Law Firm of David Paul Morgan

First, talk to nobody.  Understand that the police and prosecutors are not your friends.  If they are talking to you they want you to fill in some blanks (in other words, they are waiting for you to make their case for them).  Understand that anyone with whom you talk, except your lawyer and your spouse (if you talk to them alone AND if the crime does not involve them) can and will be called to testify against you.  The bottom line is, most people do not need better lawyers, they need fewer witnesses!

First you will go to court and they will ask you if you have an attorney.  Next you will have a Preliminary Hearing during which the prosecutors will present just enough evidence for the judge to find probable cause that you committed a crime.  Next you go to the Grand Jury where they will determine if there is probable cause enough to send the case to a felony trial.  If the Grand Jury returns a true bill of indictment then you will have a trial either in front of a judge or a jury.

If you are tried by a jury, the jury will usually sentence you at a separate sentencing hearing immediately after the trial.  The jury will deliberate on the sentence and then, after a unanimous decision, will fix the sentence.  Your defense lawyer will then move the court for a pre-sentence report which could take weeks.  After the pre-sentence report comes in, there will be a separate hearing wherein your lawyer will ask the judge for suspension and probation, and then the judge will announce the sentence in open court.

If you are tried by a judge, the judge will sentence you and the process will be similar to above except that the judge will not announce a sentence until after the pre-sentence report has come in.

No.  There is no parole anymore in Virginia.

As in every other state in the country, Virginia law provides that you are presumptively under the influence of alcohol if your blood alcohol level is greater than .08, PERIOD.  If you are under 21, any level of alcohol in your blood is enough to sustain a conviction of possession of alcohol by consumption and can result in your losing your license to drive.