Drew Peterson Defense Team

Updated: Drew Peterson posts (5-18)

May 18, 2009

Introducing Drew Peterson's defense team. [emphasis added]

Drew Peterson entered a plea of 'not guilty' at his arraignment hearing this morning at the Will County Courthouse. A hearing for a new judge and the amount of Drew's bond is scheduled for Thursday.

Lead defense counsel, Joel Brodsky of Brodsky & Odeh, says, "We are confident that when a jury examines the evidence, or should I say, lack of evidence, it will confirm what Drew Peterson has been saying all along - that he is not guilty."

Brodsky said that Drew, dressed in a blue jumpsuit this morning, was serious in his court appearance and that he understands the delays of the court process because of his own background as a law enforcement officer.
Peterson's defense team has more than 70 years of combined legal experience and his team says it will be employing top forensic experts and criminologists during the trial. One of the members of the team also has experience as a former Chicago police officer in the homicide unit and as a former prosecutor in Cook County.

The following is a list of Peterson's legal team members:

Joel Brodsky of Brodsky & Odeh – Lead Defense Counsel:
Joel A. Brodsky has more than 25 years of legal experience. He is admitted to practice in the State of Illinois, the Federal Courts for the Northern District of Illinois, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. Mr. Brodsky is also a member of the Federal Trial Bar. He has been given a 'Very High' rating in the areas of reliability, diligence, ethics, conduct, and other areas relating to professional responsibility by the nationally recognized Martindale-Hubble lawyers rating service.

Reem Odeh of Brodsky & Odeh:
Reem Odeh is a graduate of Chicago's John Marshall Law School, where she was awarded a Juris Doctor degree in 2003. She also holds a B.A. in psychology and mass communications from St. Xavier University. She served as an intern on the murder task force of the Cook County Public Defender's Office in 2002. Odeh is fluent in spoken and written Arabic and is a member of the Arab-American Bar Association, American Bar Association, Illinois State Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association. Odeh's family has roots in Elbireh, Palestine.

Andrew Abood of the Abood Law Firm:
Andrew Abood is a graduate of Michigan State University and the Thomas M. Cooley Law School. He has been a law clerk to the Honorable Michael F. Cavanaugh of the Michigan Supreme Court

Also part of the legal team but not present in Joliet today is John Paul Carroll of the John Paul Carroll Law Firm:

John Paul Carroll received his Juris Doctor degree from the John Marshall Law School in Chicago while working as a detective in the Chicago Police Department in the elite homicide/sex crimes unit. He has also worked in the Cook County Assistant State's Attorney's Office. Carroll holds a private detective license in Illinois (#115-000883) and is a member of the Bar in Illinois and Connecticut. He has both U.S. and Irish citizenship, and is conversant in Spanish.