Attorney Profiles

Joe serves as the Chair of the Public Entity and Civil Rights Practice Group. In this capacity, he is responsible for the activities of some 12 attorneys firm-wide. For many years the focus of Joe's practice has been in the defense of police officers, municipalities, school districts, public officials, and both private and public sector employers. He has tried in excess of 75 jury trials to verdict in federal court in the areas of civil rights and employment litigation.

In 1976 Joe graduated from LaSalle University and began work as a Probation Officer for the City of Philadelphia. While working full time, Joe attended the Delaware Law School of Widener University where he graduated with honors in 1985. He has been with Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman & Goggin his entire legal career.
 
Significant Representative Matters

• Defense verdict in an discrimination case before the U.S. District Court of Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The plaintiff's termination from employment was, in part, based on the statements of women in the shelter where plaintiff worked whose identities could not be disclosed and did not testify.  We argued that the decision makers' state of mind was what was relevant and that the statements of the women in the shelter were not hearsay since they were not offered for the truth of the matter asserted.  The plaintiff appealed. and the case  was affirmed by the 3rd Circuit.
  
  
• Obtained a defense verdict for Montgomery County and the District Attorney. A Montgomery County detective sued the District Attorney following his termination for poor job performance.  The initial granting of Summary Judgment by the Eastern District of Federal Court was reversed by the 3rd Circuit and remanded for trial.  The court found the reasons for the termination were not a pretext for unlawful discrimination.
  
  
• Successfully defended three different civil rights suits where police officers shot suspects in the back, where it was learned the suspects were unarmed.
  
  
• Defense verdict in jail suicide case where the entire suicide was caught on video tape and played before the jury.
  
  
• Successfully defended school district in IDEA case for alleged failure to provide special education for female high school student.
  
  
• Defense verdict for County in wrongful termination and defamation case where health department employee was discharged, E. coli outbreak and Commissioner identified her in pubic newscasts.
  
  
• Defense verdict for a County brought by employee claiming his termination was based on race.
  
  
• Defense verdict for private employer where plaintiff alleged age and sex discrimination.
  
  
• Defense verdict for numerous police officers involved in arrest of a minister who suffered a heart attack after alleged excessive force. The plaintiff turned down a significant offer to settle before the lengthy trial resulted in complete exoneration for the officers.
  
  
• Successfully defended and argued in the 3rd Circuit, which affirmed in favor of the officers, in significant case where criminal defendant, with no prior record, spend 11 months in jail on charges of killing his parents before the charges where dropped. Case is often cited on issues of probable cause.
  
  
• Grant of Summary Judgment, which was affirmed by 3rd Circuit, in case where a teacher was arrested for stealing supplies but later cleared. The 3rd Circuit opinion is cited by many courts regarding the issues of reliance by police on eye witnesses for issues of establishing probable cause.