Source. Virginia DCIS + CIS, 2025 Methodology Report a correction Last refreshed May 2, 2026
Cases of record · 202573

Def Pub appeared as defense counsel of record in 73 Virginia court cases during 2025, drawn from Virginia District and Circuit Court Information Systems.

Court level
78 % District · 22 % Circuit
Primary jurisdiction
Newport News · 40 cases
Most common charge
DUI / DWI · 15

Case outcomes

Resolved cases — 38 of 73. "Resolved" means a final disposition was reached. Pending cases and probation revocations are excluded.

Convicted of original charge
13
34%
Dropped
14
37%
Nolle prossed
13
Dismissed
1
Reduced to a lesser charge
6
16%
Within charge family
6
Acquitted
5
13%

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

Pled guilty
1979%
Resolved by guilty plea — no trial.
Went to trial
521%
5 acquittals · 0 convictions at trial.
Trial acquittal rate
100%
5 of 5 trial verdicts ended in acquittal.

Top charge — DUI / DWI

Def Pub's most common charge category in 2025 (15 cases of record · 9 resolved). Outcomes use the same definitions as the overall view.

Convicted of original charge
5
56%
Dropped
0
0%
Reduced to a lesser charge
3
33%

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

Cases like yours

Def Pub'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
DUI / DWI Newport News 12 12 0
Larceny / Theft Chesterfield County 9 0 9
Failure to Appear Roanoke City 4 4 0
Weapons Offense Newport News 4 4 0
Drug Possession Newport News 3 3 0

Each row links to Def Pub'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.

DWI, First Offense
1
DWI, Second Offense
1
DWI, 2nd W/In 5Y
1
Fail To Stop/ Accident - Misd.
1
Fail To Stop/ Accident - Misd.
1
No Driver's License
1

Where cases were heard

Top jurisdictions by case volume in 2025.

Jurisdiction Cases District Circuit
Newport News 40 40 0
Roanoke City 17 17 0
Chesterfield County 16 0 16

Case mix by charge

Charge categories Def Pub appeared on as defense counsel of record, 2025.

Charge category Cases Resolved Convicted Dropped Reduced
Other 27 14 1 9 1
DUI / DWI 15 9 5 0 3
Larceny / Theft 9 0 0 0 0
Failure to Appear 4 4 4 0 0
Traffic Infraction 4 3 2 1 0
Weapons Offense 4 0 0 0 0
Drug Possession 3 1 0 1 0
Driving Suspended 2 2 1 0 1
Reckless Driving 2 2 0 2 0
Property Destruction 1 1 0 1 0

Other attorneys with cases in Newport News

Listed by case volume in Newport News, 2025.

Attorney Newport News cases Total (statewide)
C Young 406 407
S Ehrenworth 288 290
Christopher Young 276 395
C Reagan 184 195
John Haugh 176 285
J Goff 171 200
Artisha Gregg 161 362
Scott Ehrenworth 158 219

View all attorneys with cases in Newport News →

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.

Def Pub appeared as defense counsel of record in 73 Virginia court cases during 2025 — 57 in District Court and 16 in Circuit Court. Source: Virginia DCIS + CIS public records.
Newport News, with 40 of 73 2025 cases handled there.
In 2025 the most common charge category in Def Pub's case record was DUI / DWI (15 cases). The full charge mix is in the table above.
Of 38 resolved cases: 34% convicted of original charge (13), 37% dropped (14 = 13 nolle prossed + 1 dismissed), 16% reduced to a lesser charge (6), 13% acquitted (5). Outcomes use strict definitions per the methodology.
Of 24 cases ending in a guilty or not-guilty verdict, 19 (79%) resolved by guilty plea and 5 (21%) went to trial — 5 acquittals and 0 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 Newport News? 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. "Def Pub — Virginia Defense Attorney Case Data, 2025." Available at https://www.virginiacourtfile.com/attorneys/def-pub. Source: Virginia District Court Information System and Circuit Court Information System, 2025.

Data last refreshed May 2, 2026. Refreshed quarterly.