Bradley Rittenhouse Haywood

Overview:

• 14 years of criminal defense experience.
• Over 300 trials, including over thirty juries.
• Extensive appellate and habeas experience.
• Columbia Law School, Juris Doctor.
• University of Michigan, B.A., Philosophy.
• Death penalty certified by Commonwealth of Virginia.
• Professor of law and lecturer on advanced criminal justice topics.
• Client-centered practice.
• Avvo 10.0 rated.
• Super Lawyers, Virginia 2016 & 2017.
• Founder of Justice Forward Virginia.

Brad Haywood has practiced criminal defense exclusively for over 14 years, including 8 years as a public defender and 6 in private practice with Sheldon, Flood & Haywood. In the course of his career he has represented thousands of clients and participated in over 300 trials, including more than 30 jury trials. Mr. Haywood also has extensive experience with criminal appeals and post-conviction claims, including clemency petitions and writs of habeas corpus alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. Haywood is certified by the Commonwealth of Virginia to represent defendants charged with capital murder, having served as lead or co-counsel on more than half a dozen capital defense teams. He received his law degree from Columbia University, and his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan.

Mr. Haywood is respected for scholarship, leadership and innovation in his field. He has been employed as a professor of law (trial advocacy) with American University, Washington College of Law, and presented at some of the most esteemed legal seminars in the Commonwealth: the Virginia Bar Association's Capital Defense Workshop, the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission Public Defender Conference, and the Robert E. Shepherd Juvenile Law & Education Conference, among others. He is the founder of Justice Forward Virginia (www.justiceforwardva.com), a political action committee that advocates for criminal justice reform in Virginia. 

In addition to a 10.0 rating on Avvo, Haywood has been acknowledged by SuperLawyers in both 2016 and 2017 as among the top-5% of Virginia criminal defense attorneys.

Mr. Haywood maintains offices in Fairfax and Alexandria, VA. However, he practices throughout the Commonwealth, and has represented clients in Alexandria, Fairfax, Arlington, Loudoun, Prince William, Fauquier, Waynesboro, Charlottesville, Madison, Lexington, Norfolk and Suffolk.

Mr. Haywood handles state and federal case-types including but not limited to the following:

Criminal Misdemeanors: Assault & Harassment (assault and battery, domestic violence, phone threats, violations of protective orders, stalking); Property Crimes (trespass, unlawful entry, destruction of property, vandalism, petit larceny, shoplifting, embezzlement, ID fraud); Public Order (public intoxication, disorderly conduct, obstruct justice/resisting arrest, indecent exposure, contributing to delinquency of a minor); Drugs & Alcohol (possession of marijuana, distribution of marijuana, possession of xanax/klonopin, possession of drug paraphernalia, underage possession of alcohol); Weapons Violations (possession of concealed weapon, brandishing, unlawful discharge of a firearm).

Traffic: Driving while intoxicated, reckless driving, improper driving, revoked/suspended license, no valid operator’s license, hit & run, speeding, sign violations, expired tags.

Felonies: Narcotics & Firearms (possession of sch. I/II narcotics (cocaine, amphetamine, heroin, opiates/opiods, PCP, LSD, BHO, etc), drug distribution, drug manufacturing, conspiracy/racketeering, unlawful possession/sale of firearms); Property & Fraud Crimes (burglary, destruction of property, grand larceny, credit card theft/fraud, forging/uttering, embezzlement, ID theft/fraud); Violent Crimes (robbery, malicious wounding, unlawful wounding, malicious wounding by mob, manslaughter, murder, capital murder, attempts/conspiracies); Sex Offenses (rape, aggravated sexual battery, indecent liberties, child sex crimes, child pornography); White Collar (embezzlement, counterfeiting, wire/bank fraud, structuring, tax evasion, insurance fraud, money laundering); Conspiracies/Racketeering; Terrorism.

Juvenile delinquency: Misdemeanor & Felony; Transfer & Certification

Post-conviction: Criminal appeals (direct appeals, state & federal); Habeas corpus (ineffective assistance of counsel, due process); Post-conviction motions (motion to withdraw plea, motion to set aside the verdict, motion for forensic testing); Expungements; Clemency Petitions (pardons).