from staff
There are some new faces in the Public Defender’s Office. For a second time within months, an Assistant State Attorney has accepted an appointment to become an Assistant Public Defender. In all, there is a new APD in the Major Crimes Unit, one in the Felony Unit and one each in the County Court and Juvenile Units.
Phyllis Wiley is the newest APD in the Major Crimes Unit after spending the last year with the State Attorney’s Office as Division Chief in the Domestic Battery Unit. Her experience includes private practice, a litigator for the Office of General Counsel and several years in the P.D. Office.
Jason Snyder is also new to the Felony Unit; he becomes an APD in the Repeat Offender Division. He spent nearly two years with a local, private law firm handling complex commercial litigation. Prior to that, Snyder served as APD in the Fifth Circuit (Marion County/Ocala) for three years. Additionally, he served as a staff attorney with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C.
De’Anna Hines, a 2009 graduate of Florida Coastal School of Law, is the newest APD in the County Court Unit. It’s her first job as a practicing attorney. Prior to law school, Hines spent five years working in athletics, including serving as an athletic director at a private Atlanta high school, coaching college level volleyball and working as a college sports information director.
Hugh Wilkinson joins the Public Defender’s Office in the Juvenile Unit, presently serving as a certified, out-of-state attorney. He comes to Jacksonville from Long Island, N.Y. where he has spent the last three years handling commercial litigation and family law in a private law firm. Prior to that, he was a teacher.
“We continue to receive an influx of resumes from highly qualified attorneys who want to serve the Fourth Circuit as assistant public defenders,” said Public Defender Matt Shirk. “I am thrilled with our four most recent hires; it is my goal to appoint the best and brightest applicants so we can continue to provide our clients with the most effective legal representation that they deserve.”