
Joseph DeRitis III
Adjunct Professor
B.A.
M.S.
J.D.
LL.M.
Education
B.A. – Villanova University
M.S. – Villanova University
J.D. – Dickinson Law School
LL.M. – Temple Law School
Personal Introduction
After receiving his B.A. and his M.S. from Villanova University, Professor De Ritis did doctoral work in statistics and psychometrics at the University of Pennsylvania before taking his J.D. from the Dickinson Law School, where he was research editor of the Dickinson Law Review and a member of the Trial Moot Court Board. He received his LL.M. in trial advocacy from the Temple Law School. Professor De Ritis was a staff attorney in the Office of the Public Defender of Monroe County, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, serving as Juvenile Advocate, in charge of all phases of juvenile delinquency litigation, and defending cases from the initial detention hearings through the trials and dispositions (sentencing). He then joined the prestigious litigation firm of Wiesmeth and Hardy, P.C., in Stroudsburg. More recently, he has served as a staff attorney in the Office of the Public Defender of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, defending cases in both the juvenile and the adult criminal courts from the preliminary hearing through the trial and sentencing phases. He has taught courses in criminal law, criminal procedure, administrative law, juvenile law, civil litigation and victimology. He has litigated actions in the Orphan’s Court (divorce, custody and support), as well as the civil and surrogate (probate) courts and has served as an arbitrator in the Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County.
Scholarly Interests
Criminal Law and Procedure, Constitutional Law, Juvenile Law, Litigation Science and the Law of Evidence