Court level
96 % District · 4 % Circuit
Stephen Sommers
Defense counsel of record in 383 Virginia cases (2025)
Cases of record · 2025383
Stephen Sommers appeared as defense counsel of record in 383 Virginia court cases during 2025, drawn from Virginia District and Circuit Court Information Systems.
Primary jurisdiction
Chesterfield County · 286 cases
Most common charge
Larceny / Theft · 57
Across 315 resolved 2025 cases, 51% were dropped — 106 nolle prossed and 56 dismissed.
Case outcomes
Resolved cases — 315 of 383. "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 153 cases ending in a guilty or not-guilty verdict, how many pled and how many went to trial.
Pled guilty
14897%
Resolved by guilty plea — no trial.
Went to trial
53%
5 acquittals · 0 convictions at trial.
Trial acquittal rate
100%
5 of 5 trial verdicts ended in acquittal.
Top charge — Larceny / Theft
Stephen Sommers's most common charge category in 2025 (57 cases of record · 45 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
Stephen Sommers'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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Larceny / Theft | Chesterfield County | 41 | 41 | 0 |
| Drug Possession | Chesterfield County | 36 | 36 | 0 |
| Failure to Appear | Chesterfield County | 32 | 32 | 0 |
| DUI / DWI | Chesterfield County | 17 | 17 | 0 |
| Assault & Battery | Chesterfield County | 15 | 15 | 0 |
| Driving Suspended | Chesterfield County | 11 | 11 | 0 |
| Larceny / Theft | Powhatan County | 9 | 8 | 1 |
| Weapons Offense | Chesterfield County | 9 | 9 | 0 |
| Larceny / Theft | Colonial Heights | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| DUI / DWI | Powhatan County | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Driving Suspended | Powhatan County | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Drug Possession | Colonial Heights | 5 | 1 | 4 |
Each row links to Stephen Sommers'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.
Assault & Battery
6
Possession/Distribution of Paraphernalia
3
Unauthorized Possession of Paraphernalia
3
DWI, First Offense
2
Improper Driving
2
No Driver's License
2
No Driver's License
2
Drug Paraphernalia
2
Where cases were heard
Top jurisdictions by case volume in 2025.
| Jurisdiction | Cases | District | Circuit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chesterfield County | 286 | 282 | 4 |
| Powhatan County | 52 | 50 | 2 |
| Colonial Heights | 45 | 34 | 11 |
Case mix by charge
Charge categories Stephen Sommers appeared on as defense counsel of record, 2025.
| Charge category | Cases | Resolved | Convicted | Dropped | Reduced |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other | 126 | 110 | 33 | 60 | 15 |
| Larceny / Theft | 57 | 45 | 16 | 27 | 2 |
| Drug Possession | 44 | 24 | 4 | 10 | 10 |
| Failure to Appear | 36 | 34 | 16 | 16 | 0 |
| DUI / DWI | 23 | 20 | 9 | 4 | 7 |
| Assault & Battery | 17 | 16 | 4 | 10 | 1 |
| Driving Suspended | 17 | 14 | 7 | 4 | 3 |
| Weapons Offense | 13 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| Traffic Infraction | 8 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Trespassing | 8 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
Other attorneys with cases in Chesterfield County
Listed by case volume in Chesterfield County, 2025.
| Attorney | Chesterfield County cases | Total (statewide) |
|---|---|---|
| Russell Bowles | 1,039 | 1,076 |
| Jose Aponte | 864 | 1,034 |
| Linwood Wells | 603 | 1,185 |
| Sandra Ulloa | 469 | 498 |
| Gregory Sheldon | 444 | 745 |
| Kristen Thornbrugh | 410 | 669 |
| Wayne Morgan | 400 | 1,116 |
| Bobbi Graves | 356 | 516 |
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.
Stephen Sommers appeared as defense counsel of record in 383 Virginia court cases during 2025 — 366 in District Court and 17 in Circuit Court. Source: Virginia DCIS + CIS public records.
Chesterfield County, with 286 of 383 2025 cases handled there.
In 2025 the most common charge category in Stephen Sommers's case record was Larceny / Theft (57 cases). The full charge mix is in the table above.
Of 315 resolved cases: 32% convicted of original charge (102), 51% dropped (162 = 106 nolle prossed + 56 dismissed), 15% reduced to a lesser charge (46), 2% acquitted (5). Outcomes use strict definitions per the methodology.
Of 153 cases ending in a guilty or not-guilty verdict, 148 (97%) resolved by guilty plea and 5 (3%) went to trial — 5 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 Chesterfield 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. "Stephen Sommers — Virginia Defense Attorney Case Data, 2025." Available at https://www.virginiacourtfile.com/attorneys/stephen-sommers. Source: Virginia District Court Information System and Circuit Court Information System, 2025.
Data last refreshed May 2, 2026. Refreshed quarterly.