Court level
63 % District · 37 % Circuit
Edward Lavado
Defense counsel of record in 1,025 Virginia cases (2025)
Cases of record · 20251,025
Edward Lavado appeared as defense counsel of record in 1,025 Virginia court cases during 2025, drawn from Virginia District and Circuit Court Information Systems.
Primary jurisdiction
Bedford County · 490 cases
Most common charge
Larceny / Theft · 101
Case outcomes
Resolved cases — 595 of 1,025. "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 123 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
11291%
Resolved by guilty plea — no trial.
Went to trial
119%
7 acquittals · 4 convictions at trial.
Trial acquittal rate
64%
7 of 11 trial verdicts ended in acquittal.
Top charge — Larceny / Theft
Edward Lavado's most common charge category in 2025 (101 cases of record · 43 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 Larceny / Theft page for jurisdiction-wide context.
Cases like yours
Edward Lavado'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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Larceny / Theft | Danville | 48 | 11 | 37 |
| Drug Possession | Bedford County | 36 | 36 | 0 |
| Failure to Appear | Bedford County | 35 | 35 | 0 |
| Weapons Offense | Bedford County | 35 | 29 | 6 |
| Larceny / Theft | Bedford County | 29 | 24 | 5 |
| DUI / DWI | Bedford County | 25 | 16 | 9 |
| Driving Suspended | Bedford County | 24 | 24 | 0 |
| Probation Violation | Bedford County | 22 | 0 | 22 |
| Reckless Driving | Bedford County | 21 | 20 | 1 |
| Assault & Battery | Danville | 15 | 14 | 1 |
| Assault & Battery | Bedford County | 14 | 13 | 1 |
| Assault & Battery | Lynchburg | 13 | 13 | 0 |
See also
Larceny / Theft outcomes in Danville — every attorney's 2025 outcomes for Larceny / Theft cases in Danville, 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.
No Driver's License
10
Failure to Carry/Exhibit License
8
Assault & Battery
5
Rec/Buy Stolen Goods >$1000
4
Drugs: Possess Schedule Iii
2
DWI, Second Offense
2
Failure to Carry/Exhibit License
2
Drug Paraphernalia
2
Where cases were heard
Top jurisdictions by case volume in 2025.
| Jurisdiction | Cases | District | Circuit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bedford County | 490 | 342 | 148 |
| Danville | 165 | 67 | 98 |
| Lynchburg | 130 | 105 | 25 |
| Pittsylvania County | 56 | 24 | 32 |
| Campbell County | 53 | 43 | 10 |
| Franklin County | 44 | 20 | 24 |
| Botetourt County | 18 | 0 | 18 |
| Appomattox County | 16 | 12 | 4 |
| Buena Vista | 15 | 10 | 5 |
Case mix by charge
Charge categories Edward Lavado appeared on as defense counsel of record, 2025.
| Charge category | Cases | Resolved | Convicted | Dropped | Reduced |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other | 394 | 208 | 80 | 90 | 31 |
| Larceny / Theft | 101 | 43 | 15 | 21 | 5 |
| Drug Possession | 73 | 21 | 5 | 11 | 5 |
| Weapons Offense | 58 | 37 | 10 | 26 | 1 |
| Failure to Appear | 52 | 48 | 34 | 11 | 0 |
| Assault & Battery | 51 | 38 | 8 | 25 | 0 |
| DUI / DWI | 47 | 35 | 28 | 1 | 5 |
| Traffic Infraction | 36 | 34 | 19 | 4 | 11 |
| Reckless Driving | 35 | 24 | 11 | 8 | 5 |
| Driving Suspended | 34 | 31 | 13 | 3 | 14 |
Other attorneys with cases in Bedford County
Listed by case volume in Bedford County, 2025.
| Attorney | Bedford County cases | Total (statewide) |
|---|---|---|
| Craig Tiller | 187 | 454 |
| W Cameron Warren | 158 | 185 |
| Carter Garrett | 112 | 130 |
| Michael C Lonchar | 101 | 101 |
| Randy A Holley | 80 | 80 |
| Morgan Hollister | 74 | 74 |
| Joseph A Sanzone | 72 | 205 |
| Neill Wente | 55 | 135 |
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.
Edward Lavado appeared as defense counsel of record in 1,025 Virginia court cases during 2025 — 646 in District Court and 379 in Circuit Court. Source: Virginia DCIS + CIS public records.
Bedford County, with 490 of 1,025 2025 cases handled there.
In 2025 the most common charge category in Edward Lavado's case record was Larceny / Theft (101 cases). The full charge mix is in the table above.
Of 595 resolved cases: 43% convicted of original charge (256), 39% dropped (233 = 175 nolle prossed + 58 dismissed), 13% reduced to a lesser charge (79), 4% acquitted (27). Outcomes use strict definitions per the methodology.
Of 123 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), 112 (91%) resolved by guilty plea and 11 (9%) went to trial — 7 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 Bedford 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. "Edward Lavado — Virginia Defense Attorney Case Data, 2025." Available at https://www.virginiacourtfile.com/attorneys/edward-lavado. 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.