Stay of Adjudication, Misdemeanor. North Star's Dan Adkins teamed up with the incomparable Shirlene Perrin Law Firm to achieve the unthinkable. Client, who mistook one man for the fellow who had harassed and propositioned his girlfriend on an evening out, knocked that wrong man out cold, causing serious injuries and requiring ongoing care concerns. After lengthy negotiations, and maximum creativity on Shirlene's and Dan's part, the case concludes with an unaccepted guilty plea, a brief period on light conditions, and dismissal of the reduced misdemeanor count. Client will NEVER have a conviction on his record, if he complies with the terms he's accepted. Life-altering stuff, this.

Reduction to Disorderly Conduct, Stay of Adjudication. A victim reports having been choked to the point of asphyxiation by her boyfriend, and having been punched repeatedly by our client, and felony charges against the boyfriend and a nasty gross misdemeanor complaint against our man ensue. Mr. Adkins negotiated carefully and well, and potentially career-ending criminal charges will be removed outright from the record in a short period of time. No jail, no onerous terms of probation, nothing other than payment of minimal costs was required, and the client is over the moon.

Conviction on Receipt of Stolen Property. The client in this case, with a lengthy and troubling criminal history, faced a sentence of effective life in prison, had Hernandizing and other components been left to a judge to compile. Rather, Mr. Adkins worked with a thoughtful prosecutor to reduce the client's exposure to the sixty months he'd necessarily face as a felon handling a gun (in this case, shooting up a party where he'd been assaulted only moments before), with a count of offense being one that keeps the client eligible for Boot Camp--and a potential return home only six months out, rather than a DECADE. If you have an unfortunate prior record, for felonies, for violence, or merely for traffic violations, and your new case means trouble, call Dan Adkins and North Star NOW. There is no time to waste, and there is no time that MUST be served, if you and Dan can coordinate your defense.

Gross Misdemeanor sentence to assault plea. The client had a rough night in which she bit off part of the victim's ear. Both parties were intoxicated. Our client had no criminal record and it was critical to avoid a felony record in order to keep her career. Based upon our counseling to be proactive in addressing chemical dependency and mental health issues, combined with our experienced negotiating, the client obtained an agreed-upon gross misdemeanor sentence to the charge. Ultimately, the client was ordered to serve no additional jail, pay a $100 fine, and complete an anger management assessment. Considering the circumstances, this is a fantastic and necessary result for our client.

Probationary sentence. Mr. Adkins was retained with less than two months to counsel and advise the client on how to position himself best for a life-altering sentencing hearing. Through this counseling, the client became proactive in obtaining services while in custody and wrote a thoughtful letter, demonstrating his remorse and acceptance of responsibility for his actions. The judge told the courtroom that he took the bench prepared to send the client to prison, pursuant to a presumptive commitment of 4+ years. After Mr. Adkins' savvy and persuasive sentencing argument, the judge reversed course and placed the client on probation and sentenced him to serve no prison time. This is truly a remarkable outcome. And it goes to show that it is critical to be sure you are prepared to fight for your future at all times throughout the case. Even at sentencing when it seems like the deck is stacked against you, the right approach and sentencing attorney can lead to incredible results.

In a Washington County matter, Dan Adkins successfully sought and received a probationary sentence for a young person who nearly killed a friend in an alcohol-fueled event. Had this matter been charged as attempted homicide, a sentence in the hundreds of months would have been the starting point, for either negotiations or a result after a guilty verdict. As it is, aggressive work by the legal team and a tremendous commitment on the part of the client to address mental health and drug/alcohol dependency issues in residential treatment brought about a remarkable result. After a relatively short spell on probationary conditions, this person can move forward positively and thoughtfully, having never visited the inside of a Minnesota Correctional Facility. Truly incredible result.

Stay of Adjudication. The client was placed on 5 years probation (with the understanding being that he'll be released early around the halfway mark) with minimal terms and conditions and costs ordered for $100. For a father of two with a clean criminal record, it was imperative to earn the opportunity to keep his record clean and put him in a position to have this matter expunged. Without any real viable defenses, this is a remarkable outcome achieved through strong advocacy and a client that was proactive in addressing possible chemical dependency and anger issues before a plea.

Dismissed. Through the careful and thorough investigation by our team, we developed a strong defense and were able to detail our client's version of events, which differed from the police reports (to no one's surprise!). Based upon the information we provided, the local city agreed to dismiss the case. The client maintains a clean record, his ultimate goal in the case.