Court level
53 % District · 47 % Circuit
Don Burks
Defense counsel of record in 244 Virginia cases (2025)
Cases of record · 2025244
Don Burks appeared as defense counsel of record in 244 Virginia court cases during 2025, drawn from Virginia District and Circuit Court Information Systems.
Primary jurisdiction
Alleghany County · 134 cases
Most common charge
Fraud / Forgery · 14
Across 179 resolved 2025 cases, 50% were dropped — 41 nolle prossed and 49 dismissed.
Case outcomes
Resolved cases — 179 of 244. "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
Of 89 cases ending in a guilty or not-guilty verdict, how many pled and how many went to trial.
Pled guilty
8393%
Resolved by guilty plea — no trial.
Went to trial
67%
2 acquittals · 4 convictions at trial.
Trial acquittal rate
33%
2 of 6 trial verdicts ended in acquittal.
Top charge — Fraud / Forgery
Don Burks's most common charge category in 2025 (14 cases of record · 14 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 Fraud / Forgery page for jurisdiction-wide context.
Cases like yours
Don Burks'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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fraud / Forgery | Alleghany County | 14 | 0 | 14 |
| Drug Possession | Alleghany County | 8 | 6 | 2 |
| Assault & Battery | Alleghany County | 7 | 6 | 1 |
| Failure to Appear | Waynesboro | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Weapons Offense | Alleghany County | 5 | 2 | 3 |
| Failure to Appear | Alleghany County | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Trespassing | Alleghany County | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Larceny / Theft | Rockbridge County | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Obstruction | Alleghany County | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Property Destruction | Alleghany County | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Property Destruction | Waynesboro | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Reckless Driving | Alleghany County | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Each row links to Don Burks'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.
Defective Equipment Generally
3
Fail To Obey High. Sign Sleep
2
44/35 Sp
1
57/35 Sp
1
64/55 Speeding
1
79/70 Sp
1
82/60 Sp
1
89/70 Spd
1
Where cases were heard
Top jurisdictions by case volume in 2025.
| Jurisdiction | Cases | District | Circuit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alleghany County | 134 | 62 | 72 |
| Rockbridge County | 22 | 0 | 22 |
| Waynesboro | 21 | 19 | 2 |
| Buena Vista | 18 | 13 | 5 |
| Bath County | 17 | 7 | 10 |
| Shenandoah County | 11 | 11 | 0 |
| Amherst County | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| Augusta County | 6 | 5 | 1 |
| Highland County | 3 | 1 | 2 |
Case mix by charge
Charge categories Don Burks appeared on as defense counsel of record, 2025.
| Charge category | Cases | Resolved | Convicted | Dropped | Reduced |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other | 104 | 57 | 19 | 32 | 5 |
| Traffic Infraction | 42 | 37 | 7 | 21 | 9 |
| Fraud / Forgery | 14 | 14 | 0 | 13 | 1 |
| Failure to Appear | 12 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 0 |
| Assault & Battery | 11 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 |
| Drug Possession | 11 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Larceny / Theft | 8 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| Reckless Driving | 8 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Property Destruction | 7 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Weapons Offense | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Other attorneys with cases in Alleghany County
Listed by case volume in Alleghany County, 2025.
| Attorney | Alleghany County cases | Total (statewide) |
|---|---|---|
| Taylor Baker | 520 | 875 |
| Daniel Mowry | 179 | 240 |
| Craig Leisure | 157 | 338 |
| Michael Collins | 154 | 169 |
| Steve Wills | 142 | 148 |
| Stephen Wills | 139 | 222 |
| James Doss | 129 | 193 |
| Melinda Hinkle | 96 | 130 |
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.
Don Burks appeared as defense counsel of record in 244 Virginia court cases during 2025 — 130 in District Court and 114 in Circuit Court. Source: Virginia DCIS + CIS public records.
Alleghany County, with 134 of 244 2025 cases handled there.
In 2025 the most common charge category in Don Burks's case record was Fraud / Forgery (14 cases). The full charge mix is in the table above.
Of 179 resolved cases: 35% convicted of original charge (63), 50% dropped (90 = 41 nolle prossed + 49 dismissed), 13% reduced to a lesser charge (24), 1% acquitted (2). Outcomes use strict definitions per the methodology.
Of 89 cases ending in a guilty or not-guilty verdict, 83 (93%) resolved by guilty plea and 6 (7%) went to trial — 2 acquittals and 4 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 Alleghany 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. "Don Burks — Virginia Defense Attorney Case Data, 2025." Available at https://www.virginiacourtfile.com/attorneys/don-burks. Source: Virginia District Court Information System and Circuit Court Information System, 2025.
Data last refreshed May 2, 2026. Refreshed quarterly.