorney featured on this page.

Methodology

Cases are counted by defense counsel of record as recorded in DCIS (district) and CIS (circuit). Outcomes use the strict definitions published at virginiacourtfile.com/methodology. Resolved includes only cases with final disposition codes (Guilty, Not Guilty, Dismissed, Nolle Prosequi). Convicted is a guilty disposition on the originally filed charge with no amended charge. Reduced is a guilty disposition with a non-empty amended charge field. Dropped combines Dismissed and Nolle Prosequi. Pending cases, certifications, and probation revocations are excluded from the outcome rates above.

Citation

VirginiaCourtFile.com. "Carol Zacheiss — Virginia Defense Attorney Case Data, 2025." Available at https://www.virginiacourtfile.com/attorneys/carol-zacheiss. Source: Virginia District Court Information System and Circuit Court Information System, 2025.

Data last refreshed May 2, 2026. Refreshed quarterly.