Court level
54 % District · 46 % Circuit
David Whaley
Defense counsel of record in 297 Virginia cases (2025)
Cases of record · 2025297
David Whaley appeared as defense counsel of record in 297 Virginia court cases during 2025, drawn from Virginia District and Circuit Court Information Systems.
Primary jurisdiction
Richmond City · 73 cases
Most common charge
Weapons Offense · 72
Across 140 resolved 2025 cases, 60% were dropped — 65 nolle prossed and 19 dismissed.
Case outcomes
Resolved cases — 140 of 297. "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 34 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
3191%
Resolved by guilty plea — no trial.
Went to trial
39%
2 acquittals · 1 convictions at trial.
Trial acquittal rate
67%
2 of 3 trial verdicts ended in acquittal.
Top charge — Weapons Offense
David Whaley's most common charge category in 2025 (72 cases of record · 36 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
David Whaley'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 | 24 | 9 | 15 |
| Weapons Offense | Henrico County | 16 | 11 | 5 |
| Larceny / Theft | Henrico County | 13 | 10 | 3 |
| Weapons Offense | Chesterfield County | 7 | 6 | 1 |
| Drug Possession | Chesterfield County | 6 | 5 | 1 |
| Weapons Offense | Buckingham County | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| Weapons Offense | Petersburg | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| Drug Possession | Petersburg | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Drug Possession | Richmond City | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Fraud / Forgery | Henrico County | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Property Destruction | Henrico County | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| Weapons Offense | Nottoway County | 4 | 3 | 1 |
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.
Elude/Disregard Police-Misd.
2
Hit And Run
2
Possession with Intent (Schedule I/II)
2
Bad Check: Larceny < $1000
1
Carry Conceal Firearm
1
Drug Possession (Schedule I/II)
1
False Report To Police
1
Felon Poss Wpn/Ammo (Not Gun)
1
Where cases were heard
Top jurisdictions by case volume in 2025.
| Jurisdiction | Cases | District | Circuit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Henrico County | 73 | 45 | 28 |
| Richmond City | 73 | 36 | 37 |
| Chesterfield County | 49 | 32 | 17 |
| Buckingham County | 25 | 8 | 17 |
| Nottoway County | 18 | 12 | 6 |
| Petersburg | 11 | 6 | 5 |
| Hanover County | 10 | 8 | 2 |
| Mecklenburg County | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| Greensville County | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Case mix by charge
Charge categories David Whaley appeared on as defense counsel of record, 2025.
| Charge category | Cases | Resolved | Convicted | Dropped | Reduced |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other | 139 | 54 | 17 | 25 | 10 |
| Weapons Offense | 72 | 36 | 4 | 27 | 3 |
| Drug Possession | 19 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| Larceny / Theft | 18 | 13 | 6 | 6 | 1 |
| Traffic Infraction | 10 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| Murder / Manslaughter | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Assault & Battery | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Fraud / Forgery | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Property Destruction | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Robbery | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
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.
David Whaley appeared as defense counsel of record in 297 Virginia court cases during 2025 — 160 in District Court and 137 in Circuit Court. Source: Virginia DCIS + CIS public records.
Richmond City, with 73 of 297 2025 cases handled there.
In 2025 the most common charge category in David Whaley's case record was Weapons Offense (72 cases). The full charge mix is in the table above.
Of 140 resolved cases: 25% convicted of original charge (35), 60% dropped (84 = 65 nolle prossed + 19 dismissed), 11% reduced to a lesser charge (15), 4% acquitted (6). Outcomes use strict definitions per the methodology.
Of 34 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), 31 (91%) resolved by guilty plea and 3 (9%) 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 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. "David Whaley — Virginia Defense Attorney Case Data, 2025." Available at https://www.virginiacourtfile.com/attorneys/david-whaley. 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.