Court level
13 % District · 87 % Circuit
Jim Shortt
Defense counsel of record in 552 Virginia cases (2025)
Cases of record · 2025552
Jim Shortt appeared as defense counsel of record in 552 Virginia court cases during 2025, drawn from Virginia District and Circuit Court Information Systems.
Primary jurisdiction
Tazewell County · 549 cases
Most common charge
Fraud / Forgery · 85
Across 350 resolved 2025 cases, 81% were dropped — 251 nolle prossed and 33 dismissed.
Case outcomes
Resolved cases — 350 of 552. "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 66 cases ending in a guilty or not-guilty verdict, how many pled and how many went to trial.
Pled guilty
6091%
Resolved by guilty plea — no trial.
Went to trial
69%
5 acquittals · 1 convictions at trial.
Trial acquittal rate
83%
5 of 6 trial verdicts ended in acquittal.
Top charge — Fraud / Forgery
Jim Shortt's most common charge category in 2025 (85 cases of record · 80 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
Jim Shortt'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 | Tazewell County | 85 | 2 | 83 |
| Drug Possession | Tazewell County | 48 | 8 | 40 |
| Larceny / Theft | Tazewell County | 19 | 1 | 18 |
| Assault & Battery | Tazewell County | 14 | 4 | 10 |
| Grand Larceny | Tazewell County | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| Weapons Offense | Tazewell County | 12 | 2 | 10 |
| Drug Distribution | Tazewell County | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| DUI / DWI | Tazewell County | 9 | 3 | 6 |
| Property Destruction | Tazewell County | 7 | 3 | 4 |
| Burglary / B&E | Tazewell County | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Failure to Appear | Tazewell County | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| Sex Offense | Tazewell County | 6 | 1 | 5 |
Each row links to Jim Shortt'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.
Abuse Child, Disregard Life
2
Dist Manuf Meth >10Gr >20Gr
1
Dist Meth >10Gr>20Gr Mix
1
Distrb To Accommdate Schedule I/ Ii
1
DWI 1st Offense
1
False Statement To Leo/Ca, Sro
1
Petit Larceny
1
Poss Schedule I/Ii Meth
1
Where cases were heard
Top jurisdictions by case volume in 2025.
| Jurisdiction | Cases | District | Circuit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tazewell County | 549 | 72 | 477 |
| Buchanan County | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Russell County | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Case mix by charge
Charge categories Jim Shortt appeared on as defense counsel of record, 2025.
| Charge category | Cases | Resolved | Convicted | Dropped | Reduced |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other | 283 | 168 | 15 | 145 | 6 |
| Fraud / Forgery | 85 | 80 | 1 | 79 | 0 |
| Drug Possession | 48 | 24 | 9 | 15 | 0 |
| Larceny / Theft | 19 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Assault & Battery | 16 | 12 | 3 | 7 | 0 |
| Grand Larceny | 12 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Weapons Offense | 12 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
| Drug Distribution | 10 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 |
| DUI / DWI | 9 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Property Destruction | 7 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
Other attorneys with cases in Tazewell County
Listed by case volume in Tazewell County, 2025.
| Attorney | Tazewell County cases | Total (statewide) |
|---|---|---|
| Andrew Scruggs | 655 | 731 |
| Mike Letsen | 606 | 611 |
| Monica Gonzalez | 573 | 844 |
| Aaron Gillespie | 392 | 405 |
| Shea Cook | 378 | 402 |
| Penny Nimmo | 336 | 451 |
| Michael Thomas | 294 | 305 |
| Shannon Adams | 281 | 421 |
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.
Jim Shortt appeared as defense counsel of record in 552 Virginia court cases during 2025 — 74 in District Court and 478 in Circuit Court. Source: Virginia DCIS + CIS public records.
Tazewell County, with 549 of 552 2025 cases handled there.
In 2025 the most common charge category in Jim Shortt's case record was Fraud / Forgery (85 cases). The full charge mix is in the table above.
Of 350 resolved cases: 14% convicted of original charge (49), 81% dropped (284 = 251 nolle prossed + 33 dismissed), 3% reduced to a lesser charge (12), 1% acquitted (5). Outcomes use strict definitions per the methodology.
Of 66 cases ending in a guilty or not-guilty verdict, 60 (91%) resolved by guilty plea and 6 (9%) went to trial — 5 acquittals and 1 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 Tazewell 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. "Jim Shortt — Virginia Defense Attorney Case Data, 2025." Available at https://www.virginiacourtfile.com/attorneys/jim-shortt. Source: Virginia District Court Information System and Circuit Court Information System, 2025.
Data last refreshed May 2, 2026. Refreshed quarterly.