Attorney and Connecticut State Probate Judge, Ret.

Practice Areas

• Probate & Estate Planning (50%)
  
• Estate & Trust Litigation (25%)
  
• Plaintiff's Personal Injury (25%)
  

Admitted:

• State Courts - 1984, Connecticut; 1985, New York; 1986, Virginia
• Federal Courts: District of Connecticut (1985); Southern District of New York (1988); Western District of New York (1996); U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (1989);
• United States Supreme Court (1990).

Educational Background:

• Juris Doctor Degree (Rank: Third), O.W. Coburn School of Law, Oral Roberts University, Tulsa, OK in 1984;
• Bachelor of Arts in History (Honors Diploma; Phi Alpha Theta), Fairfield University, Fairfield, CT in1981.

Honors and Awards:

• Member, Million Dollar Advocates Forum since 2002;
• Who's Who in American Law, Millennium Edition in 2000-2001; 
• Michael P. Tierney Advocate Award in 1998;                
• Who for Connecticut in 1993;
• Who's Who for American Law Students in 1984;
• Law Review Invitee in 1983-1984.

Other Achievements:

• Briefed and argued before Connecticut Supreme Court March 19, 1996, in a winning administrative law case, entitled Dolgner v. Alander, 676 A.2d 865, 237 Conn. 272 (Conn. 1996);
• Briefed and appeared with the argument team before the U.S. Supreme Court on October 16, 1996, in a winning First Amendment Free Speech case, entitled Schenck v. Pro-Choice Network, 519 U.S. 357, 137 L.Ed. 2d 1 (1997); 
• Briefed and argued three times in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York State National Organization for Women v. Terry, 41 F.3d 794 (2nd Cir. 1994), winning a reversal after the third hearing. The main achievement of this 1994 case is that Attorney Secola had appealed twice in this case to the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court had granted these two petitions and had vacated the Second Circuit Court twice at 507 U.S. 901 (1993) and 512 U.S. 1249 (1994), and the Second Circuit Court finally reversed and vacated the substantial contempt fines and attorneys' fees levied against protestors, because the fines were criminal in nature and the failure to provide the normal criminal due process protections meant that the fines and attorneys' fees had to be reversed and vacated.

Scholarly Lectures and Writings:

• Published Probate Court opinion in the Estate of Charlene E. Kreinus, 17 Quinnipiac Prob. L.J. 9 (2003)
• Published Article, "The Judicial Review of John Marshall and Its Subsequent Development in American Jurisprudence", which appears in Restoring the Constitution: 1787-1987 (Probe Books, 1987), 9 Bridgeport Law Review 11 (1988) and 18 Lincoln Law Review 1 (1988)

Bar/Personal Activity

• Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association;
• Connecticut Bar Association;
• Litchfield County Bar Association; 
• Greater Danbury Bar Association; 
• Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles;
• National College of Probate Judges; 
• Connecticut Probate Assembly

Pro bono/Community Service:

• Member, Board of Directors, Brookfield Historical Society, 2004 to present;
• Member, Brookfield Youth Commission, 2003 to present; 
• Member, Board of Education for the Greater Danbury Catholic Elementary Schools, 1992-1996;
• Member, City of Milford Board of Education, 1989-1990; 
• Sponsor and Volunteer, Brookfield Babe Ruth little league and Pop Warner football, 1996-2003;
• Volunteer, Handy Dandy Handyman Man Ministry (HDHM), a non-profit organization that aids the poor, disabled and elderly, 2002 to present; 
• Volunteer at school and sporting events, St. Joseph Elementary School and Immaculate High School; 1990-2008

(203) 740-2350 Fax: (203) 740-2355 jsecola@secolalaw.com