Case Results

Gross misdemeanor pleas. Mr. Adkins secured non-felony results in an almost impossible context, with a client who simply would not quit gathering complaints and charges, most alleging acts of theft or failure to report theft or recovery of assets. No jail, no heavy probation conditions, and the right to contest future restitution... have the right lawyer by your side? Even if you can't quit the cases from coming, Messrs. Adkins and Gempeler can protect you, and optimize your options.

Stay of Adjudication to a Disorderly Conduct charge. Mr. Adkins was retained by a long-ago former client, who had utilized a number of other high-profile firms for her criminal interactions in more recent years. In this matter, after beating her partner bloody with a shoe, she was certain she faced weeks in local jail and a set of onerous conditions on probation. After careful negotiations and aggressive orientation toward therapy and treatments, Mr. Adkins secured a stay of adjudication on disorderly conduct, an incredible result--made all the more remarkable for the prosecutor involved, a former police officer known for his inflexible approach. We mean business, at North Star, and our results continually prove this out.

Continuance for Dismissal. Client had no defense. She allegedly assaulted a fellow wedding-goer for no reason, except for a possible mental health breakdown. The client took immediate proactive steps following the incident, specifically directed at figuring out what caused the incident. After completing the same and demonstrating that this truly was a one-night, random incident that will not happen again, the client earned this fantastic result, which preserved her clean record. She is thrilled that she got the North Star team to properly advocate for her - and use our great relationships with the prosecutors, who knew they could trust us and, therefore, our client.

Plea to charge as a petty misdemeanor. The client engaged in driving conduct that undoubtedly fit the bill for a Careless Driving charge - even if some attenuating circumstances existed. Compounding the driving conduct was the fact that the client had a commercial drivers license. By law, prosecutors are unable to negotiate off a traffic violation when dealing with a commercial driver. Still, the North Star team successfully negotiated the plea deal to a petty misdemeanor offense, which is a non-crime in Minnesota. Avoiding a true criminal record was crucial to the client. In doing so, he avoided any employment consequence and the North Star team assured him that the record would not lead to a loss of his commercial driving privileges. Given everything, this was a great result for a deserving client.

Stay of imposition. The client blew a .21. Though it was a first-time offense, that is an awfully high reading that prosecutors rarely move off of. With an initial offer to straight plea, the North Star team worked with the client in crafting a negotiating strategy to earn a better outcome. With no legal defense, the client decided to not drive for a year while revoked and stayed stone-cold sober. Eventually, the prosecutor agreed to a stay of imposition, which means the client will only have a misdemeanor record once he successfully completes the minimum 2-years probation. On top of that, there is no jail to serve and we even avoided the DWI assessment penalty that this county likes to impose when a reading is above .16. All in all, the client is very happy to have a misdemeanor record and no jail to serve - a great result given the facts of the case.

In this matter, a client who was initially a co-defendant to a North Star client sought and received a waiver of conflict from that first client, so she could benefit from the assistance of Messrs. Adkins and Gempeler, to undo the damage of her awful plea negotiation. Even though she'd essentially airmailed her probationary obligations, and stood likely to lose both a stay of imposition and could be sent to prison, Mr. Adkins secured no jail time, no involuntary treatment obligations, and reduction of the counts to misdemeanors. Remarkable results, for a client now heavily motivated to make the necessary changes to avoid similar pitfalls.

This client, facing more than a decade in prison (at mandatory minimum levels!), ended up getting released from local jail after less than six months, due to the thoughtful and hustling intervention of North Star and Mr. Adkins. Creative therapeutic options created an increased trust level for the judges involved and quieted the shouting from prosecutors; even where the facts are damning, and actual defenses don't exist, North Star and this team of pros can achieve results other firms couldn't imagine, let alone create.

This matter, concerning a relatively massive haul of multiple drugs and at least four firearms, could have cost the client more than five years' prison time, and had the matter gone federal.... Instead, Mr. Adkins was able to convince the County Attorney's Office to dismiss all charges before the matter was actually publicly filed, and before a single court appearance. Truthfully, these sorts of results are not common... but they happen here, at North Star, more than you'll find at any other Minnesota firm.