Criminal and DUI Defense in Washington, D.C. | Koehler Law

D.C. Court dismisses petition for anti-stalking order

Jamison Koehler — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 16:56:28 +0000

People seek anti-stalking orders (ASOs) in Washington, D.C. for many different reasons. Some petitions involve conduct that legitimately falls within the protections provided by the ASO statute. Others arise from interpersonal disputes that, while frustrating or upsetting, do not satisfy the statutory requirements for stalking. For example, a person may seek an anti-stalking order because of problems with a neighbor, ...

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Crowded dockets delay CPO and ASO hearings in D.C.

Jamison Koehler — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 17:00:45 +0000

Presiding over civil protection order (CPO) and anti-stalking order (ASO) cases is one of the most demanding assignments for D.C. Superior Court judges. Each morning, parties begin logging on at 8:30 a.m. The calendar typically includes 20 to 40 cases. Two judges—currently Judge McCabe in Courtroom 113 and Judge Truong in Courtroom 114—must move through that crowded docket while dealing ...

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Willful blindness in the reflecting pool cases

Jamison Koehler — Mon, 03 Aug 2026 12:21:48 +0000

At some point, there will be a reckoning. The reckoning may be a public one: Lawyers hauled before the D.C. bar to face potential disciplinary proceedings. It may also be a purely private reckoning. It may be looking into the mirror and asking oneself the question: Am I proud of how I acted during this time? ***** On June 20, ...

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Burglary, robbery and assault charges dismissed

Jamison Koehler — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 11:45:27 +0000

The government’s case was problematic from the outset. Ring cameras do not lie. Body-worn cameras do not lie. CCTV footage does not lie. Phone records do not lie. The physical evidence gathered by our investigator, Robert Kapler, overwhelmingly demonstrated that the complainant’s allegations were false. Every objective source of evidence contradicted her account. The Burglary Charge The complainant told police ...

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Should your CPO/ASO case “trail” your criminal matter?

Jamison Koehler — Sat, 04 Apr 2026 11:40:22 +0000

Domestic violence charges in criminal court are frequently accompanied by a petition for a civil protection order (CPO) or anti-stalking order (ASO). This is because one incident can lead to two separate cases – one criminal and the other civil. The target of misconduct allegations can be simultaneously the defendant in a criminal case and the respondent in a civil ...

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Hit-and-run charges dismissed in D.C.

Jamison Koehler — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 11:12:15 +0000

The government has dismissed charges against a Koehler Law client in a hit-and-run case. Our client was accused of leaving the scene of an accident involving personal injury without calling police or providing identifying information. We were able to produce evidence that our client had in fact called 3-1-1, which is the non-emergency number for police. We also had an ...

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Should I consent to a “CPO without admissions?”

Jamison Koehler — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 11:13:51 +0000

If you are the Respondent in a civil protection order case, everyone else involved in the proceedings will want you to agree to a “consent CPO without admissions.” With 30 to 40 cases on the docket each day, the court wants to avoid a trial. The petitioner will be awarded the protection order risk-free. And it will be attorney-negotiator’s job ...

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Resisting arrest charges dismissed in D.C.

Jamison Koehler — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 11:36:03 +0000

Resisting arrest charges against a Koehler Law client were dismissed recently by the government. This was after our trusty investigator Robert Kapler secured surveillance recordings that conclusively disproved the claims of Secret Service officers. As I often tell Robert, sometimes our wins are attributable to my legal acumen. Other times we win because of what he produces. This win belongs ...

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Koehler Law honored as top 100 legal blog

Jamison Koehler — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 13:22:42 +0000

I received notice the other day that my criminal defense blog – the Koehler Law blog – has been included as a top 100 legal blog by Feedspot. This is an honor. I know that many such honors are extended as a way either to generate revenue for the party doing the honoring or to attract clicks through back-linking. Many ...

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D.C.’s ban on 11+ magazines is unconstitutional

Jamison Koehler — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 16:13:38 +0000

The D.C. Court of Appeals has struck down as unconstitutional the District’s ban on high capacity magazines for firearms. Specifically, the court found recently in Benson v. United States, 2026 D.C. App. LEXIS 80, that the prohibition against magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition – what the court refers to as 11+ magazines – violates ...

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