Source. Virginia DCIS + CIS, 2025 Methodology Report a correction Last refreshed May 2, 2026
Cases of record · 2025174

Ethan Koelsch appeared as defense counsel of record in 174 Virginia court cases during 2025, drawn from Virginia District and Circuit Court Information Systems.

Court level
85 % District · 15 % Circuit
Primary jurisdiction
Roanoke County · 139 cases
Most common charge
Failure to Appear · 25

Case outcomes

Resolved cases — 126 of 174. "Resolved" means a final disposition was reached. Pending cases and probation revocations are excluded.

Convicted of original charge
66
52%
Dropped
51
40%
Nolle prossed
37
Dismissed
14
Reduced to a lesser charge
9
7%
To Improper Driving
1
Within charge family
8
Acquitted
0
0%

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

Pled guilty
75100%
Resolved by guilty plea — no trial.
Went to trial
00%
0 acquittals · 0 convictions at trial.

Top charge — Failure to Appear

Ethan Koelsch's most common charge category in 2025 (25 cases of record · 21 resolved). Outcomes use the same definitions as the overall view.

Convicted of original charge
11
52%
Dropped
10
48%
Reduced to a lesser charge
0
0%

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

Ethan Koelsch'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 Roanoke County 24 24 0
Failure to Appear Roanoke County 23 23 0
Drug Possession Roanoke County 12 12 0
Trespassing Roanoke County 9 9 0
Driving Suspended Roanoke County 8 8 0
Assault & Battery Roanoke County 6 4 2
DUI / DWI Roanoke County 5 5 0
Obstruction Roanoke County 4 3 1
Reckless Driving Roanoke County 4 4 0
Weapons Offense Roanoke County 4 4 0
Assault & Battery Roanoke City 3 3 0
Contempt of Court Roanoke County 3 3 0

Each row links to Ethan Koelsch'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.

Driving Under Revocation/Suspension
2
Unauth Use Of Motor Veh - Misd.
2
Carry Conceal Firearm
1
DWI, First Offense
1
Improper Driving
1
No Driver's License
1
Speeding (1-9) Over Limit
1

Where cases were heard

Top jurisdictions by case volume in 2025.

Jurisdiction Cases District Circuit
Roanoke County 139 130 9
Roanoke City 34 17 17
Salem 1 1 0

Case mix by charge

Charge categories Ethan Koelsch appeared on as defense counsel of record, 2025.

Charge category Cases Resolved Convicted Dropped Reduced
Other 56 29 11 16 2
Failure to Appear 25 21 11 10 0
Larceny / Theft 24 22 15 7 0
Drug Possession 13 5 1 4 0
Assault & Battery 10 9 3 6 0
Trespassing 9 9 9 0 0
Driving Suspended 8 6 4 1 1
Obstruction 6 4 4 0 0
DUI / DWI 5 5 3 1 1
Weapons Offense 5 3 1 1 1

Other attorneys with cases in Roanoke County

Listed by case volume in Roanoke County, 2025.

Attorney Roanoke County cases Total (statewide)
Christopher Keller 177 435
David Lawrence 156 279
Cerid Lugar 151 250
Benjamin Sharpe 146 456
Patrick Kenney 146 338
Seth Weston 135 256
Patrick J Kenney 134 198
Kevin Gick 123 369

View all attorneys with cases in Roanoke County →

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.

Ethan Koelsch appeared as defense counsel of record in 174 Virginia court cases during 2025 — 148 in District Court and 26 in Circuit Court. Source: Virginia DCIS + CIS public records.
Roanoke County, with 139 of 174 2025 cases handled there.
In 2025 the most common charge category in Ethan Koelsch's case record was Failure to Appear (25 cases). The full charge mix is in the table above.
Of 126 resolved cases: 52% convicted of original charge (66), 40% dropped (51 = 37 nolle prossed + 14 dismissed), 7% reduced to a lesser charge (9), 0% acquitted (0). Outcomes use strict definitions per the methodology.
Of 75 cases ending in a guilty or not-guilty verdict, 75 (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 Roanoke 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. "Ethan Koelsch — Virginia Defense Attorney Case Data, 2025." Available at https://www.virginiacourtfile.com/attorneys/ethan-koelsch. Source: Virginia District Court Information System and Circuit Court Information System, 2025.

Data last refreshed May 2, 2026. Refreshed quarterly.