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Careless / Reckless Driving
To see just how successful our approach is, here are some representative results:
State v. L.E.
May, 2025
Charges: 4th Degree DWI, Careless Driving - Misdemeanors
Resolution:
Plea to a petty misdemeanor careless driving. Client was charged with a DWI despite blowing a .07. The State could have tried to prove impairment based on her overall conduct, including a decent, but not great, performance on standard field tests. The combination of a test result just under the legal limit with the other facts presented a challenge, but one that the North Star team was ready to fight at trial. Mr. Gempeler knows how to try cases and what facts to lean on when combatting these overzealous charges. On the doorstep of trial, the State finally relented and agreed to a petty misdemeanor traffic ticket. A petty misdemeanor is not a crime under Minnesota law. So, the end result is a non-criminal record, non-DWI, no probation, and no loss of license. This is a fantastic result for a client that was very nervous and anxious about the criminal process.
State v. S.A.
February, 2025
Charges: Reckless Driving and Careless Driving - both misdemeanors; Excessive speeding of 100+ mph
Resolution:
Plea to a petty misdemeanor failing to drive with due care. The client was flying on 494 in his expensive sports car, going in excess of 110+ mph. The City added the serious criminal charges as a way to combat against such fast drivers. Add in the fact that a conviction to excessive speeding would result in a 6-month loss of license, the client was stressed about the possibility of a criminal record and losing his license. The North Star team fought back though, challenging the legal basis for the misdemeanor charges. With the hearing days away, we were then able to leverage it to reach a resolution that did not result in a loss of license or a criminal conviction. The client was floored, never expecting such a fantastic result. This is what we do, routinely.
State v. T.M.
January, 2025
Charges: 4th Degree DWI - Misdemeanors; Underage Drinking and Driving - Misdemeanor
Resolution:
Plea to an amended count of Careless Driving, with no time to serve, a minimal fine, and credit for the proactive steps taken leading up to the plea. The client was underage, blew a .10, and had no legal defenses with some not-so-great driving conduct to boot. Despite these troubling facts, he was accountable from the start in getting assessed and achieving sobriety. Mr. Gempeler was then able to leverage it all into a fantastic outcome where the conviction is non-alcohol related. Considering everything, the client and his family were very pleased with this outcome and his ability to move forward in a much more favorable manner than they initially feared.
State v. B.L.
December, 2024
Charges: Careless Driving and Leaving the Scene of an Accident - Misdemeanor Counts
Resolution:
Stay of adjudication to the leaving the scene count and the careless driving is dismissed. This was essentially a DWI, but he was not stopped at the time and not investigated into until the next morning - meaning they had no way of proving impairment. Still, it was a serious matter. Despite that, Mr. Gempeler worked hard on the prosecutor to achieve an outcome that results in a non-conviction - a truly remarkable outcome considering the severity of the incident.
State v. A.P.
November, 2024
Charges: Reckless Driving - Misdemeanor
Resolution:
Stay of adjudication. The client was driving on a gravel road and trying to do tail-whips. It did not go well, as he ended up in the ditch with two other passengers also in the car. Thankfully no injuries, but certainly a risky situation. The gravel road offered strong circumstantial proof of this driving misconduct. Undeterred, the North Star team negotiated this great outcome from a County Attorney's office notoriously difficult to deal with. Now, our client keeps his record crime free and won't have this negatively impact him (and his insurance, for instance) moving forward.
State v. J.K.
June, 2024
Charges: Careless Driving - Misdemeanor
Resolution:
Diversion that will result in a complete dismissal of the case without any admission or plea entered on the record. The client was fortunate to avoid a DWI based on the circumstances and instead only faced a careless driving. Even still, Mr. Gempeler and the North Star team successfully navigated the case, leaned on our great relationships with the local prosecutors, and secured this incredible outcome. Another fantastic result due to North Star's work.
State v. S.L.
June, 2024
Charges: 3rd Degree DWI-Refusal - Gross Misdemeanor
Resolution:
Plea to an amended count of careless driving. On top of this incredible outcome, the client has no jail to serve, no community service, a minimal fine, and essentially administrative probation for one year. The client was alleged to have refused the breath test, despite trying to provide an adequate sample. She suffered from asthma, which was exacerbated under high stress - such as being arrested for a DWI. Working with the client to get medical records verifying this, Mr. Gempeler was able to leverage this imperfect defense (imperfect because it is not recognized under the law) and the client's proactive steps to achieve this incredibly rare and fantastic outcome. A careless driving plea deal - without litigating - on a refusal charge is nearly unheard of. But these types of rare outcomes are commonplace when the North Star team is involved.
State v. W.T.
May, 2024
Charges: 3rd Degree DWI-Refusal - Gross Misdemeanor; 4th Degree DWI-Misdemeanor; Careless Driving - Misdemeanor
Resolution:
Plea to count 3, the misdemeanor careless driving, and the other two DWI counts were dismissed. Additionally, the client had no jail to serve and was placed on administrative probation. Even with a losing argument, the North Star team properly leveraged a motion hearing and witness availability issues for the State to get this utterly fantastic outcome. The client was uncooperative due to wanting to speak with an attorney - while a constitutional right, often, not at the times he was asking for the attorney. Despite the challenges it faced, the North Star team executed a savvy strategy and achieved the outcome the client needed.
State v. D.T.
April, 2024
Charges: 3rd Degree DWI-Refusal - Gross Misdemeanor; 4th Degree DWI - Misdemeanor
Resolution:
Plea to an amended count of careless driving as a misdemeanor. No jail or community service, a minimal fine, and only one year of probation with easy conditions to follow. The deal was so good, in fact, that the Judge was questioning the prosecutor about how they were willing to offer a Careless on a Gross Misdemeanor DWI-Refusal. The Judge commented that he understood an agreement to a misdemeanor DWI, but to get a Careless was a bit shocking, to say the least. This is the type of outcome that isn't so atypical when the North Star team is involved. Getting so good of outcomes that it even surprised the Court.
State v. A.C.
January, 2024
Charges: Reckless Driving, Careless Driving, and Speeding
Resolution:
Stay of adjudication to the careless driving charge and the remaining two are dismissed. Client was alleged to be going 90 mph, weaving in and out of traffic, tailgating, etc. The video did not show the full scope of this driving conduct due to how far back the squad vehicle was. And the client explained he was trying to get home to a sick wife. Without any legal defense, the North Star team were able to negotiate an outcome that results in no conviction, which is fantastic and frankly a bit unexpected given the 90 mph alleged speed. Typically, the prosecutor would want at least the speeding ticket as a conviction, but we successfully avoided even that.