Matt Shirk, Public Defender 4th Judicial Circuit - Serving Clay, Duval and Nassau Counties

Public Defender

The Office of Public Defender, Fourth Judicial Circuit, came into existence in 1963 following the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963), holding that the United States Constitution required the state to supply lawyers for those criminal defendants who could not afford to hire counsel. Originally, the Public Defender’s responsibilities were to represent indigents accused of noncapital felonies. Through case law and statutes, the Public Defender’s duties have grown, and now include:

• Representing every indigent citizen charged with a crime, felony or misdemeanor and may result in incarceration in the Circuit and County courts of Clay, Duval and Nassau Counties.
• Representing juveniles charged with delinquency in the Juvenile Division of the three counties of the Circuit.
• Representing indigent persons in criminal, juvenile and mental health proceedings.
• Representing indigent persons in civil commitment proceedings involving alleged sexually violent predators in cases arising in the three counties of the Circuit.
• Representing persons who are appealing their convictions, involuntary commitments or delinquency adjudications obtained in the Circuit Courts of the 32 counties within the jurisdiction of the District Court of Appeal, First District of Florida as well as in the Supreme Court of Florida and occasionally federal courts.

The Public Defender is elected for a term of four years and runs for office in Presidential election years. Matt Shirk is the fourth Public Defender to serve the Fourth Judicial Circuit. His predecessors were: Ed Austin (1963-1968), Lou Frost (1968-2005) and Bill White (2005-2009).

The mission of the Public Defender is to provide high-quality legal representation to each client.

The Public Defender is an equal opportunity employer. A person’s religion, age, gender, national origin, race, color or sexual preference has no bearing on hiring, promotion, compensation or benefits. An Affirmative Action plan is on file and available for review, as is information on the Americans With Disabilities Act.