Complaint: NC attorney, judge known for handing out lenient sentences to reckless drivers

The complaint calling for an investigation into these cases will be submitted to the North Carolina State Bar this week.

Not only did all those drivers get to keep their license, some left court with nothing more than a $10 fine. All of those drivers hired the same attorney, Todd Willford.

Williford is also the leading donor to date for Assistant District Attorney Beth Street, who is running for judge, and was the prosecutor of record in several of his cases.

She said her office gave non-traditional pleas "to a multitude of defense attorneys and unrepresented citizens" due to pandemic-related court limitations, but never explained why prosecutors gave only certain attorneys failure to notify DMV of an address change or the even less severe rear seat belt plea deals.

"We need to have it investigated, so that the air is cleared and we can start fresh and we can all make sure that that we're acting appropriately for our clients and we can restore our faith in the system," said Laura Baker, who is part of the group of lawyers filing a complaint to the state bar.

Baker is now the third attorney to speak publicly with her concerns, following lawyers Howard Long and Vernon Russell.

"There's clearly, you know, there's something going on," Long said.

"A lot of us are getting calls daily from clients wondering, 'Why aren't we getting these deals?'" Baker said.

More than a dozen attorneys are expected to sign their names onto the state bar complaint this week.