Mr. Dischley saved me from jail. I was caught driving at almost 100 mph on a 50 mph George Washington Parkway near the CIA headquarters, the Park Police pulled me off the road and arrested me for about an hour. I wasn’t really doing anything stupid: I was on a family trip with my wife and in-laws, and I simply sped too much to get rid of a zig-zagging car –actually, I was driving a rental. I had a speeding ticket and, most seriously, a reckless driving. Court hearing was in three months. This was a very difficult case, since this is Virginia, the speed was almost double the limit, and it was a Parkway: federal jurisdiction. So, I went to Alexandria US Courthouse.
The law said it could be up to 6 months of jail, and I read everywhere that when speed was above 85 it was almost impossible to avoid going to jail for at least a couple of days or weeks. My family was in a critical situation, and we simply couldn’t bare the idea. We were panicking, we had no one to ask for help or advice. After a bunch of research, I found Mr. Dischley, who during the free consultation made me feel confident about his experience and knowledge, and his own personal story and circumstances gave me a good hunch.
Mr. Dischley was extremely professional and comforting. At first, maybe we thought it was going to be easier, that we would make an agreement with the government to drop the reckless charge. He sent me to do 60 hours of community service and both defensive and aggressive driving courses. This is a lot. Unfortunately, the government had changed their policy in the last month (there was a new Attorney General), and on the hearing day there was no agreement, so we decided to go to trial. Three more months.
Mr. Dischley suggested taking another 50 hours of community service, and after that, when the trial was approaching, he contacted the prosecutor once again and was able to finally make an agreement. I would plead guilty, and they would refrain from explicitly asking for jail time, leaving it to the court’s criteria. He helped me prepare a good statement and recommended I bring my family (from across the country). On the disposition, the judge said that she was convinced to give me jail time, but after listening to Mr. Dischley’s defense describing the circumstances of the event and my profile, my own statement, and considering the 110 hours of community service, and that the prosecutor did not ask for jail, she decided to only suspend my license for six months, put me on probation, and a fine.
I consider this case a win since everything indicated that I would probably be behind bars at this moment. I did something wrong that posed a great risk, but jail was simply out of any proportion, and that was very difficult to prove. Mr. Dischley did an excellent job understanding all the facts, exploring my background and profile, recommending the course of action, and truly caring for me. He replied to all my emails and worked hard in the case, even when he charged me a flat fee at the beginning. I highlight that he has a deep human touch and compassion for the victim, he is honest about the possible outcomes and knows most of the people in the circuit.
Read less