Four years after Jacksonville’s former public defender, Matt Shirk, first faced ethics complaints, the now-disgraced attorney faced punishment Friday morning.
The Florida Commission on Ethics agreed to accept a settlement that censures and reprimands him — even though he didn’t show up to accept the censure and reprimand — and fine him $6,000 for what commission members called his “egregious” behavior in office.
The ethics complaint started due to a series of stories in The Florida Times-Union that detailed how Shirk had built a shower in his office, hired women based on their physical attractiveness, asked them for sex, drank with them on the job and then had his wife fire them.
A grand jury declined to indict him but called for his removal from office, and that grand jury found he had violated attorney-client privilege in the high-profile case of 12-year-old Cristian Fernandez who was accused of murder. Shirk had never handled a murder case before, and eventually a judge took the case away from Shirk after he publicly revealed private information Fernandez told him.
Shirk faces a new investigation after the Florida Auditor General issued a scathing report that documented how he misused staff and funds for personal gain and may have illegally deleted records, something he’s been accused of in the past as well.
Two commission members said they would have preferred to fine Shirk the maximum amount of $30,000, but all members, except the chairwoman, voted to accept the settlement.
“There are a lot of things this public defender did,” said former Tallahassee State Attorney Willie Meggs, who now sits on the commission. “But I’ll vote for it.”
Jason Berger, another former prosecutor on the commission, said the commission shouldn’t worry about the multiple Florida Bar complaints against Shirk — other lawyers have complained that the Bar seems to be delaying its own discipline of Shirk while it waits for the ethics commission to act first. “This is the kind of case with very strong egregious facts that screams for louder punishment,” said Berger who still voted to accept the settlement.
A previous settlement was rejected by the commission because Shirk didn’t fully admit guilt in that case and was only fined $2,500.
In the past, Shirk had accepted a settlement offer and later reneged, which served to delay the case.
Shirk is still practicing criminal defense and immigration law.Four years after Jacksonville’s former public defender, Matt Shirk, first faced ethics complaints, the now-disgraced attorney faced punishment Friday morning.
The Florida Commission on Ethics agreed to accept a settlement that censures and reprimands him — even though he didn’t show up to accept the censure and reprimand — and fine him $6,000 for what commission members called his “egregious” behavior in office.
The ethics complaint started due to a series of stories in The Florida Times-Union that detailed how Shirk had built a shower in his office, hired women based on their physical attractiveness, asked them for sex, drank with them on the job and then had his wife fire them.
A grand jury declined to indict him but called for his removal from office, and that grand jury found he had violated attorney-client privilege in the high-profile case of 12-year-old Cristian Fernandez who was accused of murder. Shirk had never handled a murder case before, and eventually a judge took the case away from Shirk after he publicly revealed private information Fernandez told him.
Shirk faces a new investigation after the Florida Auditor General issued a scathing report that documented how he misused staff and funds for personal gain and may have illegally deleted records, something he’s been accused of in the past as well.
“There are a lot of things this public defender did,” said former Tallahassee State Attorney Willie Meggs, who now sits on the commission. “But I’ll vote for it.”
Jason Berger, another former prosecutor on the commission, said the commission shouldn’t worry about the multiple Florida Bar complaints against Shirk — other lawyers have complained that the Bar seems to be delaying its own discipline of Shirk while it waits for the ethics commission to act first. “This is the kind of case with very strong egregious facts that screams for louder punishment,” said Berger who still voted to accept the settlement.
A previous settlement was rejected by the commission because Shirk didn’t fully admit guilt in that case and was only fined $2,500.
Shirk’s ethics case has taken many twists, turns and delays. The most recent happened when he said he was going to subpoena Fernandez and force the now-20-year-old to testify, in hopes he would say that when he was 12 he understood what Shirk was doing and he allowed Shirk to share confidential information. The commission’s lawyer said expert witnesses warned that forcing Fernandez to do that would cause serious harm to Fernandez’s recovery and it was unnecessary since Fernandez’s guardian ad litem could testify. Eventually, Shirk accepted a settlement deal.
In the past, Shirk had accepted a settlement offer and later reneged, which served to delay the case.
Shirk is still practicing criminal defense and immigration law.
The ethics commission previously investigated state Sen. Aaron Bean, a longtime friend of John Drew’s, for helping Catherine Drew get a $1 million contract from the state, but the commission didn’t find probable cause that any laws were violated.
At the commission meeting Friday, they also accepted a settlement that fined a former Nassau County School District employee $2,000. Catherine Drew, a psychologist who is also married to county Tax Collector John Drew, was chided for trying to contract with the district while she was also a district employee.
The ethics commission previously investigated state Sen. Aaron Bean, a longtime friend of John Drew’s, for helping Catherine Drew get a $1 million contract from the state, but the commission didn’t find probable cause that any laws were violated.