Sandusky Lawyer Disputes He's Set to Step Aside to Help Client

Lawyer Joe Amendola denies report that he will remove himself from the former PSU coach's child-sex abuse case later this year

Joe Amendola, the attorney who represented Jerry Sandusky in his child-sex abuse trial, plans on removing himself as Sandusky’ attorney by years end, according to a report by The Patriot-News’ Sara Ganim.

The plan is for Amendola to sacrifice himself in hopes it will help his client in his appeal.

Per the Patriot-News report:

(Amendola’s) plan is to sacrifice his ego, take the stand and declare himself an ineffective attorney in an attempt to help his client get a new trial.

It’s a tactic he has used before. A few years ago, after losing a rape case, he hired a Philadelphia attorney to handle the appeal, took the stand and called himself incompetent to help the 20-something college student who had been convicted.

Becoming a witness in the case means he will no longer be Sandusky’s attorney.

Ganim caught up with Amendola, who became a nationally known during his defense of the former Penn State assistant coach who was found guilty of 45 counts of abuse against 10 different victims, as he continued to represent other defendants in Central Pennsylvania.

Amendola likely wouldn’t remove himself from the case until after sentencing later this month, according to the report.

Amendola denied the Patriot-News report, telling NBC10's Lu Ann Cahn that the report misinterpreted what he said.

"I'm not withdrawing from the case," Amendola told NBC10.

Even if Amendola does remove himself from the case it likely will be a long shot that it would help Sandusky who will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars.

He has for some time maintained that he wasn't given enough time to effectively prepare for the trial and that his calls for a continuance were denied.

Contact Us