Court level
61 % District · 39 % Circuit
Richard Ratajczak
Defense counsel of record in 97 Virginia cases (2025)
Cases of record · 202597
Richard Ratajczak appeared as defense counsel of record in 97 Virginia court cases during 2025, drawn from Virginia District and Circuit Court Information Systems.
Primary jurisdiction
Virginia Beach · 53 cases
Most common charge
DUI / DWI · 7
Case outcomes
Resolved cases — 65 of 97. "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 · Circuit Court
Of 25 Circuit Court cases ending in a guilty or not-guilty verdict, how many pled and how many went to trial. General District Court records do not distinguish a guilty plea from a bench-trial conviction, so this record is limited to Circuit Court, where the distinction is recorded.
Pled guilty
25100%
Resolved by guilty plea — no trial.
Went to trial
00%
0 acquittals · 0 convictions at trial.
Cases like yours
Richard Ratajczak'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 | Virginia Beach | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| Drug Possession | Norfolk | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| DUI / DWI | Norfolk | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| DUI / DWI | Virginia Beach | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| Reckless Driving | Virginia Beach | 3 | 2 | 1 |
See also
Fraud / Forgery outcomes in Virginia Beach — every attorney's 2025 outcomes for Fraud / Forgery cases in Virginia Beach, using the same definitions as above.
Reduction targets
When the original charge was reduced, the case was most often resolved as one of the following lesser charges.
Assault & Battery
2
64/45 Sp
1
Carry Conceal Firearm
1
Defective Equipment Generally
1
Improper Driving
1
Petit Larc
1
Petit Larceny
1
Where cases were heard
Top jurisdictions by case volume in 2025.
| Jurisdiction | Cases | District | Circuit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia Beach | 53 | 32 | 21 |
| Norfolk | 19 | 6 | 13 |
| Suffolk | 7 | 4 | 3 |
| Franklin City | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Portsmouth | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| Accomack County | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Hampton | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Newport News | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| York County | 2 | 2 | 0 |
Case mix by charge
Charge categories Richard Ratajczak appeared on as defense counsel of record, 2025.
| Charge category | Cases | Resolved | Convicted | Dropped | Reduced |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other | 48 | 28 | 9 | 15 | 4 |
| Traffic Infraction | 10 | 9 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| DUI / DWI | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Fraud / Forgery | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Assault & Battery | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Larceny / Theft | 5 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Drug Possession | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Reckless Driving | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Weapons Offense | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Robbery | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Other attorneys with cases in Virginia Beach
Listed by case volume in Virginia Beach, 2025.
| Attorney | Virginia Beach cases | Total (statewide) |
|---|---|---|
| Stephen Pfeiffer | 885 | 940 |
| Cole Roberts | 429 | 829 |
| Roger Whitus | 358 | 388 |
| Joel Kinney | 290 | 395 |
| John Greenside | 217 | 675 |
| Peter Louie | 197 | 447 |
| Michael A Robusto | 185 | 185 |
| Brian Dunnigan | 179 | 768 |
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.
Richard Ratajczak appeared as defense counsel of record in 97 Virginia court cases during 2025 — 59 in District Court and 38 in Circuit Court. Source: Virginia DCIS + CIS public records.
Virginia Beach, with 53 of 97 2025 cases handled there.
In 2025 the most common charge category in Richard Ratajczak's case record was DUI / DWI (7 cases). The full charge mix is in the table above.
Of 65 resolved cases: 40% convicted of original charge (26), 48% dropped (31 = 14 nolle prossed + 17 dismissed), 12% reduced to a lesser charge (8), 0% acquitted (0). Outcomes use strict definitions per the methodology.
Of 25 Circuit Court cases ending in a guilty or not-guilty verdict (Circuit Court is the only level where Virginia records distinguish a guilty plea from a bench-trial conviction), 25 (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 Virginia Beach? 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. "Richard Ratajczak — Virginia Defense Attorney Case Data, 2025." Available at https://www.virginiacourtfile.com/attorneys/richard-ratajczak. Source: Virginia District Court Information System and Circuit Court Information System, 2025.
Data last refreshed May 2, 2026. Refreshed quarterly. For statewide outcome context, see the 2025 Virginia Criminal Court Outcomes report.