Experienced Criminal Defense Practice:
For over 35 years Jennifer Zito has handled hundreds of clients in cases ranging from minor offenses to serious felonies including:
She specializes in the defense of DUI/assault with a motor vehicle cases and sex offense cases having defended and tried these cases with particular attention to the collateral consequences of conviction such as license suspensions, sex offender registration requirements and the onerous conditions of sex offender probation. She is also dedicated to the fierce representation of juveniles and youths attempting at all costs to protect their futures. To further her advocacy for juveniles and youths, she regularly testifies on current and proposed criminal statutes and bills before the State of Connecticut Judiciary Committee. She regularly represents students in school and college/university disciplinary proceedings on Title IX and misconduct violations.
Notably she represented one of the "Wesleyan 5" in both the State and Federal Courts involving the sale of drugs resulting in 11 overdoses achieving a satisfying result in 2015-2016 in federal court. She has most recently succeeded in winning Title IX cases and/or preventing harsh sanctions and expulsions for students from Yale, Wesleyan, Trinity College, The University of New Haven, Sacred Heart University, The University of Connecticut, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, The University of Texas, USC Davis, Quinnipiac University, Connecticut College, UConn Law School, the University of Bridgeport, Rhode Island School of Design, Brown University and Washington University. Since Covid, the rise in plagiarism cases has exploded; she has successfully advised students in these cases and in most recently in several plagiarism cases involving AI preventing expulsions and suspensions. She has also recently defended students successfully in private secondary schools throughout CT, in multiple CT public schools, and before several Boards of Education in expulsion hearings.
In the past, she and her former partner, Robert Axelrod, represented fugitive Connecticut lawyer Haiman Clein in a highly publicized capital murder for hire case involving Clein’s associate, Beth Ann Carpenter. In 2006 Attorneys Zito and Axelrod voluntarily surrendered and defended Heather Tallchief in Nevada who had been a fugitive from justice for over a decade in a case involving the largest unsolved casino heist in American history in which case they achieved a very favorable outcome.
- Sexual assault
- Child pornography
- Domestic violence
- DWI/DUI/OUI
- Possession of narcotics/sale of narcotics
- Manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide
- Burglary
- Home invasion
- Robbery
- Arson
- Internet Crimes
- White Collar Crimes
- Campus Crimes
- School Crimes
She specializes in the defense of DUI/assault with a motor vehicle cases and sex offense cases having defended and tried these cases with particular attention to the collateral consequences of conviction such as license suspensions, sex offender registration requirements and the onerous conditions of sex offender probation. She is also dedicated to the fierce representation of juveniles and youths attempting at all costs to protect their futures. To further her advocacy for juveniles and youths, she regularly testifies on current and proposed criminal statutes and bills before the State of Connecticut Judiciary Committee. She regularly represents students in school and college/university disciplinary proceedings on Title IX and misconduct violations.
Notably she represented one of the "Wesleyan 5" in both the State and Federal Courts involving the sale of drugs resulting in 11 overdoses achieving a satisfying result in 2015-2016 in federal court. She has most recently succeeded in winning Title IX cases and/or preventing harsh sanctions and expulsions for students from Yale, Wesleyan, Trinity College, The University of New Haven, Sacred Heart University, The University of Connecticut, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, The University of Texas, USC Davis, Quinnipiac University, Connecticut College, UConn Law School, the University of Bridgeport, Rhode Island School of Design, Brown University and Washington University. Since Covid, the rise in plagiarism cases has exploded; she has successfully advised students in these cases and in most recently in several plagiarism cases involving AI preventing expulsions and suspensions. She has also recently defended students successfully in private secondary schools throughout CT, in multiple CT public schools, and before several Boards of Education in expulsion hearings.
In the past, she and her former partner, Robert Axelrod, represented fugitive Connecticut lawyer Haiman Clein in a highly publicized capital murder for hire case involving Clein’s associate, Beth Ann Carpenter. In 2006 Attorneys Zito and Axelrod voluntarily surrendered and defended Heather Tallchief in Nevada who had been a fugitive from justice for over a decade in a case involving the largest unsolved casino heist in American history in which case they achieved a very favorable outcome.