Continuance for dismissal. Truly a remarkable outcome considering the allegations involved an adult client bumping into a child athlete after a sporting event. Making matters worse (from a defense perspective), is that surveillance video captured the incident. No defenses existed. The North Star team advised the client on proactive steps he could take, humanized the client and how the pending case was already impacting his career and future, and then sought this fantastic result via plea negotiations. Thankfully, everything came together as well as could possibly imagine and, frankly, better than that even.

Stay of Adjudication. At the first appearance in this matter, less than a month after client's arrest (and complainant's visit to a doctor's care), Mr. Adkins secured a no-jail, no programming, not even a presentence investigation, stayed adjudication--meaning no conviction, no sanction, and expungement eligibility on fast-track terms--for his client. These types of results are exceedingly, increasingly rare, especially in certain counties, which can treat domestic assaults more seriously than many felonies. Mr. Adkins and client are exultant, with good reason.

Stay of adjudication. Client had absolutely no legal defense. He was permitted to go to the protected party's residence with a police escort. Instead, he showed up without the police, even though he called to arrange for such an escort. Needless to say, no excuses and no defense. Making things more difficult was a "victim" that had it out for the client and wanted him to suffer through this case. Thankfully, after providing proof that the protected party had fabricated allegations that formed the basis of her ex parte order for protection, the North Star team was able to convince the prosecutor to give our client the chance to earn this non-conviction with continued compliance with a no contact order and overall good behavior. Client is thrilled to avoid a devastating domestic abuse type record.

Stay of adjudication to the reckless driving count, with the other street racing reckless and careless driving counts dismissed. The client has a minimal fine and cannot have any careless or reckless offenses for one year in order to earn the non-conviction for this serious case. The facts were not good, to put it nicely. They involved an accident where the client's passenger was hurt and an allegation that street racing was occurring. The combination of which is often damn near impossible to overcome. Undeterred, the North Star team pushed and was creative in negotiations, including leveraging the possibility of trial, to achieve this incredible outcome.

Plea to an amended count of Careless Driving. The client blew a .12 and had no legal defenses. Typically, anything above a .10 is too high to get a non-DWI outcome, especially with a prosecutor known to be less forgiving with DWI's. Nonetheless, the North Star team set out to achieve a much-needed result for the client. Focused humanizing the client - by highlighting her challenging divorce at the time, her future career and the impact to it caused by a DWI, and her proactive steps - we were able to convince the prosecutor to make a deviation and obtain this rare outcome. The North Star team fought like hell in negotiations and got this fantastic outcome for a deserving client.

Stay of adjudication. Client merely needs to stay good for one year and pay minimal prosecution costs to earn a complete dismissal of this serious charge. He was accused of masturbating in a parking lot. A witness saw him and identified him as the suspect. Needless to say, there was not a lot to work with for a possible defense. Even when faced with daunting facts and accusations, we were able to negotiate an outcome that not only leads to a dismissal once he successfully completes probation, but it also leads to a presumption to get this record expunged a year later. This was a priority to the client and one that we knew how to achieve with a thoughtful approach to negotiations. Another fantastic result.

Plea to an amended count of Threats of Violence as a gross misdemeanor. This was a remarkably unique outcome that ultimately satisfied all of the client's goals - no jail, minimal fine, and preserved his gun rights upon completion of probation. The client turned down a better plea deal to a misdemeanor assault (non-domestic), but was concerned with losing his gun rights for three years, which state law mandates even on non-domestic assault convictions. So, the North Star team got creative and figured out a resolution that accomplished exactly this. Despite facing serious domestic assault strangulation felony charges and a prior allegation against him, we were able to get a non-jail, non-felony outcome and saved his gun rights from the three-year prohibition. This proves, once again, that the North Star team takes the big picture approach and tailors the strategy to each clients needs. While this is a worse outcome than an offer previously received, it's the right and perfect outcome for this client, which is what matters most.

Case dismissed on the eve of trial. Typically, OFP violations are very challenging to fight because it often is straightforward to prove a violation. Contact is contact. But, in this case, the State was pushing a theory that simply did not add up to a violation based upon the use of the protected party's name in a website domain. Fighting this required a sophisticated knowledge of understanding the internet and how to create and publish websites - something the investigator and prosecutor did not possess. An expert helped solidify the defense and the North Star team applied the pressure as the trial date approached. Finally, the State realized it did not have a case and dismissed the case. Another fantastic result achieved due to North Star's fight and creativity.