Attorney Joseph D. Lento's Legal Cases

Criminal defense

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania vs. A.S.

Oct 21, 2016

OUTCOME: Charges Withdrawn Against My Client

My client came to me after being indicted by a Philadelphia Grand Jury for Witness Intimidation (graded as a felony of the first degree), Possession of an Instrument of Crime, and Terroristic Threats. ... (Witness Intimidation in Philadelphia is regarded as especially serious by the Court and Philadelphia District Attorney's Office.) After exhaustive negotiations with the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office which included information calling into question the credibility of the complainants in the matter, I was able to get the charges against my client to be "noelle prossed" (which means withdrawn.)

Criminal defense

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania vs. W.C.

Oct 19, 2016

OUTCOME: Charges to be Withdrawn

My client was criminally charged with domestic abuse of his ex-girlfriend. Among other potential evidence against my client, the ex-girlfriend had photographic evidence of injuries to her face. Despi ... te this evidence, I was able to negotiate an alternative resolution with the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office based on my client having no prior criminal contacts and employment that would be jeopardized if there was an adverse disposition to his case. Ultimately, the criminal charges will be withdrawn against my client, and as a result, my client will not have a criminal conviction, a criminal record, and will not be subject to any other negative consequences such as the possibility of being incarcerated if he had been convicted.

Criminal defense

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania vs. D.S.

Sep 30, 2016

OUTCOME: Not Guilty of All Charges

My client was accused of firearm and related offenses. At a waiver trial in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas before The Honorable Donna M. Woelpper, a police officer and a civilian complainant ... testified against my client. Under cross-examination, I impeached the credibility of both prosecution witnesses to create a reasonable doubt as to what actually took place regarding the alleged incident. By my doing so, Judge Woelpper found my client not guilty of ALL charges.

Criminal defense

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania vs. K.M.

Sep 29, 2016

OUTCOME: Not Guilty of All Charges

My client and two family members were charged with aggravated assault and related offenses after an alleged domestic assault. My client and her two family members were accused of inflicting serious bo ... dily harm upon the complainant. Despite visiting two separate hospitals regarding her alleged injuries, I was able to illicit inconsistencies in the medical reports during a trial before The Honorable Roger F. Gordon in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. Despite claiming that my client was instrumental in inflicting the injuries upon the complainant, the medical records indicated otherwise (based on the complainant's own assertions while receiving said medical care). Judge Gordon found my client and her two family members not guilty of ALL charges.

DUI and DWI

State of New Jersey vs. V.M.

Sep 13, 2016

OUTCOME: Case Resolved in Municipal Court

My client, a young man with a bright future ahead of him, was charged with Driving While Intoxicated and related offenses including causing an accident that resulted in significant injury to another pa ... rty. My client made a mistake, and the concern was that his mistake could jeopardize his future goals, both academic and professional. After extensive negotiation on my client's behalf, I was able to get the prosecution to agree to my request that the charges remain in Municipal Court. Because the charges remained in Municipal Court, my client was NOT charged with indictable offenses which would have to be resolved in Superior Court; thus exposing my client to much more severe prospective penalties.

Foreclosure

Prospective Foreclosure of J.D.'s Commercial Property

Oct 09, 2014

OUTCOME: Foreclosure Action Halted

My client, J.D., was behind in his mortgage payments on his company warehouse. The bank who held the mortgage threatened a foreclosure action to take the property. Through extensive negotiations whic ... h resulted in a payment plan agreeable to both parties, I was able to stop the pending foreclosure action. I was pleased to be able to relieve J.D. of this burden and he is again focused on continuing to build his business.

Child support

C.S. vs. S.S.

Oct 01, 2014

OUTCOME: C.S.'s demand for increased child support from my client, S.S., was rejected by the Court based on my arguments.

My client, S.S, a teacher, had been assaulted by students at work, was seriously injured, and could not return to work as a teacher. S.S.'s ex-spouse (C.S.) had a different view of things and demanded ... that S.S. pay increased child support for their children despite S.S. being unable to work while receiving significant medical care. S.S. wanted nothing more than to do right by the children, but it was my professional opinion that C.S.'s demand's were unreasonable considering the circumstances as I viewed them. Nonetheless, C.S. took S.S. to court to demand increased child support. My arguments to the Court were based on S.S.'s inability to return to work due to injuries and medical treatment and the Court ruled in my client's favor.

Criminal defense

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania vs. S.C.

Apr 22, 2013

OUTCOME: Nolle Prossed

My client was charged with firing a handgun into a neighbor's house because of a alleged dispute. Despite the conflicting statements provided by the two complaining witnesses who resided in the house, ... the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office [DAO] vigorously prosecuted the case. The DAO filed a 404(b) "Prior Bad Acts" motion because my client, on an earlier occasion, had been accused of using a firearm to settle an unrelated dispute with a different neighbor. I won this hard-fought motion which seriously weakened the case against my client. Ultimately, through my dedicated efforts, I was able to get the DAO to realize that the complaining witnesses were lying. As a result, the DAO withdrew the case against my client.

Criminal defense

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania vs. S.F.

Apr 08, 2013

OUTCOME: Not Guilty

My client was accused of a robbery of individual in mid-October 2012. Unfortunately, my client, a young man who was raised better and who nonetheless made a mistake, did in fact commit an almost ident ... ical robbery of a different individual in early October 2012 for which he was arrested at the scene. Being known to the police as a result of his involvement in the earlier robbery, the police assumed that he was responsible for the second robbery which was not the case. We went to trial and I called a solid alibi witness on my client's behalf who testified that my client was in another part of the city at the time of the incident. In addition, I presented evidence that the assigned detective did not follow proper police protocol in the identification of my client by the complainant and the witness to the robbery. The detective only showed one photograph to the complainant and the witness instead of a proper photo array (which would include photographs of the alleged perpetrator as well as other, uninvolved individuals). The only reason that the detective showed the one photograph of my client was because of his involvement in the first robbery. This was a clear violation of my client's constitutional rights and I made the judge well aware of the detective's mishandling of the case. My client was found not guilty as a result of my efforts on his behalf.

Criminal defense

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania vs. K.T.

Feb 22, 2013

OUTCOME: ALL charge withdrawn!

My client, K.T., who had never been in trouble in his entire life, was charged with Possession with Intent to Deliver and related charges. Wanting nothing more than to continue his education and pursu ... e his career aspirations in the financial field, my client was burdened with the prospect of a life-changing criminal conviction (as well as the prospect of years in jail and significant fines). It is true that my client had been associating with a family member who had a criminal past, and regretfully, this was the reason my client got caught up in an very unfortunate situation. Despite a misguided decision not to disassociate himself from someone who could him into trouble, my client was a decent young man. It took countless court appearances and countless negotiations with the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office [DAO] both in and out of court for me to demonstrate that my client deserved a second chance, but I do not take "no" for an answer when a client's life is on the line. It is not typical for the DAO to honor such a request, but by relentlessly advocating for my client, I was able to get the DAO to withdraw ALL charges against him!

Joseph D. Lento's Legal Cases (17)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania vs. A.S.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania vs. W.C.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania vs. D.S.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania vs. K.M.

State of New Jersey vs. V.M.

Prospective Foreclosure of J.D.'s Commercial Property

C.S. vs. S.S.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania vs. S.C.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania vs. S.F.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania vs. K.T.