Joy, a Chicago native, holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science (cum laude) from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. Founded by Saint Mother Theodore Guerin, SMWC is the oldest, Catholic, women’s college in America.
In addition to a law degree, in 1993, she received a Master of Arts in Public Affairs/Policy Analysis, with a Women’s Studies minor, from the LaFollette Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Joy attended law school at Indiana University-Bloomington and the University of Arizona. She received her Juris Doctorate from Indiana University-Bloomington in 1996.
Joy’s career consistently has emphasized a commitment to service and social justice. In law school, she clerked for the Cook County Office of the Public Guardian. Working as a provisionally licensed attorney under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 711, Joy handled trial court child abuse and neglect matters. She also provided research and writing to the office’s long term litigation unit for a federal lawsuit against the Department of Children and Family Services.
After law school, Joy started her career as the statewide coordinator of the Wisconsin Coalition Against the Death Penalty. Then she joined the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office as an assistant district attorney.
While on assignment with the US Attorney’s Office, Joy tried and won four federal jury trials and successfully litigated several Seventh Circuit appeals, including a Solicitor General appeal. Five of those cases resulted in published decisions. Those cases included one of the leading cases on mere presence (United States v. Starks) and an important decision regarding Miranda warnings and voluntariness. (United States v. Cranley)
In 2005, Joy entered private practice, emphasizing federal litigation. Her criminal practice has handled all manner of cases, from disorderly conduct and littering to white collar fraud and homicide. Her civil practice involves federal trial matters coast-to-coast. Her current practice interests include federal trial consulting, electronic discovery under the Federal Rules of Evidence, complex criminal litigation, and civil rights litigation.
Consistent with Joy’s commitment to social justice for all, Joy currently serves on the Arizona State Bar Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Committee. She also serves on the Arizona State Bar Criminal Defense and Procedure Committee.
Joy is admitted to practice in the following jurisdictions: Wisconsin, Arizona, the Eastern District of Wisconsin, the Western District of Wisconsin, the District of Arizona, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.
In October 2011, Joy graduated from the Gerry Spence Trial Lawyers College in Dubois, Wyoming. She completed the Trial Lawyers College’s faculty training in May 2014.
When she is not working, Joy pursues her interests in yoga, surfing, swimming, horseback riding, and animal welfare issues. Joy is a member of the St. Mary’s Basilica Catholic Parish in downtown Phoenix.
Professional Memberships
- State Bar of Arizona
- State Bar of Wisconsin
- National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
- American Association for Justice
- American Inns of Court
Legal Experience:
Assistant District Attorney
Milwaukee County
1998-2005
Law Clerk
Cook county Office of the Public Guardian
Summers 1994 and 1995
Clerked for trial teams and the long-term litigation of the largest child law and policy office in America.
Areas of Practice/Assignments:
- Milwaukee Metro Drug Unit
- General Felonies
- Children’s Court – CHIPS and Delinquencies/Sexual Assaults
- Misdemeanors/Drunk Driving
Education:
- Graduating class of the Gerry Spence Trial Lawyers College, September 2011
- Doctorate of Jurisprudence Indiana University-Bloomington/University of Arizona, 1996
- Master of Arts, Public Affairs and Policy Analysis University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1993
- Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, Political Science St. Mary-of-the-Woods College, 1991