Top Rated Criminal Defense Attorney in Raleigh, NC

A partner at Dysart Willis, Joseph E. Houchin represents those in the Raleigh, North Carolina, metropolitan and surrounding areas in matters of criminal defense. At both the appellate and trial level, Mr. Houchin handles cases in state and federal courts. While representing those charged with drug offenses, theft, violent crimes, traffic violations, DWI and firearms violations, he also represents entrepreneurs and employers in civil and administrative settings.

Admitted to practice before all state and U.S. District Courts in North Carolina, Mr. Houchin first earned a Bachelor of Arts with a major in government and international politics from George Mason University before graduating from the University of Mississippi School of Law with a Juris Doctor and entering the practice of law.

Mr. Houchin is a member of the Wake County and North Carolina Bar Associations. He is a Blackstone Fellow, certified by Alliance Defending Freedom and an alumni of the E.A. Morris Fellowship for Emerging Leaders conducted by the John Locke Foundation. He was invited to present on issues related to noncompliance penalties at the 20th Annual North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference. As past Chairman of the University of Mississippi Moot Court Board, Mr. Houchin won the Daniel Coker Horton & Bell Appellate Advocacy Competition and was a finalist at the John J. Gibbons National Criminal Procedure Competition. 

Handling cases involving civil litigation, business law and criminal defense, Mr. Houchin has achieved not guilty verdicts in criminal trials, successfully argued for pre-trial dismissal and evidence suppression, and collectively saved business owners over a million of dollars in fines and penalties sought by the State.