Court level
60 % District · 40 % Circuit
Michele Cavanaugh
Defense counsel of record in 344 Virginia cases (2025)
Cases of record · 2025344
Michele Cavanaugh appeared as defense counsel of record in 344 Virginia court cases during 2025, drawn from Virginia District and Circuit Court Information Systems.
Primary jurisdiction
Hampton · 295 cases
Most common charge
Weapons Offense · 36
Across 227 resolved 2025 cases, 53% were dropped — 63 nolle prossed and 58 dismissed.
Case outcomes
Resolved cases — 227 of 344. "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 106 cases ending in a guilty or not-guilty verdict, how many pled and how many went to trial.
Pled guilty
8580%
Resolved by guilty plea — no trial.
Went to trial
2120%
17 acquittals · 4 convictions at trial.
Trial acquittal rate
81%
17 of 21 trial verdicts ended in acquittal.
Top charge — Weapons Offense
Michele Cavanaugh's most common charge category in 2025 (36 cases of record · 23 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 Weapons Offense page for jurisdiction-wide context.
Cases like yours
Michele Cavanaugh'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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weapons Offense | Hampton | 27 | 14 | 13 |
| Assault & Battery | Hampton | 22 | 14 | 8 |
| Failure to Appear | Hampton | 20 | 11 | 9 |
| Larceny / Theft | Hampton | 17 | 8 | 9 |
| Drug Possession | Hampton | 15 | 13 | 2 |
| Reckless Driving | Hampton | 8 | 5 | 3 |
| Sex Offense | Hampton | 8 | 3 | 5 |
| Grand Larceny | Hampton | 7 | 2 | 5 |
| Murder / Manslaughter | Hampton | 7 | 4 | 3 |
| Obstruction | Hampton | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| DUI / DWI | Hampton | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| Weapons Offense | Newport News | 5 | 2 | 3 |
Each row links to Michele Cavanaugh'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.
Improper Driving
3
Assault & Battery
2
Drug Paraphernalia
2
Speed In Hwy.Work Zone
2
64/55 Sp
1
90/65 Sp
1
Defective Speedometer
1
Elude/Disregard Police-Misd.
1
Where cases were heard
Top jurisdictions by case volume in 2025.
| Jurisdiction | Cases | District | Circuit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hampton | 295 | 176 | 119 |
| York County | 15 | 14 | 1 |
| Suffolk | 14 | 4 | 10 |
| Newport News | 11 | 3 | 8 |
| Norfolk | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Isle of Wight County | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| New Kent County | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Virginia Beach | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Case mix by charge
Charge categories Michele Cavanaugh appeared on as defense counsel of record, 2025.
| Charge category | Cases | Resolved | Convicted | Dropped | Reduced |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other | 137 | 95 | 24 | 50 | 14 |
| Weapons Offense | 36 | 23 | 6 | 16 | 0 |
| Traffic Infraction | 26 | 17 | 2 | 12 | 2 |
| Larceny / Theft | 25 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 0 |
| Assault & Battery | 24 | 16 | 2 | 9 | 0 |
| Failure to Appear | 20 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 0 |
| Drug Possession | 15 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Reckless Driving | 9 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Grand Larceny | 8 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Sex Offense | 8 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
Other attorneys with cases in Hampton
Listed by case volume in Hampton, 2025.
| Attorney | Hampton cases | Total (statewide) |
|---|---|---|
| Stephen K Smith | 503 | 572 |
| Tyrone Johnson | 307 | 599 |
| Charles Haden | 261 | 263 |
| Mario Stellute | 235 | 389 |
| Timothy Clancy | 223 | 366 |
| Joshua Goff | 214 | 449 |
| Shawn Cline | 193 | 225 |
| Crystina O'Brien | 185 | 197 |
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.
Michele Cavanaugh appeared as defense counsel of record in 344 Virginia court cases during 2025 — 206 in District Court and 138 in Circuit Court. Source: Virginia DCIS + CIS public records.
Hampton, with 295 of 344 2025 cases handled there.
In 2025 the most common charge category in Michele Cavanaugh's case record was Weapons Offense (36 cases). The full charge mix is in the table above.
Of 227 resolved cases: 29% convicted of original charge (66), 53% dropped (121 = 63 nolle prossed + 58 dismissed), 10% reduced to a lesser charge (23), 8% acquitted (17). Outcomes use strict definitions per the methodology.
Of 106 cases ending in a guilty or not-guilty verdict, 85 (80%) resolved by guilty plea and 21 (20%) went to trial — 17 acquittals and 4 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 Hampton? 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. "Michele Cavanaugh — Virginia Defense Attorney Case Data, 2025." Available at https://www.virginiacourtfile.com/attorneys/michele-cavanaugh. Source: Virginia District Court Information System and Circuit Court Information System, 2025.
Data last refreshed May 2, 2026. Refreshed quarterly.