Fitzgerald, Karen Kohler

Mr. Perry is a 1987 graduate of Towanda Area High School, Towanda, Pennsylvania. In 1991, Mr. Perry graduated from Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania. He majored in History with a dual minor in English and Government and Law. He is a member of Phi Alpha Theta, the international history honor society. While at Lafayette, Mr. Perry was a member of the varsity football team, student council, student/faculty committee on athletics, campus tour guide, and Zeta Psi Fraternity.

Mr. Perry earned his Juris Doctorate in 1994 from the New England School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts. At NESL, Mr. Perry was employed at Coyne and Gottlieb, a litigation/labor law firm in Boston. While in law school, he also served as a law clerk for Judge Jeffrey A. Smith, President Judge of the Bradford County (Pennsylvania) Court of Common Pleas.

From 1994 through 1997, Mr. Perry served as a Dauphin County (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) Deputy District Attorney. He prosecuted hundreds of cases involving all types of crimes, including adult and child sexual abuse, felony drug cases, driving under the influence of alcohol, and criminal homicide.

In 1997, Mr. Perry joined Nealon & Gover, P.C. In 2001, Mr. Perry earned a partnership in the firm. In 2009, the firm became Gover Perry and Shore.

Mr. Perry handles all types of criminal cases. He has defended thousands of clients charged with major crimes such as rape, aggravated assault, felony drug offenses, robbery, child abuse, and capital homicide (death penalty). Mr. Perry is death penalty certified. Mr. Perry has also defended clients charged with lesser offenses such as traffic violations, underage drinking, harassment and disorderly conduct. He has been lead trial counsel in over 75 jury trials and has argued appellate cases before the Pennsylvania Superior and Supreme Courts.

Mr. Perry is a member of the Dauphin and York County Bar Associations, as well as the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys. He is admitted to practice in all Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas and within the Middle District of Pennsylvania in Federal Court. He presently serves on the board for Dauphin County Pretrial Services. He lectures frequently on various criminal law topics for Widener University School of Law, Harrisburg Area Community College, York College of Pennsylvania, and The Pennsylvania Bar Institute. He has also lectured for the Lancaster County Major Crimes Unit, Dickinson College and Camp Hill School District.

Mr. Perry currently serves as a Dauphin County Juvenile Master under Dauphin County President Judge Todd A. Hoover, and Dauphin County Judges John F. Cherry and Bernard L. Coates. He was first appointed to the position in 2008 by former Dauphin County President Judge Richard A. Lewis.