Stay of Adjudication. Wonderful client stopped for his second DUI near his workplace, late in the evening, and the officer left him, to go deal with a nearby fight… our man mistakenly heads off home, and catches a felony fleeing count, that unfortunately matched the statute. However, a combination of aggressive advocacy by Mr. Adkins and the North Star team, and client’s devotion to sobriety and rule-following, means he’s headed to a treatment court, and those folks recommended a far better result on the felony—a Stay of Adjudication! Client and family are over the moon, rightfully so—he’s back to work, driving on a full license, and NO lifetime felony complications. Just remarkable success, here.

Plea to a fifth degree assault. Mr. Adkins moves the needle again, getting a very conservative prosecutor from a tough jurisdiction to discount a broken skull, and significant injuries as a result of a needless punch (on video), even protecting the result from a last-minute effort by the State to withdraw and reinstate felony charges… Never hurts to have a litigator with three decades of experience and credibility to get matters to the finish line.

Shocking win, frankly, for a client who lost a jury trial with a different legal team… Having hired Mr. Adkins for the direct appeal, he convinced the client to seek a stay of any jail or other punitive aspects of the sentence until the appeal is finished. While these motions are somewhat commonly filed, they are rarely granted, as judges want defendants to immediately feel the impact of a conviction. However, here, Mr. Adkins was creative in the argument, and the judge overruled a very salty State’s objection, and permitted the client to continue with his effort to obtain a new trial, or to get the matter fully reversed on appeal. A signature win! If you or your loved one needs appellate practice, North Star is among the very best in the state at this work. Contact us immediately—the timelines on appeal, and for post-conviction relief, are very tight, and jurisdictional in nature.

This matter, concerning counts with mandatory prison components, was resolved as a durational departure to a Gross Misdemeanor, with a minimal term of probation and stayed jail, versus a long stint on work release. Client, who had a prior felony DUI conviction, busted his ass to get sober and to verify his return to a lawful life, stunned his judge and prosecutor with his orientation and accountability. This is our favorite work, pulling a victory from sure defeat, as usual—but with a human being at the center, getting right and recovering and becoming a better person, in the process.

Stay of imposition to an amended count of 4th Degree Criminal Sexual Contact. The case centered on an accusation - to which the client confessed - in which our teenage client used his younger sister to grind on him, essentially. Awful facts and scenario overall. This occurred when he was a teenager, but the charges were raised when she came forward a decade later. Since the incident, he had served this country, become a police officer, and otherwise had committed himself to serving his community and neighbors. He was accountable and remorseful for his action. Mr. Gempeler was able to negotiate to the best possible plea deal - one that included a plea to a lesser count, the conviction will become a misdemeanor when he's done with probation, and there was little jail imposed. Even the Court commented that this was a sweetheart deal at sentencing.

Departure granted to avoid presumptive commitment to prison. The client had a high reading on this second-time felony DWI. Compounding this is the fact that he was on probation for his prior felony DWI that had occurred just a couple years prior. Awful facts for a client trying to avoid a prison stint. Undeterred, Mr. Gempeler worked with the client to get back on track and focus on achieving and maintaining sobriety. Thankfully, the client did exactly that, checking himself back into a relapse treatment program soon after the incident. He also managed to get his probation agent in the State he lives (not Minnesota) to support his efforts to avoid prison. So, Mr. Gempeler had the probation agent appear at the sentencing hearing and make a compelling argument that the client is particularly amenable to probation. After hearing from the probation agent and Mr. Gempeler's strong argument, the Court granted a departure to a non-prison sentence. A truly remarkable outcome by the North Star team - which is our norm.