Acquittal at trial. Client was alleged to be impaired by marijuana in his system. But, the evidence was severely lacking and, worse yet, the arresting officer actively misled and lied about field test results in his reports. Needless to say, that led to a thorough dismantling of the officer at trial by Mr. Gempeler's cross-examination - even getting the officer to admit, under oath, that he lied in a search warrant affidavit that he submitted to a judge. The jury needed just 30-minutes of "deliberation" to return a verdict of not guilty. Mr. Gempeler's trial skills, once again, overwhelmed the State's case and made the jurors decision easy in returning this just and correct not guilty verdict.

Plea to an amended count of misdemeanor 4th Degree DWI. Not only did we achieve a plea to a misdemeanor DWI - a much improved record from the gross misdemeanor charge - but the client was placed on unsupervised probation, meaning he never has to meet with probation or pay the probationary charge (a hidden fee that we are always cognizant of and try to avoid if possible). Despite a reading more than two times the legal limit and no viable defenses, the client never served time in custody, has the minimum fine to pay, and never has to deal with probation. A great outcome under these circumstances and the goal the client had in retaining us.

Stay of adjudication to an amended count of careless driving. This is a remarkable outcome - one that rarely gets approved for DWI's, but one that we've obtained for our clients... multiple times. The North Star team leveraged a strong legal argument in negotiating an outcome where the client removes all risk and assures herself of the non-conviction outcome after abiding by minimal terms of probation for one-year. With the non-conviction outcome available, she could not turn down this incredible outcome. She is thrilled to keep her record clean.

Plea to a misdemeanor 4th degree DWI and dismissal of the more serious gross misdemeanor refusal charge. On top of getting the plea to a misdemeanor, the sentence called for no jail or community service, a minimal fine, and easy to follow terms of probation. The client had zero defenses and had a high PBT reading. Still, the North Star team achieved exactly what it and the client set out to with plea negotiations and was able to convince the prosecutor to come off his initial offer to the gross misdemeanor. Another satisfied client, thankful for the hard work and diligence by North Star.

Plea to an amended count of Careless Driving. Another great outcome for a deserving client. But, what makes this particularly unique are two things - first, the client blew a .113/.120, which is typically too high to negotiate it down to a non-DWI conviction (for non-North Star attorneys that is), and second, the client had a prior DWI within a few years before this case that was also resolved in a manner that did not involve a DWI conviction or alcohol-related loss of license record (thanks to North Star's efforts in that case). Point being, having a prior DWI - even though it didn't result in a conviction - usually makes subsequent ones that much harder to resolve. Thankfully, the North Star team worked with the client, established immediate rapport with a prosecutor they haven't had much experience with due to him being up north in a jurisdiction we simply don't travel to frequently (though, that clearly did not hinder our efforts), and was able to negotiate this incredible outcome for the client. He is thrilled he has North Star in his back pocket should he ever need us again.

Plea to an amended count of careless driving. The client faced a bogus (arguably) charge of refusal, despite making multiple attempts to submit a sufficient breath test. Leveraging a legal issue relating to this, the North Star team successfully negotiated this fantastic outcome without even having to argue it to the court. Now, a gross misdemeanor offense is reduced to a non-DWI misdemeanor conviction that does not include any time to serve.

Stay of adjudication on both counts. The client had no defenses to these serious charges. But, the North Star team worked with her to get the therapy and programming she needed, and then did a thorough job of humanizing her, explaining the issues she's been dealing with (namely, the trauma she's endured from being a victim of a recent sexual assault). Thankfully, the prosecutor was empathetic to these struggles and agreed to this incredible outcome. With this outcome, our wonderful client will not have a criminal conviction on her record, will stay on track with working through her trauma and programming, and can thankfully advance in her life without fear of a daunting criminal record. Typically, achieving a non-conviction record for both a felony drug and DWI case is damn near impossible - but not for the North Star team. We go above and beyond to fight for our clients that need and deserve these atypical results. We are so proud of our client for all that she's accomplished and thankful to help in her journey.

Plea to an amended count of Careless Driving. What's more is that the sentence was for less than a year to ensure the client can commission to the U.S. Army after graduating from college as part of the ROTC program. The client blew a .11, just above the normal cutoff range to get a Careless Driving offer. And when we first reached out to the prosecutor about pleading to a non-DWI - because it was essential for the client's ability to continue serving - the prosecutor only offered a DWI plea. The North Star team kept at it, pushed the right leverage points, and finally got the needed outcome for a deserving client and servicemember. THIS is why we do what we do - to make sure mistakes don't define our clients and hold them back in their life pursuits.