John F. Mizner, Esq. 

Attorney John F. Mizner is widely regarded as one of the most aggressive litigators in northwestern Pennsylvania. He fights to protect peoples' rights, and he fights hard. He happily battles the forces of injustice and discrimination, regardless of position or power.

As a freshman in college, Attorney Mizner developed an interest in and regularly visited inmates at a state correctional institute located nearby. From that interest, a vocation committed to protecting the civil rights of others was born. In 2019, Attorney Mizner successfully won an appeal before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, which established that disabled inmates who are housed in the Restrictive Housing Unit (RHU), as known as solitary confinement or the "hole," are entitled to the use of handicap accessible showers. That same year, Attorney Mizner successfully resolved a lawsuit in favor of another inmate who had been housed in the RHU for over seventeen years by arguing that the inmates Fourteenth Amendment due process rights and his Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment had been violated.

Civil rights attorney John Mizner has successfully sued municipal and state police and correction officers, the Pennsylvania Department of Correction, as well as jail and prison medical providers. John Mizner is not afraid of a fight, regardless of the opponent, and is committed to fighting for what's right, from start to finish.

Attorney Mizner also has an extensive background in politics. He served as the Chairman of the Erie County Republican Party for 12 years and worked on a number of major campaigns during that time, including the successful campaigns of former Governor Tom Ridge, former Senator Rick Santorum, and former Congressman Phil English. Through these experiences, Attorney Mizner developed a unique take on the art of persuasion and a mastery of the out-of-court advocacy techniques that help to win cases.

Attorney Mizner has also been a Commissioner of Pennsylvania's Independent Regulatory Review Commission beginning in 1995 and served as Chairman from 2014 to 2016 and Vice Chairman from 2016 to 2020. The Independent Regulatory Review Commission examines proposed regulations from virtually every Pennsylvania state department, agency, board or commission and then votes to approve or disapprove the regulation. Attorney Mizner's service as a Commissioner has given him a deep understanding of administrative law that enhances his ability to assist his clients when they deal with government agencies.

Attorney Mizner focuses particularly on civil rights violations and serious injuries and deaths from medical mistakes and automobile, motorcycle, and truck accidents.

EDUCATION

University of Pittsburgh School of Law
Juris Doctor, 1988

St. Vincent College
Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, 1985

Bar Admissions

• United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

• United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

• United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania

• United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania

• Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

• State of New York