Your Connecticut Defense Lawyer

Jennifer Zito at Work in Office

Criminal Defense

For over 35 years, Jennifer Zito has defended thousands of clients in Connecticut cases ranging from serious motor vehicle offenses to the most serious felony offenses, including:

  • Sexual Assault

  • Sex Offenses

  • Risk of Injury to a Minor

  • Possession or Distribution of Child Pornography

  • Promoting a Minor in an Obscene Performance

  • Domestic Violence

  • Assaults

  • Disorderly Conduct/Breach of Peace

  • DWI/DUI

  • Assault or Manslaughter with a Motor Vehicle

  • Vehicular Homicide

  • Evading Responsibility

  • Reckless Driving

  • Possession of narcotics/sale of narcotics

  • Murder, Manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide

  • Burglary

  • Larceny

  • Home Invasion

  • Robbery

  • Arson

  • Internet Crimes

  • White Collar Crimes

  • Crimes against property

Photo of Jennifer Zito

A Personal Approach

Attorney Zito is conscientious, detail-oriented, hardworking, and committed to preserving your freedom and your record. She is dedicated to passionately defending her clients with tenacity and persistence to get the best possible outcomes. She has a team at her disposal, whether a hired investigator to gather needed evidence and/or retained experts in technology, medicine, DNA, psychiatry, etc. to support your defense. She prides herself on taking a personal approach to each case, addressing the needs and concerns of her client and the specific circumstances of each case. She is an effective and responsive communicator always outlining what a client can expect during the course of the proceedings and the specific law and evidence of their case reducing some of the anxiety inherent in this process. She cares about her clients and treats them with the dignity and respect they deserve; she is direct and honest focused always on her client’s best interests, not her own.

Attorney Zito treats each of her clients individually and with consideration for their personal circumstances. She has considerable experience representing people who suffer from mental health issues, developmental disabilities, and or substance abuse issues, and does so with compassion. She has worked successfully with multiple experts over the years to assist with the defense of these cases appreciating the interplay of the disorders on a person’s conduct and understanding of cultural norms and rules. She believes treatment over punishment is warranted where the State can prove its case, and that disorders can often explain and or excuse the misconduct alleged. She insists on a personal approach to each of her clients tailoring their defenses accordingly.

Sex Offenses

Attorney Zito has specialized expertise in the defense of sex offenses and child pornography, having successfully defended dozens of these cases with particular attention to the collateral consequences of conviction, such as sex offender registration and the burdensome conditions of sex offender probation. She works with experts trained in the field of sex offenses and risk assessment, and directs clients to needed services when appropriate. She engages technical experts to analyze computers and phones when needed to assist in the defense of her clients. Through her tireless advocacy she has secured not guilty findings, the dismissal of pornography charges, the reduction of mandatory minimum sentences, and avoided jail time, sex offender registration and/or sex offender probation for many a clients. She continues to advocate for a risk based sex offender registry in Connecticut and the elimination of mandatory minimum sentences in child pornography cases; as a result of this work she is often able to make persuasive arguments to avoid public registration and charges requiring mandatory sentences for her clients.

Defense of Juveniles and Youth

Attorney Zito also specializes in the defense of juveniles and young adults. As MRI technology has taught us, young peoples’ brains are not fully developed until their mid-20’s affecting their decision making abilities and risk assessments. They act impulsively and are more prone to making mistakes; as a result they often find themselves entangled with the law. Attorney Zito is a firm believer that young people should not be held to the same standard as an adult just because they are 18; their degree of culpability is less. Attorney Zito is therefore committed to the fierce representation of juveniles and young adults attempting at all costs to protect their futures. 

To further her advocacy for juveniles and young adults, she joined the successful crusade to raise the age of juveniles in Connecticut to 17. She spends half of her practice hours representing students in school and university disciplinary proceedings on Title IX/Sexual Harassment and Discrimination and Code of Conduct violations, which often involve parallel criminal charges in court. Young people who make mistakes can be rehabilitated with treatment, education and care; Attorney Zito works to ensure juveniles and young adults are treated fairly, are protected from convictions whenever possible, receive fair consequences appropriate for their age, and get the services they need to prevent future problems with the law.

DUI And Serious Motor Vehicle Offenses

Attorney Zito is proficient and highly experienced in representing people charged with DUIs and serious motor vehicle offenses ranging from reckless driving and evading responsibility to assault with a motor vehicle and manslaughter with a motor vehicle. She is certified in the administration of NHTSA’s Standardized Field Sobriety testing and has conducted countless motor vehicle hearings in an effort to save her clients’ licenses from suspension. While the hearings are limited in scope and difficult to win, she has an amazing track record in getting her clients’ licenses restored. When seeking legal representation in these cases it is important to hire a lawyer experienced in this area as there are several technical and legal issues unique to these cases. These offenses can result in jail time and a permanent loss of license for repeat offenders so it is critical to obtain experienced counsel to defend your rights. Attorney Zito is that counsel!

Success Stories

The decision to try a case is yours; Attorney Zito will help inform and respect your decision. She will tenaciously defend your rights at trial. Statistically, however, most cases are resolved by plea agreement. In these cases, clients will find in Attorney Zito an effective advocate who has been successful in securing dismissals in advance of trial and has negotiated countless favorable plea agreements for clients that avoided felony convictions and significant jail time. It takes time, know-how, the power of persuasion, negotiation, discovered evidence undermining the State’s case, and persistence; Attorney Zito has a proven track record with over 35 years of experience and an excellent reputation for defending her clients as evidenced by the awards and distinctions bestowed upon her over the years as well as the testimonials of her past clients. She has been described by a client as a “pit bull who digs in and doesn’t let go.” In the fight of your life or in the defense of something less serious, she is your champion.

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