Case Results

Plea to an amended petty misdemeanor count. The client retained North Star after already pleading guilty to the crime and receiving a misdemeanor sentence that included 10 days of stayed jail. So, not only were we trying to negotiate a non-criminal outcome, but we also had to get the Court and prosecutor to agree to withdraw the guilty plea to begin with. Thankfully, a strategic approach coupled with a proactive step by the client hit the right note and the prosecutor got on board with our request. The end result is that the client will not have a criminal record. For such a young kid, that is absolutely critical to achieve. What makes this more remarkable is that she blew a .06 - needless to say, avoiding a criminal record when she was nearly over the legal limit is a terrific case result.

Plea to a Careless Driving as a petty misdemeanor offense. Client initially paid the fines for both charges immediately after receiving the citation. In doing so, he unknowingly assured the loss of his license for an extended period of time, stemming from a speeding ticket in excess of 100 mph. After getting notice of his upcoming revocation, he retained the North Star team to fix his error. And fix it we did. We filed a Motion to Withdraw his Guilty Plea and then successfully negotiated an outcome that does not result in a loss of license. Soon after his guilty plea was amended in the court record, his driving privileges were restored. This is the exact outcome the client needed and achieved because he hired us to fight for him.

Continuance for dismissal. Client is a pilot who is alleged to have accidentally left his federally-licensed firearm case at the terminal gate before boarding his flight. While clearly an accident and the case was secured properly with locks, the airport commission takes these matter seriously due to the obvious risk of an unattended weapon in the airport. The North Star team crafted a creative legal argument about the airport ordinance language, thereby putting some pressure on the prosecutor to make this incredibly favorable deal. Now, the client will have the case dismissed entirely a year later after completing minimal terms. This outcome will also put him in a much better position for his career and ability to continue to carry as a pilot.

Client agreed to a diversionary outcome, meaning she is neither convicted nor even offers a plea of guilty as part of the agreement. And so long as she abides by the minimal terms of the diversionary agreement, the matter will be dismissed in one-year. This is a great result for a deserving client. Fearful of facing a felony for switching UPC codes while at Target - and no meaningful defense to it - the client is thrilled to walk away without a criminal record.

Client pled guilty to a gross misdemeanor criminal vehicular operation and received a stay of adjudication on the drug crime. As a result, the client will never be convicted of a felony. Additionally, the sentence did not call for time to serve in custody and only requires him to stay sober - which he has proven for the last year. This is a remarkable outcome because the facts are not pretty. He was both drunk and had a controlled substance in his system - plus pills found in his vehicle. He ended up rolling the vehicle, causing his passenger to be thrown from it. Luckily, the passenger did not suffer serious injuries. And, due to some aggressive discovery requested by the North Star team, we got the records to verify that the injuries sustained were not nearly as serious as initially feared, resulting in the opportunity to plead to a non-felony CVO. The client is ecstatic that he will avoid a felony conviction and jail time. Even the judge commented that he normally sends defendants to jail on these type of allegations, but the plea agreement took that decision out of his hands.

Plea to a 3rd Degree DWI-Refusal. The client exhibited horrible driving conduct and registered a PBT significantly above .20. Needless to say, no defenses existed and he was clearly at an elevated alcohol concentration. Compounding all of that, he refused the formal breath test at the station, which prosecutors despise as it shows noncooperation. Despite all of these facts stacked against him, the North Star team negotiated an outcome in which the client faces no jail time, a minimal fine, and credit for having completed a chemical dependency assessment, a MADD panel, and a DWI class. As a result, the client will receive the benefit of being on unsupervised probation. Given the challenging facts, no jail and unsupervised probation is a great outcome and one the client is very pleased with.

In this latest example of bulk-arrest/pending cases/global negotiations, Mr. Adkins secured a boot camp comprehensive sentence for a client facing decades in prison for a variety of open cases, in five separate counties. The client's commitment to sobriety, documented over three distinct treatment protocols completed, and helped push the prosecutors to our preferred outcome. James and Dan are consummate professionals, but more often than not, a dedicated and open-minded client will prove to be the linchpin in a successful recovery and negotiation. Be that client.

This client, looking at a nearly automatic lengthy prison hit for repeated arrests, failure to communicate with parole agents, failure to update address... was able to secure release through North Star's efforts, with no more sanction than time served. These hearings, held before a former parole agent (who is nearly never a lawyer, and often immune to defense arguments), are virtually impossible to win, but Mr. Adkins and a thoughtful and committed client secured a fantastic result.