Court level
24 % District · 76 % Circuit
Dennis Mccarthy
Defense counsel of record in 214 Virginia cases (2025)
Cases of record · 2025214
Dennis Mccarthy appeared as defense counsel of record in 214 Virginia court cases during 2025, drawn from Virginia District and Circuit Court Information Systems.
Primary jurisdiction
Spotsylvania County · 67 cases
Most common charge
Weapons Offense · 22
Across 129 resolved 2025 cases, 54% were dropped — 63 nolle prossed and 7 dismissed.
Case outcomes
Resolved cases — 129 of 214. "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 37 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
37100%
Resolved by guilty plea — no trial.
Went to trial
00%
0 acquittals · 0 convictions at trial.
Top charge — Weapons Offense
Dennis Mccarthy's most common charge category in 2025 (22 cases of record · 10 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
Dennis Mccarthy'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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Probation Violation | Stafford County | 13 | 0 | 13 |
| Weapons Offense | Stafford County | 8 | 3 | 5 |
| Drug Possession | Spotsylvania County | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Protective Order Violation | Spotsylvania County | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Weapons Offense | Caroline County | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Weapons Offense | King George County | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Weapons Offense | Spotsylvania County | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Drug Possession | Stafford County | 3 | 0 | 3 |
See also
Probation Violation outcomes in Stafford County — every attorney's 2025 outcomes for Probation Violation cases in Stafford County, 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.
Improper Driving
2
Nonviol Felon Poss Gun W/I 10Y
2
54/35 Sp
1
Assault & Battery
1
Attempt Stat Burg-Larc (Armed)
1
Defective Equipment Generally
1
Disobey Judgement; Contempt
1
Distrib/Pwi/Accommodate Marij
1
Where cases were heard
Top jurisdictions by case volume in 2025.
| Jurisdiction | Cases | District | Circuit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spotsylvania County | 67 | 0 | 67 |
| Stafford County | 54 | 18 | 36 |
| King George County | 49 | 6 | 43 |
| Fredericksburg | 12 | 12 | 0 |
| Caroline County | 10 | 1 | 9 |
| Culpeper County | 6 | 2 | 4 |
| Fairfax County | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Hanover County | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Orange County | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Case mix by charge
Charge categories Dennis Mccarthy appeared on as defense counsel of record, 2025.
| Charge category | Cases | Resolved | Convicted | Dropped | Reduced |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other | 121 | 74 | 15 | 51 | 8 |
| Weapons Offense | 22 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| Drug Possession | 17 | 13 | 10 | 2 | 1 |
| Probation Violation | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Assault & Battery | 5 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Larceny / Theft | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Kidnapping / Abduction | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Protective Order Violation | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Traffic Infraction | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Reckless Driving | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
Other attorneys with cases in Spotsylvania County
Listed by case volume in Spotsylvania County, 2025.
| Attorney | Spotsylvania County cases | Total (statewide) |
|---|---|---|
| Ghislaine Storr Burks | 98 | 267 |
| Susan Fremit | 98 | 105 |
| Michelle Rifici | 45 | 116 |
| Kyle Jourden | 21 | 80 |
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.
Dennis Mccarthy appeared as defense counsel of record in 214 Virginia court cases during 2025 — 52 in District Court and 162 in Circuit Court. Source: Virginia DCIS + CIS public records.
Spotsylvania County, with 67 of 214 2025 cases handled there.
In 2025 the most common charge category in Dennis Mccarthy's case record was Weapons Offense (22 cases). The full charge mix is in the table above.
Of 129 resolved cases: 34% convicted of original charge (44), 54% dropped (70 = 63 nolle prossed + 7 dismissed), 12% reduced to a lesser charge (15), 0% acquitted (0). Outcomes use strict definitions per the methodology.
Of 37 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), 37 (100%) resolved by guilty plea and 0 (0%) went to trial — 0 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 Spotsylvania 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. "Dennis Mccarthy — Virginia Defense Attorney Case Data, 2025." Available at https://www.virginiacourtfile.com/attorneys/dennis-mccarthy. 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.