Court level
51 % District · 49 % Circuit
Joseph Sanzone
Defense counsel of record in 414 Virginia cases (2025)
Cases of record · 2025414
Joseph Sanzone appeared as defense counsel of record in 414 Virginia court cases during 2025, drawn from Virginia District and Circuit Court Information Systems.
Primary jurisdiction
Lynchburg · 192 cases
Most common charge
DUI / DWI · 51
Case outcomes
Resolved cases — 314 of 414. "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 169 cases ending in a guilty or not-guilty verdict, how many pled and how many went to trial.
Pled guilty
11266%
Resolved by guilty plea — no trial.
Went to trial
5734%
17 acquittals · 40 convictions at trial.
Trial acquittal rate
30%
17 of 57 trial verdicts ended in acquittal.
Top charge — DUI / DWI
Joseph Sanzone's most common charge category in 2025 (51 cases of record · 39 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 DUI / DWI page for jurisdiction-wide context.
Cases like yours
Joseph Sanzone'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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DUI / DWI | Lynchburg | 23 | 15 | 8 |
| Drug Possession | Lynchburg | 17 | 8 | 9 |
| Fraud / Forgery | Appomattox County | 16 | 8 | 8 |
| Weapons Offense | Lynchburg | 14 | 6 | 8 |
| Larceny / Theft | Albemarle County | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| Larceny / Theft | Lynchburg | 10 | 1 | 9 |
| DUI / DWI | Amherst County | 9 | 9 | 0 |
| Fraud / Forgery | Lynchburg | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| Assault & Battery | Lynchburg | 8 | 6 | 2 |
| DUI / DWI | Campbell County | 8 | 3 | 5 |
| Failure to Appear | Lynchburg | 6 | 2 | 4 |
| Weapons Offense | Campbell County | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Each row links to Joseph Sanzone'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.
DWI, First Offense
3
49/35 Speeding
1
Assault & Battery
1
Destruction Of Property
1
Driv Susp/Rev No Endanger-Misd.
1
DWI: 1st Offense
1
Interfere W/Prop Rgts Another
1
Obstruct/Resist W/O Force
1
Where cases were heard
Top jurisdictions by case volume in 2025.
| Jurisdiction | Cases | District | Circuit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lynchburg | 192 | 77 | 115 |
| Appomattox County | 76 | 60 | 16 |
| Campbell County | 44 | 16 | 28 |
| Amherst County | 34 | 34 | 0 |
| Albemarle County | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| Prince Edward County | 10 | 6 | 4 |
| Botetourt County | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Halifax County | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Nelson County | 5 | 4 | 1 |
Case mix by charge
Charge categories Joseph Sanzone appeared on as defense counsel of record, 2025.
| Charge category | Cases | Resolved | Convicted | Dropped | Reduced |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other | 183 | 147 | 44 | 88 | 7 |
| DUI / DWI | 51 | 39 | 26 | 5 | 6 |
| Weapons Offense | 31 | 24 | 10 | 13 | 1 |
| Fraud / Forgery | 25 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 0 |
| Drug Possession | 22 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 0 |
| Larceny / Theft | 22 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| Assault & Battery | 20 | 15 | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| Obstruction | 8 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Traffic Infraction | 8 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Reckless Driving | 7 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
Other attorneys with cases in Lynchburg
Listed by case volume in Lynchburg, 2025.
| Attorney | Lynchburg cases | Total (statewide) |
|---|---|---|
| Mark Arthur | 512 | 920 |
| Pamela Willoughby | 382 | 771 |
| Jordan Davies | 380 | 935 |
| Charles Felmlee | 284 | 355 |
| Ronnie West | 269 | 579 |
| Chuck Felmlee | 216 | 554 |
| Cameron Warren | 215 | 251 |
| Matthew Pack | 189 | 454 |
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.
Joseph Sanzone appeared as defense counsel of record in 414 Virginia court cases during 2025 — 210 in District Court and 204 in Circuit Court. Source: Virginia DCIS + CIS public records.
Lynchburg, with 192 of 414 2025 cases handled there.
In 2025 the most common charge category in Joseph Sanzone's case record was DUI / DWI (51 cases). The full charge mix is in the table above.
Of 314 resolved cases: 43% convicted of original charge (135), 46% dropped (145 = 119 nolle prossed + 26 dismissed), 5% reduced to a lesser charge (17), 5% acquitted (17). Outcomes use strict definitions per the methodology.
Of 169 cases ending in a guilty or not-guilty verdict, 112 (66%) resolved by guilty plea and 57 (34%) went to trial — 17 acquittals and 40 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 Lynchburg? 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. "Joseph Sanzone — Virginia Defense Attorney Case Data, 2025." Available at https://www.virginiacourtfile.com/attorneys/joseph-sanzone. Source: Virginia District Court Information System and Circuit Court Information System, 2025.
Data last refreshed May 2, 2026. Refreshed quarterly.