Prince William County and Manassas Criminal Defense Lawyer

Criminal and traffic cases from Prince William County, the City of Manassas and the City of Manassas Park are heard in the courts at 9311 Lee Avenue in Manassas. If your summons or warrant sends you there, your first court date may come before you know what you are charged with, what the Commonwealth has to prove or what you should do next.

Nova Defenders, S&R Law Firm defends people charged with crimes and serious traffic offenses in those courts: reckless driving and DUI, drug charges, theft, assault and domestic charges, and felonies. Our attorneys are in the Prince William courthouse almost every day. Your case is led by one of our attorneys, who prepares it and stands with you in court, and the rest of our team works on it too. This page explains which court will hear your case, what we do on it and what to do before your court date.

Prince William sees a lot of these cases. The Prince William County Police Department’s 2025 Annual Report lists 8,558 total criminal arrests and 35,893 traffic citations, and reckless driving is its third most common moving violation.

Charged With a Crime in Prince William County?

A charge is an accusation, not a conviction. The Commonwealth still has to prove each element of the offense with admissible evidence, and you can challenge how that evidence was gathered.

What you do in the first days can matter. Don’t try to explain your side to the police or the complaining witness; you can decline to answer questions until you have talked with a lawyer. Keep every paper you were given. Don’t delete messages, photos, videos or location data. Don’t contact the alleged victim or witnesses about the case, and follow every bond condition and protective order exactly.

Don’t pay a traffic ticket before you know what it is. Paying a traffic infraction counts as a guilty plea (§ 19.2-254.1), and some charges, including reckless driving, are criminal misdemeanors that can’t be prepaid at all.

Where Prince William and Manassas Cases Are Heard

All three courts sit in the same building at 9311 Lee Avenue, Manassas, and cases from the City of Manassas and the City of Manassas Park are heard there too. The court your case starts in depends on the charge and who is involved:

• Felony charges: anyone arrested on a felony is entitled to a preliminary hearing, where the court decides whether there is “reasonable ground to believe” the person committed the offense (§ 19.2-218). The hearing can be waived in writing. If the case goes forward, it moves to the grand jury and the Circuit Court.
• Family and household cases: the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court hears offenses in which one family or household member is charged and another is the alleged victim (§ 16.1-241). If the charge is a felony, that court decides only whether there is probable cause, and the trial is in Circuit Court.
• Appeals: a misdemeanor conviction in either district court can be appealed to the Circuit Court within ten days, “whether or not such conviction was upon a plea of guilty” (§ 16.1-132). The appeal is a new trial, “heard de novo,” and you can ask for a jury (§ 16.1-136).

Types of Prince William Criminal Cases We Handle

• Reckless driving and traffic offenses. Reckless driving is a Class 1 misdemeanor, not a ticket, and most of the Prince William reckless charges we see come from State Police on I-95 and I-66 and county police on the Prince William Parkway and Route 234. Our Prince William and Manassas reckless driving page covers those cases in detail, and our guide for out-of-state drivers is for the many clients we represent here who live in other states. We also handle driving on a suspended license, hit and run and other traffic offenses.
• DUI. A DUI conviction brings a license loss, the alcohol safety program and possible mandatory jail. We have defended Prince William DUI charges from first offenses through DUI manslaughter. See our Prince William and Manassas DUI page, our page on a first offense DUI in Prince William and what happens in court after a Prince William DUI charge.
• Drug charges. Possession, possession with intent and distribution cases often turn on the stop, the search and who actually possessed the drugs. See our pages on drug possession and drug distribution.
• Theft and property crimes. Shoplifting and other larceny of less than $1,000 not taken from the person is petit larceny, a Class 1 misdemeanor (§ 18.2-96). At $1,000 or more, $5 or more taken from the person, or any firearm, it is grand larceny, a felony (§ 18.2-95). Intent, value and identification are often the questions. See petit larceny and grand larceny.
• Assault and domestic charges. These cases often come with a protective order or a no-contact bond condition from the start, and a family or household case begins in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court. Talk with us before you speak with anyone involved. See assault and battery.
• Felonies. A felony usually starts with a preliminary hearing in one of the district courts and is tried in Circuit Court. Our Virginia criminal defense page explains how Virginia classifies felonies and misdemeanors and what each class can carry.

What a Prince William Criminal Defense Lawyer Can Do for You

We start with what the Commonwealth has to prove and whether its evidence does it. Depending on the charge, that means the police report, body camera and dash camera video, witness statements, breath or blood test records, lab certificates, search warrants and phone records. It also means asking whether the police had a lawful reason to stop, search, question or arrest you, and whether any test was done the way the law requires.

Then we tell you plainly what we found and what your options are: taking the case to trial, working toward a reduced charge where the evidence supports it, or preparing for sentencing if that is where the case is headed. Mitigation, such as treatment or classes, is a separate conversation from the defense of the charge. You decide which way to go, with the facts in front of you.

What You Should Do Before Court

Gather what may help us understand the case: your summons or warrant, bond papers, any protective order, police paperwork, photos, videos, the names of witnesses, and texts or other messages. For a traffic or DUI charge, bring your driving record if you have a copy. If you have records of treatment, counseling, school or work, keep them too.

Don’t discuss the facts with anyone but your lawyer, and don’t post about the case online. Don’t treat a “minor” charge as harmless; a misdemeanor conviction is a criminal record. Get advice before you plead, pay or sign anything you can’t take back.

Working With Nova Defenders, S&R Law Firm

We are a criminal defense firm, and we also defend DUI and serious traffic charges. Our four attorneys work as one team, and Benjamin Schaefer, our managing partner, is a member of the Prince William County Bar Association. You can read client feedback on our client reviews page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Talk With a Prince William Criminal Defense Attorney Today

A court date in Manassas comes quickly. Before it does, call us. We will look at the charge and the evidence with you and give you a straight answer about where you stand.

Call 703.273.6431 at any hour and you will speak with a real person. The consultation is free, and you can also contact us online.