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

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 one of our clients 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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Not guilty after simple assault trial

Jamison Koehler — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 07:11:35 +0000

Back when I was a public defender in Philadelphia, we used to do back-to-back trials in the misdemeanor courtroom. On my best day, I had two “not guilty” verdicts, one right after the other. This feat drew grudging praise from Stuart Schuman, our always difficult-to-please misdemeanor supervisor. When you were doing these back-to-back trials, you never wanted your trial to ...

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Defining “malice” in destruction of property case in D.C.

Jamison Koehler — Sun, 01 Mar 2026 16:08:44 +0000

Roman Wiley (aka Kamaal Mumin) believed he owned a particular house in D.C. This, as it turns out, was a delusion. The real owner, who was renovating the property, kept finding Wiley on the property. At one point, Wiley changed the locks on a wrought-iron gate securing a back door. He did this by unfastening the two screws that kept ...

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“Trumping” the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C.

Jamison Koehler — Sat, 08 Nov 2025 09:32:35 +0000

Donald Trump has the opposite of the “Midas touch”: He diminishes everything he comes into contact with. It is hard, for example, to think of a single individual who has emerged from an association with Trump with an enhanced reputation. Take Rudy Giuliani. He was once “America’s Mayor.” Now he will be forever remembered as the shyster hawking crazy conspiracy ...

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On the doctrine of “inherent incredibility” in Carrington

Jamison Koehler — Tue, 07 Oct 2025 12:24:43 +0000

The D.C. Court of Appeals will typically defer to the trial judge on any question pertaining to the credibility of a witness. After all, it was the trial judge, not the appellate court, who witnessed the testimony in person. A narrow exception to this deference is known as the doctrine of “inherent incredibility.” Judges are only human. A ruling can ...

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