— James Abrenio For one inmate of a Northern Virginia jail who was in a mood, the presentation of a meal created a buffet of problems. When a law-enforcement officer inserted the tray through the slat in the metal door, the inmate pushed the tray back. The tray fell to the floor, and some of the water bounced off the floor and landed on the officer's shoes. "And so they charged him with assault on a law enforcement officer because the water hit his shoes," said James Abrenio, a lawyer who represented the inmate. The inmate was being held on a minor probation violation when the incident happened. But that incident with the water on the shoes created a new problem for him. He was now charged with felony assault against the officer, a charge that comes with a mandatory minimum of six months behind bars. Suddenly that cup of water created a flood of problems that left him drowning in trouble. Abrenio says he would have loved to have brought that case to trial because of the absurdity of the charge, but the indigent inmate was more interested in cutting a deal with prosecutors than challenging the system.