Case Results

This high-test DUI with general non-compliance (to put it politely) from the client to local police upon arrest was successfully reduced to a misdemeanor after careful negotiations, supportive therapies for and by the client, and great good luck in finding a prosecutor and a judge in remarkably workable good moods on the day of trial. Client escapes a life-altering outcome through his own hard work and the talents of his team at North Star.

Both North Star attorneys took turns assisting this vital client, whose history is literally arms-long relative to prior theft and other turpitude-style convictions. Initial offers from prosecutors started at statutory maximum jail terms, or multiples thereof; the cases were eventually resolved for petty misdemeanor fines, no jail, no additional criminal conviction, and the still-young lady can continue her phoenix-like rise via treatment, employment rehabilitation and a completely spin-dried group of friends and associates. Both James and Dan like nothing more than to participate in a complete makeover for troubled clients, and they have rarely been as successful as here.

After more than two years of negotiations, motion practice, court appearances, and arguments, an Assistant United States Attorney for a neighboring State moved to dismiss an indictment that called for many years of federal incarceration pursuant to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. Among other amazing effects from this decision, the client got his passport back by next-day air, returned to his business without interruption, attends plays with his kids, moves on with life, and is the biggest fan North Star Criminal Defense has ever had. It doesn't matter where you face challenges, or for what--North Star has the connectivity and the creativeness and the sheer stamina to put your situation to rights. No fight is too big, or too small, no government is too powerful, no opponent too imposing.

Stay of imposition, Misdemeanor 4th Degree Drug Sale. The client was facing three separate counts of drug sale and possession offenses that ranged from 5th degree possession to 2nd degree sale. Due a prior drug conviction, the client was facing a three-year mandatory prison commitment. Based upon the client's extensive rehabilitative efforts and negotiations by North Star, the client will receive a misdemeanor conviction upon completion of three-years probation, which includes a year in jail - not prison - where the client has work-release privileges so he can keep his life on track. While the year in jail is tough to swallow, the client avoids the lengthy prison term, can keep progressing with his rehabilitation efforts, and will only have a misdemeanor conviction on his record. In a county that is notably tough when it comes to drug sentencing, this was a great result.

Client pled guilty to a misdemeanor Careless Driving. The DWI case was dismissed in its entirety and the city tab-charged the Careless Driving. This means the client has a clean break and dismissal from the DWI and can tell prospective employers that his DWI was dismissed. Additionally, the terms of the sentence are minimal - $100 fine and no jail. What's more, the client can fight the implied consent revocation, meaning he can stave off the year-long revocation resulting from the high reading. This is an incredible result. Needless to say, the client is thrilled with the result, particularly in being able to say the DWI was dismissed. It's the attention to these little details that separates North Star Criminal Defense from the rest.

Client obtained a stay of imposition to a 4th degree DWI conviction. The terms of the plea agreement included no jail, a $100 fine, and one-year of probation. What makes this outcome noteworthy is the fact that the client picked up a second DWI mere months after this offense. Despite having two DWIs so close in proximity, the outcomes of the cases required no further jail, minimal fines, short probationary periods, and minimal conditions. The client was thrilled to avoid the imposition of any jail and for the fines to be so low. Considering the circumstances, this was a fantastic result.

Diversion program. We are often approached by clients who have made an initial appearance in court, expecting a soft landing, who have been advised they don't qualify for diversion, or another favorable program to resolve their matter. In this instance, a patient approach with a thoughtful prosecutor resulted in a late-admission into diversionary outcome that was utterly unavailable at arraignment. These sorts of outcomes quite literally make our month.

A guideline sentence projected into the 180-month range will be concluded in less than a year in state prison, for this fortunate young man. A client with an extensive criminal history, for a variety of complex offenses, was able to negotiate (after ample proof of treatment-readiness and a commitment to sobriety) a Challenge-Incarceration-Program-eligible (call for an explanation of this program for clients with a long history of convictions) sentence of less than forty months. God willing and the trains on time, that client will be back in his family's arms in less than eight months; this, notwithstanding facing a true term of more than ten years for the (amply proven) alleged misconduct. No client is a lost cause, no case is too difficult, no circumstances are too damning for the lawyers at North Star.