Joseph T. Vodnoy was born to immigrant parents and raised on a small chicken farm in New Jersey. He graduated cum laude from Wharton School of Business. At the University of Pennsylvania Law School he was named to law review and awarded the order of the coif at graduation. Immediately after graduation UCLA Law School offered Joseph a one year teaching position and he has lived and worked in California ever since. Even though his background was primarily in finance and tax, he was soon intrigued by the new Constitutional issues which became a part of the practice of criminal law with the many landmark decisions of the Warren Court, including Miranda vs. Arizona, Mapp v. Ohio and Gideon v. Wainwright. Joseph’s aggressiveness and scholarly argument in defense of his clients gave him immediate success in the criminal courts, both State and Federal. The State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization established a program to certify attorneys who have substantial practical experience in all facets of their chosen specialty. Joseph T. Vodnoy qualified as a Legal Specialist in Criminal Law from the inception of the program. He has maintained his certification current since it was first granted to him in 1977. United States District Court  The United States District Court is commonly referred to as Federal Court. Joseph T. Vodnoy is admitted to practice before various Federal courts including the United States Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States District Courts for the Central, Southern, Eastern and Northern Districts of California. He has also appeared pro hac vice in numerous other jurisdictions, including the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York, the Southern and Northern Districts of Florida, the United States District Courts of, Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Kansas, Mississippi, New Mexico, Nevada, and Ohio as well as others. Since he accepted his first Federal case in 1963, Joseph T. Vodnoy has defended clients accused of a variety of federal crimes, including complex narcotics and money laundering conspiracies, including defendants who have been extradited to this country, customs and international financial crimes and intellectual property offenses. He has tried Federal cases not only in California but also in Hawaii, Minnesota and Kansas, among others.  Many attorneys who practice criminal law prefer not to accept Federal cases. Due to the expertise and reputation of Joseph T. Vodnoy, many of those attorneys refer criminal clients charged in Federal cases to Joseph T. Vodnoy. State Court Jurisdictions Joseph T. Vodnoy is member of the State Bar of California and continues to accept cases in all of the Courts in California. His office is located in downtown Los Angeles, walking distance from the Criminal Courts Building. However, he handles cases everywhere, from San Diego to Redding; from San Jose to Barstow. Joseph T. Vodnoy gives the same quality of representation and importance to clients charged with misdemeanors as to clients charged with complex felonies. Joseph T. Vodnoy believes that it is his job is to fight for his client: the best defense is based on a great offense. In his years of practicing law, he has tried over 200 cases. Joseph T. Vodnoy has gone to trial on misdemeanor cases that range from charges of prostitution to drunk driving. The variety of felony cases he has tried include everything from narcotics, domestic violence, and manslaughter charges to complicated real estate fraud, kidnaping, and large narcotics conspiracy cases. Over the years Joseph T. Vodnoy has developed a network of criminal attorneys with whom he continues to work in jurisdictions all over the United States. This allows him to give his clients the benefit of an attorney who has a working knowledge of the Court system and personnel where a case is charged and to bring a fresh and creative approach to the way a client’s case is handled. To name a few states, Joseph T. Vodnoy has handled cases in Texas, New Mexico, Nevada, Florida, Louisiana, and Ohio. Attorneys in those jurisdictions (and others) refer California cases to Joseph T. Vodnoy, a fact which attests to their appreciation of the quality of legal representation which is provided by the Law Office of Joseph T. Vodnoy.  Administrative Proceedings Joseph T. Vodnoy also handles a large number of administrative matters including, city business licensing, ABC licenses, day care licensing and school district matters. Appellate Cases Appealing criminal convictions is an extremely specialized facet of criminal law. Joseph T. Vodnoy handles both State Court and Federal appeals.
Web Development By