Court level
38 % District · 62 % Circuit
John Spencer
Defense counsel of record in 496 Virginia cases (2025)
Cases of record · 2025496
John Spencer appeared as defense counsel of record in 496 Virginia court cases during 2025, drawn from Virginia District and Circuit Court Information Systems.
Primary jurisdiction
Stafford County · 246 cases
Most common charge
Larceny / Theft · 44
Across 321 resolved 2025 cases, 54% were dropped — 152 nolle prossed and 22 dismissed.
Case outcomes
Resolved cases — 321 of 496. "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 147 cases ending in a guilty or not-guilty verdict, how many pled and how many went to trial.
Pled guilty
13290%
Resolved by guilty plea — no trial.
Went to trial
1510%
13 acquittals · 2 convictions at trial.
Trial acquittal rate
87%
13 of 15 trial verdicts ended in acquittal.
Top charge — Larceny / Theft
John Spencer's most common charge category in 2025 (44 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
John Spencer'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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drug Possession | Stafford County | 26 | 15 | 11 |
| Larceny / Theft | Stafford County | 24 | 23 | 1 |
| Probation Violation | Stafford County | 22 | 0 | 22 |
| DUI / DWI | Stafford County | 19 | 11 | 8 |
| Weapons Offense | Stafford County | 18 | 10 | 8 |
| Larceny / Theft | Spotsylvania County | 16 | 0 | 16 |
| Assault & Battery | Stafford County | 15 | 11 | 4 |
| Assault & Battery | Spotsylvania County | 14 | 0 | 14 |
| Drug Distribution | Stafford County | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| Drug Possession | Spotsylvania County | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| Obstruction | Spotsylvania County | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| Fraud / Forgery | Spotsylvania County | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Each row links to John Spencer'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.
Credit Card Fraud: >=$1000 6M
2
Fail To Obey High. Sign Sleep
2
Improper Driving
2
Assault & Battery
1
Assault & Battery
1
Attempted Strangulation
1
Defective Equipment Generally
1
Destruct Prop w/ Intentent <$1000
1
Where cases were heard
Top jurisdictions by case volume in 2025.
| Jurisdiction | Cases | District | Circuit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stafford County | 246 | 152 | 94 |
| Spotsylvania County | 193 | 0 | 193 |
| Fredericksburg | 24 | 24 | 0 |
| King George County | 18 | 2 | 16 |
| Caroline County | 8 | 7 | 1 |
| Westmoreland County | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Prince William County | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Culpeper County | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Orange County | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Case mix by charge
Charge categories John Spencer appeared on as defense counsel of record, 2025.
| Charge category | Cases | Resolved | Convicted | Dropped | Reduced |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other | 207 | 120 | 25 | 78 | 12 |
| Larceny / Theft | 44 | 43 | 14 | 27 | 2 |
| Drug Possession | 36 | 21 | 9 | 11 | 1 |
| Assault & Battery | 29 | 23 | 13 | 8 | 2 |
| DUI / DWI | 28 | 23 | 12 | 6 | 0 |
| Weapons Offense | 25 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 0 |
| Probation Violation | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Obstruction | 13 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Drug Distribution | 12 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 |
| Traffic Infraction | 11 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 2 |
Other attorneys with cases in Stafford County
Listed by case volume in Stafford County, 2025.
| Attorney | Stafford County cases | Total (statewide) |
|---|---|---|
| Eugene Frost | 394 | 970 |
| Darren Meyer | 235 | 515 |
| Ryan Fitzgerald | 222 | 780 |
| Jason Pelt | 216 | 306 |
| Shree Chudasama | 212 | 212 |
| Andrew Flusche | 209 | 541 |
| Kevin Roach | 192 | 420 |
| James Ilijevich | 190 | 294 |
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.
John Spencer appeared as defense counsel of record in 496 Virginia court cases during 2025 — 186 in District Court and 310 in Circuit Court. Source: Virginia DCIS + CIS public records.
Stafford County, with 246 of 496 2025 cases handled there.
In 2025 the most common charge category in John Spencer's case record was Larceny / Theft (44 cases). The full charge mix is in the table above.
Of 321 resolved cases: 34% convicted of original charge (108), 54% dropped (174 = 152 nolle prossed + 22 dismissed), 8% reduced to a lesser charge (26), 4% acquitted (13). Outcomes use strict definitions per the methodology.
Of 147 cases ending in a guilty or not-guilty verdict, 132 (90%) resolved by guilty plea and 15 (10%) went to trial — 13 acquittals and 2 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 Stafford 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. "John Spencer — Virginia Defense Attorney Case Data, 2025." Available at https://www.virginiacourtfile.com/attorneys/john-spencer. Source: Virginia District Court Information System and Circuit Court Information System, 2025.
Data last refreshed May 2, 2026. Refreshed quarterly.