Joe Kennedy is a former prosecutor who has successfully handled tens of thousands of criminal cases in this district, including hundreds of DWI trials. He has attended concentrated training courses in a variety of areas, including the Intox EC/IR II (Intoximeter) Operator School Conducted by the NC Department of Health and Human Services, as well as DWI Detection & Standardized Field Sobriety Testing promulgated by NHTSA.

Joe Kennedy has lived in Carteret County since 2009 and resides in Morehead City with his wife, Natalie. Prior to joining Cummings & Kennedy in June of 2012, Joe prosecuted thousands of criminal and traffic cases, including hundreds of Driving While Impaired offenses for District Attorney Scott Thomas in the district’s Beaufort office. Joe attended concentrated training in a variety of areas, including the Intox EC/IR II (Intoximeter) Operator School Conducted by the NC Department of Health and Human Services. As a prosecutor, Joe studied the strategies and tactics of elders in the criminal defense bar, while learning valuable lessons from seasoned law enforcement professionals. He also met his wife, Natalie, who was then employed as a Special Agent with the NC Department of Public Safety’s Alcohol Law Enforcement Division.

While employed as a prosecutor, Joe also served on the adjunct faculty at Carteret Community College and taught classes in Criminal Law and Constitutional Law. Joe still serves on the College’s Board of Law and Technology.

Prior to joining the District Attorney’s office in April of 2010, Joe was a private solo practitioner and concentrated his practice exclusively in the area of criminal defense.

Joe gained admission to the North Carolina State Bar in 2006, the same year that he graduated from Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law. Joe graduated in the top 20% of his class and earned a spot on the Dean’s List every semester. While At Cumberland, Joe was president of the school’s Federalist Society chapter and North Carolina student Bar Association.

While in law school, Joe interned as a Civilian Summer Law Clerk at the Joint Law Center aboard Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point. That experience gave him an appreciation for the unique legal issues that face the men and women in uniform who are stationed near the Crystal Coast.

Joe received his BA in Journalism and Mass Communication from UNC Chapel Hill in 2000. While at Chapel Hill, Joe was a member and treasurer of the Upsilon Chapter of Kappa Alpha Order. Joe also interned with (then) Congressman Richard Burr’s Washington, DC office. After graduation, Joe worked in Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina before attending law school.

Joe is a member of the Carteret County Bar, District 3-B Bar, N.C. Bar Association and North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers. He limits his practice to Criminal, DWI and Traffic law to ensure that his clients get the maximum amount of attention and resources for the best possible outcome. When not at work, he enjoys boating, hunting and fishing with his wife, Natalie, lab, Boone, and dachshund, Beans.