Joe J. Kennedy III

Joe Kennedy continues to aggressively defend thousands of clients charged across a full range of crimes in Carteret County since leaving the District Attorney’s office for private practice in 2012. As a prosecutor, Joe was continuously exposed to the strategies and tactics of elders in the criminal defense bar while gaining valuable insight into the techniques, procedures, sources, and methods of seasoned members of state and local law enforcement agencies operating within Carteret County.

During that time, Joe received concentrated training through the NC Department of Health and Human Services on the Intox EC/IR II (Intoximeter) and DWI Detection & Standardization Field Sobriety Testing as promulgated by the National Highway Transportation Administration (NHTSA). While working as a prosecutor, Joe also served on the adjunct faculty at Carteret Community College and taught Criminal and Constitutional Law. He currently serves on the College’s Board of Law and Technology.

Joe received his BA in Journalism and Mass Communication from UNC Chapel Hill in 2000 while serving as Treasurer of the Upsilon Chapter of Kappa Alpha Order. He interned for (then) Congressman Richard Burr’s Washington, D.C. office, followed by work in Raleigh and Charlotte. Joe attended Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law and interned as a Civilian Summer Law Clerk at the Joint Law Center aboard Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, where he developed an appreciation for the unique legal issues facing men and women in uniform stationed near the Crystal Coast.

In 2006, he graduated in the top 20% of his class, and was admitted to practice by the North Carolina State Bar. Joe is a member of the Carteret County Bar, District 3B Bar, N.C. Bar Association and North Carolina Advocates for Justice.

He concentrates strictly in Criminal Defense, DWI and Traffic Law in order to provide his clients the maximum amount of attention and resources for the best possible outcome. His free time is spent hunting, fishing and boating with his wife Natalie and dogs Boone and Beans.