Arlington County Detention Facility

At the Arlington County Detention Facility next to the courthouse, 1435 N. Courthouse Road, Arlington, VA 22201. The jail phone is 703-228-4460.

The magistrate office is at 2020 North 15th Street, Arlington, VA 22201; call 703-228-3961. It serves Arlington and Falls Church and sets bail soon after booking (Va. Code § 19.2-80).

Under state law the starting point is release: bail is denied only when there is probable cause of flight risk or of real danger to others (Va. Code § 19.2-120). The magistrate looks at the charge, the evidence, the record and the person’s job, family and ability to pay (Va. Code § 19.2-121).

Arlington has a pretrial services program. A judicial officer can release someone to that agency, which checks in with them, runs ordered drug tests and reports to the court (Va. Code § 19.2-123; Va. Code § 19.2-152.4:3).

Yes, with the Arlington County inmate search. Booking can take a few hours to show.

The General District Court at 1425 North Courthouse Road, Suite 2400, Second Floor, Arlington, VA 22201 (703-228-7900) sees the person on the first day it sits if they are still held, and can review bail within three business days of a motion (Va. Code § 19.2-158). Indicted felonies go to the Circuit Court, 1425 North Courthouse Road, Arlington, VA 22201, 703-228-7010. Federal arrests go to the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria, not to these courts.

Arlington police book the person at the Detention Facility beside the courthouse, then a magistrate on North 15th Street decides on release without unreasonable delay (Va. Code § 19.2-80). The choices are a promise to appear, an unsecured bond or a secured bond (Va. Code § 19.2-123).

The magistrate at 2020 North 15th Street, Arlington, VA 22201, 703-228-3961, is open around the clock (Va. Code § 19.2-48.1). Pay in cash, pledge Virginia property with equity, or use a DCJS-licensed bondsman (Va. Code § 9.1-185); their fee is 10% to 15% and is kept (Va. Code § 9.1-185.8).

Someone still locked up sees a district judge the following court day, usually by video (Va. Code § 19.2-158), and learns about a lawyer (Va. Code § 19.2-159). Later bail motions are heard within three business days. Circuit Court, 703-228-7010, takes appeals (Va. Code § 19.2-124).

General District Court in Suite 2400 of the courthouse, 703-228-7900, takes misdemeanors and felony preliminary hearings (Va. Code § 19.2-218). A misdemeanor verdict can be appealed in 10 days (Va. Code § 16.1-132). Juvenile and family cases (Va. Code § 16.1-241) go to JDR in Suite 4100 of the Justice Center, 703-228-4495.

It brings a capias, a forfeited bond and maybe a new charge, which is a Class 1 misdemeanor or Class 6 felony depending on the original case (Va. Code § 19.2-128). Call the clerk right away.

Yes (Va. Code § 19.2-123). Domestic arrests normally carry an emergency protective order (Va. Code § 16.1-253.4). A warrant from another state is ruled on here (Va. Code § 19.2-102) and can hold someone past the local bond (Va. Code § 19.2-85).

Federal court for Arlington is the Eastern District of Virginia courthouse in nearby Alexandria. Release follows federal law (18 U.S.C. § 3142).

The Detention Facility is at 1435 North Courthouse Road, Arlington, VA 22201, 703-228-4460. Call for visit hours and deposit methods. The inmate search shows moves to state prison.

A surety may owe the bond after a no-show (Va. Code § 19.2-143) but can surrender the defendant (Va. Code § 19.2-149). Cash bail is returned at the end, less fines and costs, if the defendant attended every hearing. Release after posting usually takes an hour or two.

Jail: 703-228-4460. Magistrate: 703-228-3961. District court: 703-228-7900. Circuit Court clerk: 703-228-7010.

Arlington County is a compact, urban county across the Potomac from Washington, D.C., with no incorporated towns inside it; county government and every criminal court operate from the Arlington County Justice Center on North Courthouse Road. Charges start in the Arlington General District Court or, for family-violence and youth cases, the Arlington Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court, and felonies are tried in the Arlington Circuit Court, the single court of Virginia's 17th Judicial Circuit, which also serves the neighboring City of Falls Church. One elected official, the Commonwealth's Attorney for Arlington County and the City of Falls Church, prosecutes cases from both localities, and a state public defender office represents people who qualify. Adults held after arrest stay with the Sheriff at the Arlington County Detention Facility, next door to the courtrooms, until a magistrate or judge sets bail they can meet.

• Arlington Circuit Court and Clerk of the Circuit Court (17th Judicial Circuit), Arlington County Justice Center, 1425 North Courthouse Road, Suite 6100, Arlington, VA 22201, (703) 228-7010; criminal division (703) 228-4399
• Arlington General District Court, 1425 North Courthouse Road, Suite 2400, Arlington, VA 22201; clerk's office (criminal and traffic) (703) 228-7900
• Arlington Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court, 1425 North Courthouse Road, Suite 4100, Arlington, VA 22201 (mail: P.O. Box 925, Arlington, VA 22216), (703) 228-4495
• Magistrate's office serving Arlington County (17th District, Magisterial Region 5), (703) 228-3961; regional office listing 2001 Mill Road, Alexandria, VA 22314
• 17th District Court Service Unit (juvenile intake for Arlington and Falls Church), 1425 North Courthouse Road, Suite 5100, Arlington, VA 22201, (703) 228-4600
• Office of the Commonwealth's Attorney for Arlington County and the City of Falls Church, 1425 North Courthouse Road, Suite 5200, Arlington, VA 22201, (703) 228-4410
• Office of the Public Defender for Arlington County and the City of Falls Church (Virginia Indigent Defense Commission), 2200 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22201, (703) 875-1111
• Arlington County Sheriff's Office, 1425 North Courthouse Road, Suite 9100, Arlington, VA 22201, (703) 228-4460
• Arlington County Police Department, 1425 North Courthouse Road, Arlington, VA 22201; non-emergency line (703) 558-2222
• Arlington County Detention Facility, 1435 North Courthouse Road, Arlington, VA 22201; Sheriff's Office front desk (703) 228-4460
• Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center, 200 South Whiting Street, Alexandria, VA 22304, (703) 751-3700

Which court hears your case. In Arlington, a misdemeanor or traffic charge, such as shoplifting, a first DUI, reckless driving or trespassing, is decided by a judge of the Arlington General District Court; there are no juries in that court, and a person who is convicted has 10 days to note an appeal to the Arlington Circuit Court, where the case is heard fresh and a jury may be requested. When the alleged victim is a family or household member (assault and battery on a spouse, partner, parent or child, for example), or when the accused person or the victim is a juvenile, the case belongs to the Arlington Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court. A felony begins in the General District Court (or the JDR court when the victim is a family member) with a preliminary hearing; after a grand jury indictment, the case moves upstairs to the Arlington Circuit Court for plea or trial.

Where pretrial inmates are held. The Arlington County Sheriff's Office runs the Arlington County Detention Facility at 1435 North Courthouse Road, directly connected to the Justice Center, so most people in custody are walked or brought by secure passage to court rather than driven. It is a Sheriff-operated county jail, not a regional jail, and it also houses adults arrested in the City of Falls Church under a services agreement between the two governments. People are booked there after an arrest by Arlington County police, the Sheriff, Virginia State Police or other agencies working in the county, and they remain there if the magistrate orders them held or sets a secured bond they cannot post. For information about a person in custody, call the Sheriff's Office at (703) 228-4460.

Virginia does not have municipal, town or mayor's courts, so every criminal charge filed in Arlington goes to one of three state courts. Arlington is also unusual among Virginia counties because it contains no incorporated towns at all; neighborhoods such as Clarendon, Ballston, Rosslyn, Crystal City, Shirlington and Columbia Pike are simply parts of the county, and charges from any of them are filed in the Arlington General District Court, the Arlington JDR court or the Arlington Circuit Court. All three courts, the Sheriff, the police headquarters and the prosecutor share the same address on North Courthouse Road.

• Arlington General District Court (second floor, Suite 2400): traffic infractions, misdemeanors, preliminary hearings in adult felonies and bond reviews. Clerk's office (703) 228-7900, open 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on weekdays.
• Arlington Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court (Suite 4100): delinquency petitions against anyone under 18, adult charges involving family or household members, protective orders and offenses against children. Clerk's office (703) 228-4495.
• Arlington Circuit Court (Suite 6100): felony indictments, jury trials, and appeals from both district courts. Clerk of the Circuit Court (703) 228-7010; criminal division (703) 228-4399.
• Magistrate: the magistrate's office for the 17th District, part of Magisterial Region 5, answers at (703) 228-3961 and handles arrest warrants, summonses, release decisions, search warrants and emergency protective orders at any hour.
• 17th District Court Service Unit: juvenile intake and probation for Arlington and Falls Church, Suite 5100, (703) 228-4600.
• Commonwealth's Attorney: Suite 5200, (703) 228-4410, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Public defender: Office of the Public Defender for Arlington County and the City of Falls Church, 2200 Wilson Boulevard, (703) 875-1111.
• Law enforcement: Arlington County Police Department (non-emergency (703) 558-2222) and the Arlington County Sheriff's Office ((703) 228-4460). Federal and regional agencies such as the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, the U.S. Park Police and the Metro Transit Police also make arrests inside the county, and state charges they file still land in these courts.

Cell phones are not allowed inside the Arlington courthouse, so plan to leave yours in the car or at home on a court date.

The 17th Judicial Circuit is one of the smallest circuits in Virginia by land area: it consists of Arlington County and the City of Falls Church, and its Circuit Court sits in the Justice Center at 1425 North Courthouse Road, a short walk from the Courthouse Metro station on the Orange and Silver lines. The building holds the courtrooms, the clerks' offices, the Commonwealth's Attorney and the Court Service Unit, and the jail is attached to it.

• Circuit Court judges and terms. Four Circuit Court judges hear cases. The court's terms open six times a year, on the first Monday of January, March, May, July, September and November, and the regular grand jury meets on the last Monday of each month.
• Criminal motions. Evidentiary motions in criminal cases, such as motions to suppress, are heard on the first and third Thursdays of the month.
• The district courts. The General District Court sits on the second floor and the JDR court on the fourth; Falls Church district-court cases are heard in that city's own combined court on Park Avenue, but Falls Church felonies come to this Circuit Court.
• Checking a case. Each court's clerk can confirm the next hearing date by phone, and hearing dates for traffic and criminal cases can also be looked up through the state courts' public case information system.

If you were summoned for a court date and cannot find your courtroom, the clerk's office of the court named on your summons is the right first stop; the summons or warrant lists which court (General District, JDR or Circuit) and the time.

An adult arrested in Arlington is usually brought to the Sheriff's intake area at the Arlington County Detention Facility. Officers take fingerprints and photographs, property is inventoried, and the arresting officer presents the facts to a magistrate, often over a video link. The magistrate is a judicial officer, not a police officer, and decides two things: whether there is probable cause to issue a warrant or summons, and whether the person can be released before trial.

• Release options. The magistrate can release someone on a personal recognizance bond (a written promise to appear), an unsecured bond (a promise to pay a set amount only if the person fails to appear), or a secured bond that must be posted in cash or through a licensed bail bondsman. Virginia's Department of Criminal Justice Services licenses the bondsmen who post these.
• What the magistrate weighs. Since 2021, Virginia law no longer presumes that people charged with certain offenses should be held; instead, the magistrate looks at whether the person is likely to come back to court and whether release would endanger anyone. Prior record, ties to the area and the nature of the charge all matter.
• Pretrial supervision. Arlington's pretrial services program, operated through the county's community corrections staff, can supervise people released before trial, with check-ins, drug testing or other conditions a magistrate or judge sets. The same county program serves Falls Church cases.
• Asking a judge. Someone who is still held can ask a General District Court judge (or a JDR judge for family and juvenile cases) for a bond hearing, usually with help from the public defender or a private lawyer. A judge's decision can be appealed to the Circuit Court.
• Protective orders. In domestic cases, the magistrate often issues an emergency protective order that bars contact with the alleged victim for a few days, until the JDR court can hold a hearing on a longer order.

The first court appearance, called an advisement or arraignment, is normally held on the next day the court is in session. For someone in custody, that usually means video from the jail. The judge reads the charge, reviews release, and asks whether the person will hire a lawyer, wants a court-appointed one, or will waive counsel. People who cannot afford a lawyer fill out a financial statement, and the court usually appoints the public defender.

The Arlington County Detention Facility is the county's adult jail, run by the elected Arlington County Sheriff at 1435 North Courthouse Road. It holds men and women awaiting trial in the Arlington and Falls Church courts, people serving local sentences of 12 months or less, and people waiting to be moved to a state prison after a felony sentence. The Sheriff's Office also provides courtroom security and transports inmates between the jail and the courtrooms.

• Who is housed there. Arlington arrestees and adults charged in the City of Falls Church; the Falls Church agreement covers detention, booking, medical care, court security and pretrial services. The jail has also held federal pretrial detainees under an agreement with the U.S. Marshals Service.
• Posting bail. A secured bond set by the magistrate or a judge can be posted in cash or through a licensed bondsman; the Sheriff's Office front desk can explain current procedures.
• Calling about an inmate. The Sheriff's Office front desk is (703) 228-4460. Have the person's full name and date of birth ready.
• After sentencing. Sentences of more than 12 months for a felony are served in the Virginia Department of Corrections, and the person stays in the county jail until the state transfers them.

Juveniles are not held at this jail. Youths detained by the JDR court go to the Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center in Alexandria, described in the juvenile section below.

The Office of the Public Defender for Arlington County and the City of Falls Church is a state office under the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission. It is located at 2200 Wilson Boulevard and can be reached at (703) 875-1111. Its lawyers handle jailable charges in the General District, JDR and Circuit Courts for people the court finds unable to pay a private attorney, including adults and juveniles.

• How to ask. Tell the magistrate after arrest, and say so again to the judge at the first appearance. The court will have you complete a financial statement under oath; blank forms are also kept at the clerk's office of the court where your case is pending (General District Court clerk (703) 228-7900).
• Conflicts. When the public defender cannot take a case, for instance because it already represents a co-defendant or a witness, the judge appoints a private lawyer from the court's list of qualified attorneys.
• Cost. Representation is free at the start, but if the person is convicted, the court can add the state's fee for appointed counsel to the court costs.
• Fine-only charges. Offenses that cannot lead to jail, such as most traffic infractions, generally do not qualify for an appointed lawyer.

The public defender's lawyers also take part in Arlington's treatment dockets, described below, so asking them about eligibility early can help.

Criminal cases in Arlington are prosecuted by the Commonwealth's Attorney for Arlington County and the City of Falls Church, an elected official whose office is in Suite 5200 of the Justice Center, (703) 228-4410. Assistant Commonwealth's Attorneys appear in all three courts, decide which charges to pursue, and negotiate plea agreements. Police officers sometimes handle minor traffic matters themselves in General District Court, but the prosecutor's office may step into any case.

• Victim/Witness services. The office's victim/witness staff explain the court process to crime victims, give notice of hearings, help with restitution requests and support victims who testify, as the Crime Victim and Witness Rights Act provides.
• Deferred dispositions. For some first offenses, including first-offender drug possession and certain family assaults, Virginia law lets a judge defer the case and later dismiss it if the person completes conditions such as classes, community service and good behavior. The prosecutor's position often shapes whether this is offered.
• Treatment-based options. The office takes part in the Recovery Treatment Court and must approve referrals there; it can also agree to felony cases entering the Behavioral Health Docket.
• Charging changes. Prosecutors can reduce a charge (for example, a felony to a misdemeanor) as part of a negotiated plea, or drop it when the evidence will not support it.

Anyone with a pending case should talk with defense counsel before contacting the prosecutor's office directly about the facts.

Arlington runs two judge-supervised treatment programs aimed at people whose cases are driven by addiction or mental illness. Both are voluntary, both involve frequent court check-ins, and both depend on a team that includes the judge, the prosecutor, the public defender, probation or pretrial staff and treatment providers from the county's behavioral health services.

• Recovery Treatment Court (Circuit Court). Arlington's recovery court, which grew out of its earlier drug court, meets on Thursday mornings in a Circuit Court courtroom and is open to the public. It is designed for people on probation who have violated their terms because of a substance use problem. Admission requires the Commonwealth's Attorney's approval, and participants follow a structured treatment plan with regular testing and court reviews.
• Behavioral Health Docket (General District Court). This docket is for Arlington residents, including people who have been homeless in Arlington, who are 18 or older and have a serious mental illness, developmental disability or a dual diagnosis. It mainly takes misdemeanor cases; a felony can enter only if the Commonwealth's Attorney agrees. Screening looks at the person's risk of reoffending and treatment needs.

Referrals usually come through defense counsel. A person who thinks they might qualify should raise it with their lawyer as soon as possible, because entry may require a plea or agreement on specific conditions.

Most misdemeanor arrests in Arlington end with release the same day: the magistrate commonly issues a summons or a recognizance bond, and the person goes home with a court date in the Arlington General District Court. Someone held instead waits at the Arlington County Detention Facility and sees a judge by video on the next court day.

Penalty ranges. Virginia sorts misdemeanors into four classes:

• Class 1: the court may impose jail of up to 12 months, a fine as high as $2,500, or the two together. Petit larceny (property worth less than $1,000), simple assault and battery, and trespassing after being told to leave all fall here.
• Class 2: as much as 6 months in jail and a fine up to $1,000.
• Class 3 and Class 4: fines only, capped at $500 and $250.

A first DUI. Driving under the influence is a Class 1 misdemeanor. The license is suspended administratively for 7 days at arrest. A conviction brings a fine of at least $250, a one-year license revocation (a restricted license with an ignition interlock may be allowed), and enrollment in the Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program (VASAP). A blood alcohol level of 0.15 to 0.20 means at least 5 days in jail, and anything above 0.20 means at least 10 days.

Family assaults. When the person hit or threatened is a spouse, partner, relative or someone living in the household, the case is heard in the Arlington JDR court instead. A first offender may be offered a deferred disposition that ends in dismissal; someone with two earlier family-assault convictions can face a felony charge for the third.

How the case moves. At arraignment the judge explains the charge and handles the lawyer question; the public defender is appointed for eligible people facing possible jail. The case is then set for trial before a judge, often within a few weeks. Results include dismissal, a deferred disposition, a fine, a suspended jail sentence with probation, or active jail time. Either side's case is heard all over again if the defendant appeals to the Arlington Circuit Court within 10 days; a jury may be requested there. A straightforward misdemeanor usually finishes in one to three months, longer with an appeal. Virginia's record-sealing law may later allow some misdemeanor charges and convictions to be sealed; a lawyer can check eligibility.

A felony arrest in Arlington goes through the same magistrate step as any other charge, but release is less automatic: the magistrate may set a secured bond or hold the person at the Arlington County Detention Facility, and a General District Court judge reviews the decision at the first appearance. Felony penalties in Virginia run by class:

• Class 3: 5 to 20 years. Malicious wounding and nighttime burglary of a home are examples (a burglar armed with a deadly weapon faces a Class 2 charge).
• Class 4: 2 to 10 years.
• Class 5: 1 to 10 years, or up to 12 months in jail at the judge's discretion. Possessing a Schedule I or II drug such as cocaine, heroin or fentanyl is a Class 5 felony.
• Class 6: a prison range of 1 to 5 years, which a judge or jury may replace with a jail term of 12 months or less. Unlawful wounding is in this class.
• Grand larceny (property worth $1,000 or more) carries 1 to 20 years or up to 12 months in jail; possession with intent to distribute a Schedule I or II drug carries 5 to 40 years for a first offense, with mandatory minimums for large amounts. Possessing an ounce or less of marijuana is legal for adults 21 and over in Virginia, though sales outside the law are still prosecuted.

Preliminary hearing. The General District Court holds a preliminary hearing to decide whether there is probable cause. If the judge finds there is, the case is certified to the grand jury, which in Arlington meets monthly. Prosecutors can also go directly to the grand jury for an indictment without a preliminary hearing.

Circuit Court. After indictment, the defendant is arraigned in the Arlington Circuit Court. Most cases end with a plea agreement. A defendant who goes to trial may choose a judge or a jury of 12 that must agree unanimously; since July 2021 the judge decides the sentence unless the defendant asks the jury to do it. Virginia's sentencing guidelines are advisory, and the judge receives a presentence report before imposing sentence.

Timing and sentences. Under Virginia's speedy-trial statute, a defendant held in custody must generally be tried within five months after the probable-cause finding, and one who is free on bond within nine months, subject to exceptions such as continuances the defense requests. Most Arlington felony cases take somewhere between four months and a year to finish. Parole was abolished for felonies committed on or after January 1, 1995, although earned sentence credits can shorten time served, and sentences longer than 12 months go to the Department of Corrections. The public defender represents eligible defendants from the first appearance through trial and sentencing.

Homicides, sexual assaults, armed robberies and similar charges in Arlington follow the felony path, but with higher stakes at every stage. A magistrate seldom releases a person accused of a violent crime, so the first bail argument usually happens in front of a General District Court judge, and a defendant who is denied release can ask the Arlington Circuit Court to reconsider. Most people charged with these crimes remain in the Arlington County Detention Facility for the life of the case.

• Aggravated murder (renamed from capital murder in 2021): Class 1 felony, punished by life imprisonment. Virginia abolished the death penalty in 2021.
• First-degree murder: a Class 2 felony that the Arlington Circuit Court can punish with anywhere from 20 years up to life. Second-degree murder: 5 to 40 years.
• Rape and robbery: each 5 years to life.
• Aggravated malicious wounding: an Arlington conviction for this Class 2 felony carries a sentence of at least 20 years and as much as life.

These cases are usually indicted by the grand jury and tried in the Arlington Circuit Court, where both sides may need expert witnesses, forensic testing and extensive discovery. As a result, one to two years from arrest to verdict is common. Victims and their families can rely on the victim/witness staff of the Commonwealth's Attorney's office for case updates, help preparing to testify, and notice of plea offers and sentencing, under the Crime Victim and Witness Rights Act. Defendants who qualify are represented by the public defender at (703) 875-1111 or by a court-appointed lawyer certified for serious felony cases.

Anyone under 18 who is accused of a crime in Arlington comes under the Arlington Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court, not the adult General District Court. The first decision belongs to an intake officer at the 17th District Court Service Unit (the Court Service Unit for Arlington and Falls Church), Suite 5100 of the Justice Center, (703) 228-4600.

• Intake. The officer reviews the complaint and decides whether to file a petition with the court, divert a minor first offense to an informal program (an apology, restitution, counseling or community service), or, for serious charges or a risk to safety, order the youth detained.
• Detention. Arlington youths who are detained are held at the Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center, 200 South Whiting Street in Alexandria, (703) 751-3700, which serves Arlington, Alexandria and Falls Church. A detention hearing before a JDR judge must take place within 72 hours, on the next day the court sits, and the judge decides whether the child stays detained or goes home with conditions.
• Lawyers and prosecutors. The Commonwealth's Attorney prosecutes juvenile cases, and the public defender's office represents children whose families cannot pay. A parent or guardian is expected to attend.
• Outcomes. A JDR judge can dismiss the case, defer it, place the child on probation supervised by the Court Service Unit, order community programs or treatment, or, for serious or repeated offenses, commit the child to the Department of Juvenile Justice, which may place the youth at Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center or in a community placement.
• Adult court. A child 14 or older charged with certain serious felonies can be transferred to the Arlington Circuit Court after a transfer hearing in JDR court. For the most serious charges, such as murder or aggravated malicious wounding, the law allows the Commonwealth's Attorney to have a 16- or 17-year-old certified for trial as an adult once a judge finds probable cause at a preliminary hearing.

Juvenile court files and records are kept confidential in most cases, although there are exceptions for serious felonies and for some older juveniles.

Arlington is in the Eastern District of Virginia, and its federal criminal cases go to the Alexandria Division at the Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse, 401 Courthouse Square, Alexandria, VA 22314 (clerk's office (703) 299-2107), a few miles south of the county line.

When a case becomes federal. Arlington hosts more federal property than almost any other county in Virginia. Offenses on the Pentagon reservation, at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall (Fort Myer), at Arlington National Cemetery or along the George Washington Memorial Parkway are often charged in federal court; petty offenses there typically go before a federal magistrate judge, while felonies go to a district judge. Away from federal land, federal prosecutors also bring drug trafficking, gun possession by prohibited people, bank robbery, child exploitation and fraud cases, sometimes after a state arrest.

• Prosecutor. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia has its Alexandria office at 2100 Jamieson Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22314, (703) 299-3700.
• Defense. The Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Eastern District of Virginia, 1650 King Street, Alexandria, represents people who cannot afford counsel; when it has a conflict, the court appoints a private lawyer from its Criminal Justice Act panel.
• First steps. After a federal arrest, the person sees a U.S. magistrate judge for an initial appearance. If the government asks for detention, a hearing is generally held within three court days. Applying the federal pretrial release statute, the judge either lets the person go the person on conditions supervised by U.S. Pretrial Services (Alexandria probation and pretrial office, (703) 299-2300) or orders detention.
• Indictment and speed. A person charged by complaint must be indicted within 30 days, and the Speedy Trial Act sets a 70-day clock to trial. The Eastern District is known as the "rocket docket," and Alexandria cases often move to trial or plea much faster than in other federal courts.
• Trial and sentencing. Most cases resolve by plea. Twelve jurors decide a federal trial, and their verdict has to be unanimous. A federal probation officer writes a presentence report ahead of the sentencing date, and the judge considers the advisory federal Sentencing Guidelines and any mandatory minimum. There is no parole in the federal system, so people serve about 85 percent of the sentence in the Bureau of Prisons, followed by supervised release. Appeals go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

To find a federal prisoner, use the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator, which accepts a name or a register number. Pretrial federal defendants are sometimes boarded by the Marshals Service in local or regional jails (Arlington's has had such a contract), and in that case the housing jail's roster may list them too. Federal charges against juveniles are rare; Arlington youth cases nearly always stay in the JDR court.