Attorney Profile

Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association

President of the Association - 2001-2002
Vice President of the Association - 2000-2001
Secretary / Treasurer - 1999-2000
Member of the Executive Committee - 1996-Present
Chairman of the Megan's Law Committee - 1996-2003
Chairman of the Child Abuse Coalition - 1992-2003

Pennsylvania District Attorneys Institute

Member of the Board of Directors - 1996-2003
Appointed Specual Deputy Attorney General to investigate and prosecute child abuse cases in Pike and Susquehanna Counties

Trial and Appellate Counsel in Commonwealth v. Conforti, 533 Pa. 530, 626 A.2d 129, (1993)

Initiated Child Abuse Investigative Team in Wayne County in 1983. Improved Child Abuse Investigative Team in Wayne County by obtaining Children's Champions Grant in 1993 which also included a Child Death Review Team for Wayne County

Outstanding Young Men of America - 1977

Associate Editor, JURIS Magazine, Duquesne University School of Law Four (4) articles published - 1978-1979

Selected on the basis of achievement in Environmental Lay Symposium, Washington D.C. - 02/1978

Admitted to Bar of Pennsylvania Supreme Court - 1979

Admitted to Bar of United States District Court for Middle District of Pennsylvania

Have appeared before U.S. District Court, Wayne, Pike, Monroe, Lackawanna, Luzerne, and Susquehanna County Courts

Have appeared before Pennsylvania Supreme, Superior and Commonwealth Courts

Professional Organizations

Pennsylvania Bar Association
Wayne County Bar Association - Secretary - 1985
Pennsylvania Association of Trial Lawyers
American Association of Trial Lawyers
Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association

Special Interests

Trial Law, Criminal Law, Child Abuse Law, Homicide Prosecution, Acting, Hiking, Bicycling and Running.

Areas of Practice

• Banking & Finance Law
• Business & Commercial Law
• Contracts
• Franchising
• Business Organizations
• Construction Law
• Criminal Law
• DUI/DWI
• Traffic Violations
• Estate Planning
• Trusts
• Wills
• Family Law
• Child Support
• Custody & Visitation
• Divorce
• Litigation & Appeals
• Personal Injury -- Plaintiff
• Motor Vehicle Accidents -- Plaintiff
• Probate & Estate Administration
• Products Liability Law
• Professional Malpractice Law
• Medical Malpractice
• Real Estate Law
• Eminent Domain
• Land Use & Zoning
• Landlord/Tenant
• State, Local & Municipal Law

Litigation Percentage

• 85% of Practice Devoted to Litigation

Bar Admissions

• Pennsylvania, 1979
• U.S. District Court Middle District of Pennsylvania

Education

• Salmon P. Chase College of Law, Highland Heights, Kentucky, May, 1985
  Honors: Trial Advocacy Sponsored by the American Trial Lawyers Association
  
  
• Duquesne University School of Law, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1979
  Juris Doctor
  Law Journal: Juris Magazine, Associate Editor, 1978 - 1979
  
  
• Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, 1974
  Bachelor of Arts
  Honors: Dean's List
  Major: General Arts & Sciences (Pre-Law)
  
  

Representative Cases

• Commonwealth v. Conforti, 533 Pa. 530, 626 A.2d 129 (Trial and Appellate Counsel 1993)

Classes/Seminars Taught

• Instructor, Paralegal Courses (General Business Law, Practice & Procedure, and Real Estate), Penn State University Scranton-Worthington Campus Dunmore, PA, 1983 - 1984
• Presenter, Training of Trial Judges on Pre-Trial, Trial and Post Conv. Rel. Act. Issues Regarding the Death Penalty, A.O.P.C. - State College, 2003
• Presenter, Training of Trial Judges on Pre-Trial, Trial and Post Conv. Rel. Act. Issues Regarding the Death Penalty, A.O.P.C. - Plymouth, 2003
• Presenter, Victim Witness Training Course, P.C.C.D., 2002
• Presenter, Victim Witness Training Course, P.C.C.D., 2001
• Presenter, Basic Prosecutor's Course, Pennsylvania District Attorneys Institute School for Prosecutors, 2000
• Presenter, Victim Witness Training Course, P.C.C.D., 2000
• Presenter, Basic Prosecutor's Course, Pennsylvania District Attorneys Institute School for Prosecutors, 2000
• Presenter, Victim Witness Training Course, P.C.C.D., 2000
• Presenter, Anticipating Defenses, Advanced Child Abuse Investigation Course York, PA, 1998
• Presenter, Megan's Law Update, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Mechanicsburg, PA, 1998
• Presenter, Rules of Criminal Procedure, Criminal Law Update Course, Lancaster, PA, 1998
• Presenter, Megan's Law Update, PA Bar Institute - Criminal Law Symposium Harrisburg, PA, 1998
• Presenter, Criminal Law & Legal Procedure Relating to Child Abuse, Basic Child Abuse Investigation Course, Reading, PA, 1998
• Presenter, Criminal Law & Legal Procedure Relating to Child Abuse, Basic Child Abuse Investigation Course, Harrisburg, PA, 1997
• Presenter, Rules of Criminal Procedure, Criminal Law Update Course, White Haven, PA, 1997
• Presenter, Victim/Witness Assistance, Basic Prosecutor's Course, Carlisle, PA, 1997
• Presenter, Megan's Law: Implementation & Litigation Issues, Criminal Law Update Course, Glen Mills, PA, 1997
• Presenter, Rules of Criminal Procedure, P.D.A.A. Mid-Winter Mtg. General Session Pittsburgh, PA, 1997
• Presenter, Criminal Law and Legal Procedure Relating to Child Abuse, Basic Child Abuse Investigation Course Altoona, PA, 1996
• Presenter, Victim/Witness Relations & Issues, Newly Elected District Attorneys Seminar, Philadelphia, PA, 1996
• Presenter, Opening Statements and Preparation of Witnesses, Trial Advocacy Workshop, Johnstown, PA, 1994
• Presenter, Criminal Law and Legal Procedure, Relating to Child Abuse
• Presenter, Basic Child Abuse Investigation Course, Scranton, PA
• Presenter, Opening Statements and Preparation of Witnesses, Trial Advocacy Workshop York, PA, 1994
• Presenter, How to Win Your Case Without Witnesses:Opening, Closing, and Finding a Theme, Trial Tactics and Strategies in Child Abuse Cases, Harrisburg, PA, 1993

Honors and Awards

• Member, Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (Appointed by Governor Thomas Ridge), 2000
• Governor's Community Partnership for Safe Children (Appointed by Governor Thomas Ridge), 1999
• Act No. 127 of 1998; Amendments to Pa. Child Protective Services Law, 1998
• Member, Child Abuse and Neglect Work Group of the Governor's Community Partnership for Safe Children, 1998 - Present
• Member, Attorney General's Medical/Legal Board on Child Abuse, 1992 - Present
• Appointed to the Governor's Community Partnership for Safe Children, 1999
• Appointed to the Joint Stete Government Commission's Advisory Committee on Services to Children & Youth, 2000
• Outstanding Young Men of America, 1977
• Appointed Special Deputy Attorney General, Pike and Susquehanna Counties
• Selected on the Basis of Achievement in Environmental Law, Environmental Law Symposium, Washington, D.C., 1978

Professional Associations and Memberships

• Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, 2001 - 2002
  President
  
  
• Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, 2000 - 2001
  Vice President
  
  
• Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, 1999 - 2000
  Secretary/Treasurer
  
  
• Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, 1996 - Present
  Member, Executive Committee
  
  
• Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, 1996 - 2003
  Chairman, Megan's Law Committee
  
  
• Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, 1992 - 2003
  Chairman, Child Abuse Coalition
  
  
• Pennsylvania District Attorneys Institute, 1996 - 2003
  Member, Board of Directors
  
  
• Pennsylvania Bar Association
  
  
• Wayne County Bar Association, 1985
  Secretary
  
  
• Pennsylvania Association of Trial Lawyers
  
  
• American Association for Justice
  
  
• Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association
  
  

Past Employment Positions

• Wayne County Courthouse, District Attorney, 1992 - 2003
• Zimmer & Rechner, Partner, 1998 - 2002
• Rutherford & Zimmer, Partner, 1982 - 1997
• Wayne County Courthouse, Assistant District Attorney, 1981 - 1989
• Wayne County Courthouse, Assistant District Attorney, 1991
• Bodie & Rutherford, Associate, 1979 - 1981

Birth Information

• 1952