Court level
52 % District · 48 % Circuit
Eric Swortzel
Defense counsel of record in 225 Virginia cases (2025)
Cases of record · 2025225
Eric Swortzel appeared as defense counsel of record in 225 Virginia court cases during 2025, drawn from Virginia District and Circuit Court Information Systems.
Primary jurisdiction
Augusta County · 151 cases
Most common charge
Failure to Appear · 21
Case outcomes
Resolved cases — 168 of 225. "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 54 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
4278%
Resolved by guilty plea — no trial.
Went to trial
1222%
2 acquittals · 10 convictions at trial.
Trial acquittal rate
17%
2 of 12 trial verdicts ended in acquittal.
Top charge — Failure to Appear
Eric Swortzel's most common charge category in 2025 (21 cases of record · 16 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 Failure to Appear page for jurisdiction-wide context.
Cases like yours
Eric Swortzel'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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Failure to Appear | Augusta County | 19 | 11 | 8 |
| Drug Possession | Augusta County | 13 | 3 | 10 |
| DUI / DWI | Augusta County | 10 | 7 | 3 |
| Contempt of Court | Augusta County | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| Weapons Offense | Augusta County | 9 | 4 | 5 |
| Larceny / Theft | Augusta County | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| Obstruction | Augusta County | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| Assault & Battery | Augusta County | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| Property Destruction | Highland County | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Assault & Battery | Waynesboro | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Burglary / B&E | Augusta County | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Larceny / Theft | Highland County | 3 | 1 | 2 |
See also
Failure to Appear outcomes in Augusta County — every attorney's 2025 outcomes for Failure to Appear cases in Augusta 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.
Unlawful Wounding
2
Drug Possession (Schedule I/II)
1
DWI, First Offense
1
DWI, Second Offense
1
Enter House To Commit A&B etc..
1
Failure to Carry/Exhibit License
1
False Report/Summon To Law Enf
1
Improper Driving
1
Where cases were heard
Top jurisdictions by case volume in 2025.
| Jurisdiction | Cases | District | Circuit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Augusta County | 151 | 63 | 88 |
| Highland County | 64 | 52 | 12 |
| Staunton | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Waynesboro | 4 | 3 | 1 |
Case mix by charge
Charge categories Eric Swortzel appeared on as defense counsel of record, 2025.
| Charge category | Cases | Resolved | Convicted | Dropped | Reduced |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other | 121 | 88 | 24 | 59 | 4 |
| Failure to Appear | 21 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 0 |
| Drug Possession | 13 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 |
| DUI / DWI | 10 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 |
| Weapons Offense | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Assault & Battery | 9 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Contempt of Court | 9 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| Larceny / Theft | 9 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Property Destruction | 7 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Obstruction | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
Other attorneys with cases in Augusta County
Listed by case volume in Augusta County, 2025.
| Attorney | Augusta County cases | Total (statewide) |
|---|---|---|
| David G Parker | 266 | 314 |
| Dana Cormier | 204 | 383 |
| David Parker | 196 | 332 |
| Randolph Raines | 160 | 192 |
| Tyler Jerrell | 148 | 184 |
| Michael J Hallahan | 114 | 372 |
| Jessica Sherman-Stoltz | 106 | 159 |
| Brittney Leach | 103 | 103 |
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.
Eric Swortzel appeared as defense counsel of record in 225 Virginia court cases during 2025 — 118 in District Court and 107 in Circuit Court. Source: Virginia DCIS + CIS public records.
Augusta County, with 151 of 225 2025 cases handled there.
In 2025 the most common charge category in Eric Swortzel's case record was Failure to Appear (21 cases). The full charge mix is in the table above.
Of 168 resolved cases: 44% convicted of original charge (73), 49% dropped (83 = 75 nolle prossed + 8 dismissed), 6% reduced to a lesser charge (10), 1% acquitted (2). Outcomes use strict definitions per the methodology.
Of 54 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), 42 (78%) resolved by guilty plea and 12 (22%) went to trial — 2 acquittals and 10 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 Augusta 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. "Eric Swortzel — Virginia Defense Attorney Case Data, 2025." Available at https://www.virginiacourtfile.com/attorneys/eric-swortzel. 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.