SUSSEX COUNTY
I am blessed to maintain the largest practice of Criminal Law in the State of Delaware, which has been the case for several decades. By way of example, in Sussex County, an example of two criminal matters which brought me national attention in the national media across the country was a case involving a medical doctor who was accused of “waterboarding” his 12-year-old daughter, by holding her head under the kitchen sink faucet or the bathtub faucet as a means of punishing her for misconduct for not obeying his directives. I would like to brag that he was completely exonerated, but I am not a politician, and the truth of the matter is that he was found guilty of lesser charges and reduced, substantially, the punishment that awaited him were he to have been convicted of the original charges. Needless to say, I do not anticipate that the reader will think, “Hey, what a coincidence. I am charged with waterboarding a child”, but the point to be made is that child abuse cases are part and parcel of my representational repertoire.
Another Sussex County case which brought national attention to Delaware, in the national media, both television and newspaper presentations, was a case where a student at the University of Delaware, who was a gifted baseball player on the University baseball team, was charged with what has become known as “date rape” and given the number of complaints that were filed, if resulting in guilty verdicts would have subjected him to mandatory incarceration for the rest of his life. There were two trials involving him. The first was in Sussex County and the second was in New Castle County and both resulted, after trial by jury, in verdicts of reduced charges and one of which was a misdemeanor verdict – a blessing indeed. The Prosecution, realizing that the first two matters had not been resolved as had been hoped, extended a reasonable plea offer to resolve the remaining charges and that offer was beneficial to him therefore he accepted the same.
The most recent Sussex County trial, of major dimension, that I had involved a homeowner who had terminated the residency of a renter of a room in a homeowner’s house and the renter “wouldn’t take no for an answer” and trespassed on the property causing the homeowner to discharge a firearm and which resulted in an ankle injury to the former tenant. The defendant was facing a penalty of five years of mandatory prison, and I am pleased to say that I was able to deliver a verdict of “Not Guilty” to all the charges.
Understand these are but examples of major criminal matters and which do not comprise the majority of my Sussex County practice and which, rather, primarily centers around charges of driving under the influence or misdemeanor matters resulting from relatively minor criminal arrest.
KENT COUNTY
Just before the pandemic altered the course of life in Delaware, I represented a gentleman in the Superior Court in Kent County on a charge of Murder in the First Degree and he possessed a valid legal defense of self-defense. His attacker was a known motorcycle enthusiast who wore what are known as “colors” and who had a grudge against my client and appeared at my client’s workplace in order to execute (literally) his vengeance against my client. Although my client was risking a sentence of life imprisonment if convicted, he opted to have a trial and with the result being that I was able to obtain a verdict of “Not Guilty” and which verdict in a First-Degree Murder case, in Delaware, is as rare as vacationers traveling to the Antarctic in order to enjoy sunny days on the beach.
My criminal law practice includes representation in the Court of Common Pleas in Kent County as well as the Superior Court but, does not include more moderate matters that are decided in the Justice of the Peace Courts.
NEW CASTLE COUNTY
The primary geographical area of the State where my Practice is centered as “home based” is New Castle County, but with the willingness to travel to Kent and Sussex Counties as needed. I could offer a list of the different types of criminal offenses for which I offer representation, but it would simply be as lengthy as reciting the criminal code for the State of Delaware and which is counterintuitive.
I don’t recall, at this point in time, who offered me a verse that I find meaningful and productive, and which is, referring to matters of criminal law, “If you don’t know, it’s time to ask Joe”. I might add, “If you’re looking for the best, then you know the rest”! As you may gather, my primary guidepost in the practice of law is truthfulness and honesty rather than humility or modesty!