- Matthew Shirk
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Matthew A. Shirk 
Born 1973 Education B.S. Western Illinois University
Juris Doctor, Florida Coastal School of LawOccupation Lawyer Employer State of Florida Title Public Defender, Fourth Judicial Circuit Term 2009-2013 Predecessor Bill White Successor incumbent Political party Republican Religion Baptist Matthew Aaron Shirk (born 1973) is an American lawyer currently serving as Public Defender for Florida's Fourth Judicial Circuit. He was elected to the position, which covers Clay, Duval, and Nassau Counties, in 2008.
Contents
Early life
Shirk graduated from Western Illinois University with a bachelor of science degree in 1997, and subsequently moved to Jacksonville, Florida, where he earned a law degree from the Florida Coastal School of Law in 1999.[1] As a law student he interned at the State Attorney's office under the supervision of prosecutor Angela Corey, who was elected State Attorney in 2008.[2] He was admitted to the Florida Bar on April 12, 2000,[3] and then worked for five years as an Assistant Public Defender (APD) in the Fourth Judicial Circuit Court. Shirk left the Public Defender's office and was associated with the Jacksonville law firm of Tassone & Eler for almost two years before opening a private practice with William Durden III in November 2006.[2][4]
Public Defender
In 2008 Shirk, a Republican, ran for Public Defender of Florida's Fourth Judicial Circuit Court.[5] Some commentators criticized Shirk's lack of homicide experience as well as his pledge not to take a confrontational stance with law enforcement if he were elected, in contrast to the typically adversarial relationship between defense attorneys and law enforcement.[2][6][7] However, Shirk stressed that his roll was to manage the office, not necessarily to be the lead attorney.[6] Shirk won the election 51% to 49% with a margin of 14,246 votes.[5] The win was considered an upset, partly because it was the first time a Republican had run for the office since the state of Florida established the position in 1963.[6]
More notably, Shirk is controversial due to his firing of 10 attorneys when taking office, including two who played a pivotal role in the acquittal of an innocent teenager forced to sign a confession by violent police officers. Shirk fired the attorneys on the 8-year anniversary of the acquittal.[8] After winning, Shirk declared he would streamline the office to increase services and reduce costs.[6] The Florida Times-Union was impressed with Shirk's performance in his first year. In a March 18, 2010 editorial, the paper praised his cost-cutting measures, such as introducing videoconferencing to improve staff efficiency and shifting from paper to electronic documents, as well as his community work.[9] According to the Jacksonville Daily Record, Shirks' implementation of videoconferencing saved about $120,000.[10]
Term
Legal offices Preceded by
Bill WhitePublic Defender,
4th Judicial Circuit
2009–2012Succeeded by
incumbentReferences
- ^ Lawyer info & ratings-Matthew Aaron Shirk. avvo.com. Retrieved May 19, 2011.
- ^ a b c Stuart, Gwynedd (December 16, 2008). "Courting Disaster". Folio Weekly. Retrieved May 19, 2011.
- ^ "Lawyer info-Matt Shirk" Florida Bar, Find a Lawyer
- ^ [1]
- ^ a b 2008 General Election Results. election.dos.state.fl.us. Florida Department of State, Division of Elections. Retrieved May 19, 2011.
- ^ a b c d Schoettler, Jim (November 6, 2008). "Defender-elect vows more services". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved May 19, 2011.
- ^ Littlepage, Ron:[2] The Florida Times-Union, January 13, 2009, "Demands of city pension funds are booming". Retrieved July 9, 2009.
- ^ "Matt Shirk you are the weakest link" Bennett & Bennett, PA
- ^ "Public defender Matt Shirk: So far, so good". The Florida Times-Union. March 18, 2010. http://jacksonville.com/opinion/editorials/2010-03-19/story/public_defender_matt_shirk_so_far_so_good. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
- ^ Wilhelm Jr., Joe: "Public Defender eyes $120,000 annual savings" Jax Daily Record, June 28, 2010
External links
Categories:- 1973 births
- Living people
- American lawyers
- Government of Jacksonville, Florida
- Florida Republicans
- Western Illinois University alumni
- People from Jacksonville, Florida
- Baptists from the United States
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