Case Results

Stay of adjudication to both counts, meaning the client will not be convicted of anything following this incident so long as he complies with minimal and easy terms of probation for just one year. The client had zero defense, as his ex-spouse's therapist witnessed the incident via a zoom meeting. Despite the evidence completely working against him, proactive steps and the thoughtful approach from Mr. Gempeler yielded this critical and incredible outcome for a deserving client.

Plea to a gross misdemeanor DWI with a sentence that ignored the statutory minimums. For a second time offense with an elevated alcohol reading, the client should have had additional time to serve along with a lengthy term of house arrest and probationary period. Instead, the client is not required to serve any additional time, has no house arrest to serve, and is only placed on probation for one-year. This is an incredible outcome, considering the first offer wanted a lengthy term of house arrest, a longer probationary period, and a requirement to enlist in the ignition interlock program. For a client that lives in Iowa, avoiding the hassle with much of this offer was imperative, especially with potential job consequences in play. Thankfully, the North Star team pushed hard for the outcome achieved and the client is very pleased to have retained North Star to fight on his behalf.

Acquittal at trial on ALL nine counts. A vigorous case led to a trial that spilled in to a second week. The North Star team fought tooth and nail the entire case and prepared a strong self-defense and defense of others defense. While the video evidence supported these affirmative defenses, ultimately defending 13 bullets and two innocent minor bystanders getting hit is no easy task. But, Mr. Adkins and Mr. Gempeler were up to the task. After the case was submitted, the jury deliberated for only 3 hours (including the lunch hour) before returning Not Guilty verdicts on all nine counts. The client and his family got the justice he so rightfully deserved and they are thrilled they had the North Star team fighting for them when they needed it the most.

Acquittal at trial. Client was alleged to be impaired by marijuana in his system. But, the evidence was severely lacking and, worse yet, the arresting officer actively misled and lied about field test results in his reports. Needless to say, that led to a thorough dismantling of the officer at trial by Mr. Gempeler's cross-examination - even getting the officer to admit, under oath, that he lied in a search warrant affidavit that he submitted to a judge. The jury needed just 30-minutes of "deliberation" to return a verdict of not guilty. Mr. Gempeler's trial skills, once again, overwhelmed the State's case and made the jurors decision easy in returning this just and correct not guilty verdict.

Plea to an amended count of misdemeanor 4th Degree DWI. Not only did we achieve a plea to a misdemeanor DWI - a much improved record from the gross misdemeanor charge - but the client was placed on unsupervised probation, meaning he never has to meet with probation or pay the probationary charge (a hidden fee that we are always cognizant of and try to avoid if possible). Despite a reading more than two times the legal limit and no viable defenses, the client never served time in custody, has the minimum fine to pay, and never has to deal with probation. A great outcome under these circumstances and the goal the client had in retaining us.

Continuance for dismissal. This is the best possible plea deal one can achieve. The only better outcome is an outright dismissal. And here, there was zero chance of an outright dismissal because the evidence was rock solid. The North Star team was still able to negotiate this fantastic result against a prosecutor that takes these cases serious because of the public safety implications due to our due diligence, strategic approach, and relationship with the prosecutor. Client is thrilled she retained the North Star team to help her through this stressful case.

Continuance for dismissal. Client was facing a bogus charge because he ran his mouth in a very inebriated state of mind. Cop was sensitive and charged him with obstructing legal process. The North Star team brought an aggressive approach, including filing a motion to dismiss for a lack of probable cause. On the date of the hearing, the prosecutor finally offered the only reasonable plea deal that the client should consider. And while we wanted to fight it, the guaranteed outcome for only 6-months was too good to pass up and allowed the client to put this in the past and move forward with his clean record intact.

Stay of adjudication to an amended count of careless driving. This is a remarkable outcome - one that rarely gets approved for DWI's, but one that we've obtained for our clients... multiple times. The North Star team leveraged a strong legal argument in negotiating an outcome where the client removes all risk and assures herself of the non-conviction outcome after abiding by minimal terms of probation for one-year. With the non-conviction outcome available, she could not turn down this incredible outcome. She is thrilled to keep her record clean.