Case Results

Plea to an amended charge of Careless Driving. Client had no defenses and a reading right on the fringe of viability to plead down from a DWI. Thankfully, the client took immediate proactive steps to position herself for this outcome. And armed with these steps - above and beyond what is typical - not only did the North Star team successfully avoid a DWI conviction, but the client was placed on unsupervised probation and faced a reduced fine. She was thrilled with this outcome, knowing that this conviction record will not hold her back from her lofty career aspirations.

Departure granted. Sentenced as a gross misdemeanor over the State's strenuous argument. The client had made drunken threats of shooting up a bar and made a hand-gun motion. Despite this, the North Star team convinced the judge that these were less serious facts than a typical threats of violence case, which is not a small undertaking. With a well-researched written argument and a strong oral summation at the sentencing hearing, the Court agreed that the defense had proven to be correct and granted the departure. For a gentleman that enjoys hunting with family, this was a critical and fantastic result.

Plea to an amended charge of Careless Driving. The client blew a .13 after exhibiting rather poor driving conduct and failed the field sobriety tests. Usually, anything above a .10 is a plea to a DWI. But, doing so would jeopardize the client's employment and possibly even his career. Armed with the client's proactive steps and a diligent negotiation strategy, Mr. Gempeler worked hard with the prosecutor to get this non-DWI outcome that was absolutely critical to save the client's livelihood. Thankfully, the strategy and steps paid off and the client got the needed outcome.

Stay of adjudication. This was an absolutely critical outcome for the client. Any moving violation conviction on his record could lead to employment termination due to him being on the road regularly for work. And with the alleged speed being so much above the posted limit, this seemed like a daunting task and posed to be one initially. But, the North Star team kept after it and continued negotiating with the State to get this needed result after much deliberation.

Withdrawn guilty plea for when the client paid the ticket immediately following the incident and then an agreement to resolve the case as a speeding ticket with a stipulated speed of 99 in a 60. The careless driving charge was dismissed, too. The client made the mistake of paying her citation right away, not realizing the six-month revocation period that results from doing so on a speeding in excess of 100 mph ticket. Upon getting her revocation notice, she immediately retained us to help us unwind her mistake. Leading up to the hearing, the North Star team caught a prosecutor that was unsympathetic to our efforts. Thankfully, at the Motion to Withdraw a Guilty Plea hearing, we had provided more information about how this was impacting our client and some health issues she had experienced at the time. Our diligent efforts - and unwillingness to take no for an answer - led to this incredible result. Now, the client will have her driving privileges restored, a must for a young woman with a burgeoning business.

Plea to an amended count of Careless Driving. The client blew a .20, making this first-time offense a gross misdemeanor due to the elevated alcohol reading. Typically, a great outcome for a 3rd Degree DWI - especially when it's a .20 reading - is to get a plea to a misdemeanor DWI. Here, that would still result in a loss of employment because the client was a commercial airlines pilot who needed to fly in and out of Canada. Any DWI conviction prevents entry into Canada. Knowing this, Mr. Gempeler got to work advising the client on the number of steps he could take to position himself as best as possible for negotiations, and sought the needed documentation to verify everything. We also obtained an opinion letter from an aviation attorney who specialized in how DWI's impacts pilots and their ability to fly to Canada. Utilizing all of this information and proof, Mr. Gempeler engaged in lengthy and ultimately successful negotiations to get a Careless Driving plea for the client. In doing so, the client's future is preserved. A truly remarkable and rare outcome, but one that is not so rare when the North Star team is involved.

Continuance for dismissal to an amended count of driving after revocation with the gun charge dismissed as part of the amended complaint filed in advance of the agreement being finalized. The client was charged for driving with a handgun in his glove compartment. But, he was using his girlfriends vehicle and there was no evidence that he knew the gun was in the vehicle prior to using it. As a result, the knowledge element of the charge could not be satisfied and the State even agreed. Once the gun charge was dismissed, the agreement to suspend prosecution came together quickly. This outcome is much needed for the client, as the mere charge itself had caused lost job opportunities. Now, he will walk away without a conviction following an easy term of probation. The client is thrilled he hired the North Star team to fight for him against these bogus charges.

One conviction for speeding; another conviction for speeding, but one that will not end up on the client's driving record; one stay of adjudication; and one continuance for dismissal. The client clearly had a lead foot and picked up these four separate speeding tickets out of four separate jurisdictions in a close window of time. A conviction to all four would result in a loss of license. The North Star team set out to figure out a global resolution that would not lead to the license loss and minimize the record created. And through this effort, the client walks away with only ONE conviction on his traffic record. A remarkable outcome, to say the least.