At the outset of a debate between State Attorney Angela Corey and Public Defender Matt Shirk, moderator Dan Bean noted the two may disagree, but they’re not enemies.
By the end of the Wednesday event, those attending likely agreed the two have some stark disagreements.
Bean’s second point was a little less clear.
The two elected officials sparred verbally, with Shirk calling for more transparency and the use of civil citations from Corey’s office as his main points of emphasis.
Corey pushed back, claiming the public defender wasn’t knowledgeable about her office’s many diversion programs and was politically pandering.
After eight years in office, both are up for re-election and face what’s expected to be tough competition.
At the Southside Business Men’s Club debate, the focus was across the legal aisle — not the August primary.
After almost 35 years, Corey said her style of prosecution has not changed and statistics show crime rates are lower overall now than when she took office. That includes conviction rates among the top five in the state.
“We will not apologize for being tough on crime,” she said.
Corey has critics, which she asserts comes from anecdotal stories and misinformation played out in the media.
Her biggest disappointment, she said, is that she hasn’t corrected them all.
Shirk took an offensive posture, calling for Corey to open up civil citations further than currently used.
Across Florida, 46 percent of eligible juveniles receive the diversionary tactic, he said. In Jacksonville, it’s only 27 percent.
“My view is we can do a lot better,” he said.
For civil citations, the victim has to agree to the program and the offender admits to the crime committed. The program avoids criminal records by diverting offenders into community-based programs.
Corey’s office doesn’t provide an automatic agreement to the approach when it comes to battery. Instead, Corey said her office reviews cases, checks medical records and then makes a determination, all to protect victims’ constitutional rights.
Shirk has been persistent on the issue and focuses on it in his re-election campaign. As he continued to bring up the subject Wednesday — and calling for Corey’s office to release monthly statistics about the program’s use — Corey became agitated, her voice rising.
She said she was tired of spending time on one small portion of the system that her office uses. Corey said she is tired of correcting misinformation Shirk is spreading to attack her for political purposes.
Shirk denied that allegation.
“You’re being challenged on this issue because you always take a defensive posture,” Shirk responded, adding that it’s her responsibility to make decisions in the criminal justice system.
Toward the end of the debate, Shirk brought up a federal lawsuit filed by Deandre Ezell, a teen who is suing Sheriff Mike Williams and two corrections officers for abuse while he was in custody.
Shirk also released a video to the media of the incident and wanted to know why Corey’s office failed to prosecute the officers for the “outrageous attack.”
Corey said the attempt “might be the most pandering political statement” she’s ever seen. She responded that she doesn’t give answers on cases until she reviews everything in a case file.
Shirk afterward said he didn’t expect an answer from Corey on points he brought up and the two had a strained relationship.
“I did expect some lively debate,” he said. “That was pretty lively.”
Later Wednesday afternoon, Corey called a news conference and said after reviewing the video that it wasn’t a criminal matter. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office internally reviews cases of excessive force.
She labeled Shirk’s attempt a “cheap political trick” and “deplorable.”
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