Successful Criminal Cases
Disclaimer
The listed cases are illustrative of the types of cases handled and do not represent the entire record of cases handled by the firm. The outcome of a particular case is based upon a variety of factors and cannot be predicated upon a lawyer’s or law firm’s past results. The penalties listed for each case are the maximum amount of time the client was facing, based upon the structured sentencing guidelines and taking into consideration each client’s criminal record at that time. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Successful Cases – Criminal Law
Criminal – Trafficking in Cocaine – 2023
Defendant was wrongfully charged with an offense that carried a mandatory minimum sentence of 175 months in prison. Woody White Law Firm successfully raised a 4th Amendment violation of law enforcement’s warrantless entry into the Defendant’s hotel room. Though the police claimed exigent circumstances, which is an exception to the warrant requirement under the US Constitution, we were able to show the absence of such circumstances, which meant that the search of the hotel room was illegal and subsequently, all charges against the Defendant were dismissed.
DWI And License Revocation
The defendant was charged with DWI and faced a license revocation for willful refusal. The criminal attorneys at Woody White Law Firm PLLC entered a not guilty plea, and won a contested hearing against the state prosecutor, and convinced a judge of the unconstitutionality of the charging officer’s stop of the car. Subsequently, they were also able to successfully reverse the NCDMV revocation and convinced the hearing officer to rescind the refusal revocation.
First-Degree Sex Offense
A defendant faced five counts of sexual offense and was facing over 40 years in prison. He adamantly denied that he was guilty and exercised his right to a jury trial. Woody White tried the case for nearly a week, after which a jury of 12 people returned verdicts of NOT GUILTY to all charges. The defendant – who had been unable to post bail and had been in jail for 15 months – was released from jail and resumed his life.
Federal Assault On Government Official Indictment
Woody represented a client in federal court, charged with assault on a federal employee. The defendant adamantly denied engaging in criminal conduct. Ultimately, Woody was able to convince the United States Attorney to offer a pretrial diversion opportunity. This allowed the client to avoid the cost of trial, the possibility of a conviction, and the client avoided a conviction of the assault.
DWI – Case Dismissed
Woody represented a client charged with driving while impaired and was successful in challenging the checkpoint the police had established. There are complex constitutional rules that govern the propriety of police checkpoints, and upon a thorough and comprehensive review of the plan in this case, Woody established that the state prosecutor could not properly establish compliance, and was required to dismiss the DWI charge against Woody’s client.
Federal Conspiracy To Commit Health Care Fraud
Home confinement was given after the defendant’s guilty plea to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. At his sentencing hearing in federal court, Mr. White was successful in convincing the sentencing judge to confine the defendant to his home, instead of an active prison term. The defendant had significant facts in mitigation of his case, including a minor role in the substantive offense, as well as medical problems. The court agreed with Mr. White, that an appropriate sentence under federal sentencing law was home confinement.
Multiple Felony Charges
Woody represented a client facing multiple felony charges, including possession with intent to sell/deliver marijuana, maintain a dwelling and possession of marijuana. After months of meeting with the charging officers and the assistant district attorney, Woody was successful in having ALL felonies avoided. The defendant entered into a deferred prosecution agreement on one misdemeanor charge and will have it dismissed in one year. This will save his criminal record and prevent ANY conviction. The client will also be eligible for an expunction of the charges.
Carrying Concealed Weapon – Case Dismissed
The defendant was charged with two counts of carrying a concealed weapon at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. A plea of not guilty was entered. After a full hearing where Woody White challenged the lawfulness of the police officer’s conduct in stopping and searching the subject’s car, the court concluded that the defendant’s rights were violated and suppressed any further evidence. The case was then dismissed. Mr. White also petitioned the court to return the 12-gauge shotgun and 9mm handgun, and the court ordered the Wrightsville Beach Police Department to return the firearms to the defendant.
Client Found Not Guilty Of DWI/DUI
Her car was pulled over by a North Carolina state trooper. After arrest, she registered a .08 on the Intoxilyzer. She entered a “not guilty” plea, and Mr. White was successful in eliciting testimony from the trooper about her good performance on the standardized field sobriety tests, as well as her good driving on the road. This testimony conflicted with the reading on the machine, and thus, raised a reasonable doubt as to her guilt. She was acquitted of the offense of driving while impaired.
Expungement
In 1985, a young college student was convicted of felony insurance fraud. After working at a national bank for over 20 years, a background check turned up the conviction. Mr. White filed a motion for appropriate relief, was successful in having the conviction overturned, and eventually, the entire record of arrest was expunged, allowing the defendant to keep his job.
DWI
A defendant charged with driving while impaired (DWI), that had registered a .14 on the BAC machine, entered a plea of not guilty. Mr. White was successful in challenging the constitutionality of the police officer’s stop of the car, and the judge dismissed the case. The defendant avoided any conviction, court costs or fines, and became eligible for an expunction of the record of arrest.
Domestic Violence – 50B Restraining Order
A female alleged that her husband committed acts of domestic violence against her, and attempted to obtain an exorbitant amount of money in her divorce action, by making these untrue claims. Mr. White obtained a court order for the domestic violence shelter records, which established the untruthfulness of the wife’s allegations. After a lengthy trial on the facts, the court concluded that there were no acts of domestic violence, and this finding allowed the husband to save hundreds of thousands of dollars in his divorce action.
DWI
A professional athlete was charged with driving while impaired (DWI) and had registered a .10 on the BAC test. Mr. White challenged the lawfulness of the police stopping the car, and after a hearing and observation of the officer’s dashboard camera, the court concluded that the officer did not have a basis for stopping the car, and subsequently, all charges were dismissed.
Domestic Violence Protective Order
The defendant was convicted of violating a domestic violence restraining order. After appealing, he hired Woody White to represent him in Superior Court. Mr. White persuaded a judge that the charging documents were improper and alleged something that was not a crime. Consequently, the charge was dismissed, and the defendant avoided a lengthy jail sentence.
DWI
The defendant was charged with driving while impaired and had been pulled over because the officer claimed that the car “weaved within its lane of travel,” and that the defendant had crossed the white fog line, on the right-hand side of the roadway. Mr. White produced aerial photographs that conflicted with the officer’s testimony, and after a hearing, a Superior court judge concluded that the stop of the defendant’s car was unconstitutional and subsequently, all charges were dismissed.