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Certified as a Specialist in Federal Criminal Law in 2016, Damon Chetson is a SuperLawyer (2015 to present) who has represented individuals and organizations facing federal investigation or trial in North Carolina for more than a decade.  In that time, he has tried cases before all active federal judges in the Eastern District of North Carolina, including two federal trials in 2022, one in 2021, one in 2020, three in 2019, and still more.  In each federal trial, he has secured victories: not guilty results as to indicted counts, dismissal of counts pre-trial owing to Government overzealousness, and even a hung jury where his client was caught on video firing a handgun at another man. 

 

Given that 95 percent of federal cases end in plea bargains, Mr. Chetson has secured favorable plea bargains or sentences that have helped his client reduce punishment for wrongful conduct. His rolodex includes the best investigators, mitigation specialists, experts, psychiatrists, and psychologists who can meaningfully help a client in a federal sentencing.

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In 2022, Mr. Chetson ran for Wake County District Attorney, securing just shy of 42 percent of the vote against the incumbent.  His candidacy was profiled extensively in North Carolina. He has represented people pro bono in special circumstances.  He has advocated for sensible criminal justice reform in local media, appearing on radio, television, and in local newspapers.  

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In 2021, Mr. Chetson secured a not guilty in murder charges in Johnston County, and hung a jury (with co-counsel) in 2019 with jurors voting 10 to 2 to acquit.  In 2022, Mr. Chetson (with co-counsel) secured a 12-year plea deal for a client facing the death penalty.  In 2019, Mr. Chetson (with co-counsel) secured a life verdict in a triple homicide in Wake Forest.  In 2019, Mr. Chetson was the only lawyer out of more than 75 to secure any positive result in the federal government's largest prosecution in United States history in Charlotte.  That case is now on appeal.