Court level
11 % District · 89 % Circuit
Catherine Lawler
Defense counsel of record in 96 Virginia cases (2025)
Cases of record · 202596
Catherine Lawler appeared as defense counsel of record in 96 Virginia court cases during 2025, drawn from Virginia District and Circuit Court Information Systems.
Primary jurisdiction
Richmond City · 43 cases
Most common charge
Weapons Offense · 23
Across 42 resolved 2025 cases, 57% were dropped — 17 nolle prossed and 7 dismissed.
Case outcomes
Resolved cases — 42 of 96. "Resolved" means a final disposition was reached. Pending cases and probation revocations are excluded.
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 · Circuit Court
Of 16 Circuit Court cases ending in a guilty or not-guilty verdict, how many pled and how many went to trial. General District Court records do not distinguish a guilty plea from a bench-trial conviction, so this record is limited to Circuit Court, where the distinction is recorded.
Pled guilty
1062%
Resolved by guilty plea — no trial.
Went to trial
638%
5 acquittals · 1 convictions at trial.
Trial acquittal rate
83%
5 of 6 trial verdicts ended in acquittal.
Top charge — Weapons Offense
Catherine Lawler's most common charge category in 2025 (23 cases of record · 7 resolved). Outcomes use the same definitions as the overall view.
Acquittals are tracked at the overall level — the top-charge view shows the three primary disposition paths. See the Weapons Offense page for jurisdiction-wide context.
Cases like yours
Catherine Lawler'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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weapons Offense | Richmond City | 17 | 3 | 14 |
| Larceny / Theft | Petersburg | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Weapons Offense | Petersburg | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Murder / Manslaughter | Richmond City | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| Obstruction | Petersburg | 3 | 0 | 3 |
See also
Weapons Offense outcomes in Richmond City — every attorney's 2025 outcomes for Weapons Offense cases in Richmond City, using the same definitions as above.
Reduction targets
When the original charge was reduced, the case was most often resolved as one of the following lesser charges.
Assault & Battery
2
Assault & Battery
1
Destruct Prop w/ Intentent <$1000
1
Petit Larc <$1000 Not Frm Pers
1
Reckless Driving (Misdemeanor)
1
Where cases were heard
Top jurisdictions by case volume in 2025.
| Jurisdiction | Cases | District | Circuit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richmond City | 43 | 11 | 32 |
| Petersburg | 36 | 0 | 36 |
| Henrico County | 15 | 0 | 15 |
| Chesterfield County | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Greensville County | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Case mix by charge
Charge categories Catherine Lawler appeared on as defense counsel of record, 2025.
| Charge category | Cases | Resolved | Convicted | Dropped | Reduced |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other | 36 | 11 | 0 | 9 | 2 |
| Weapons Offense | 23 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Larceny / Theft | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Murder / Manslaughter | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Assault & Battery | 4 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Drug Possession | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Obstruction | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Property Destruction | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Failure to Appear | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Grand Larceny | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Other attorneys with cases in Richmond City
Listed by case volume in Richmond City, 2025.
| Attorney | Richmond City cases | Total (statewide) |
|---|---|---|
| Megan Miles | 344 | 344 |
| Leonard Mccall | 290 | 538 |
| Erin Topp | 284 | 284 |
| David Wyatt | 258 | 315 |
| Chase Gunter | 244 | 244 |
| Brenna Hill | 224 | 224 |
| Brian Warren | 219 | 219 |
| Daniel Lange | 104 | 104 |
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.
Catherine Lawler appeared as defense counsel of record in 96 Virginia court cases during 2025 — 11 in District Court and 85 in Circuit Court. Source: Virginia DCIS + CIS public records.
Richmond City, with 43 of 96 2025 cases handled there.
In 2025 the most common charge category in Catherine Lawler's case record was Weapons Offense (23 cases). The full charge mix is in the table above.
Of 42 resolved cases: 14% convicted of original charge (6), 57% dropped (24 = 17 nolle prossed + 7 dismissed), 14% reduced to a lesser charge (6), 14% acquitted (6). Outcomes use strict definitions per the methodology.
Of 16 Circuit Court cases ending in a guilty or not-guilty verdict (Circuit Court is the only level where Virginia records distinguish a guilty plea from a bench-trial conviction), 10 (62%) resolved by guilty plea and 6 (38%) went to trial — 5 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 Richmond City? 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. "Catherine Lawler — Virginia Defense Attorney Case Data, 2025." Available at https://www.virginiacourtfile.com/attorneys/catherine-lawler. Source: Virginia District Court Information System and Circuit Court Information System, 2025.
Data last refreshed May 2, 2026. Refreshed quarterly. For statewide outcome context, see the 2025 Virginia Criminal Court Outcomes report.