The Offices of Public Defender Matt Shirk added six assistant public defenders, consisting of one in the Circuit Court Unit, two in the Juvenile Court Unit and three in the Misdemeanor Court Unit.
They are:
• Tom Murphy joins the Circuit Court Unit. He spent the past eight years in the 9th Circuit public defender’s office, covering Orange and Osceola counties. He graduated from Flagler College and the Florida A&M University College of Law.
• Michelle Hoke has been appointed to the Juvenile Court Unit. She comes to the government sector from a private law firm specializing in debt-collections law. She was admitted to The Florida Bar in September and graduated in May 2011 from Florida Coastal School of Law. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Carolina – Spartanburg.
• Teddy Rivera also joins the Juvenile Court Unit. He has volunteered with the public defender’s office for 10 months. He is a May 2011 graduate of FAMU College of Law and a graduate of the University of North Florida.
• Brooke Fuller joins the County Court Unit and will handle misdemeanor cases. She is a May graduate of the Florida Coastal School of Law and a graduate of Florida State University.
• Sam Smart also joins the County Court after serving as a volunteer, extern and certified legal intern. She graduated from Florida Coastal School of Law in December and was admitted to The Florida Bar in April. She graduated from Boston University in May 2009.
• Tom Golik joins County Court after five years in local private practice. He has previous experience in public sector law serving as both an assistant public defender and an assistant state attorney. He graduated from Florida Coastal in 2004 and before that was a small businessman in his hometown of Miami. He is a 1995 graduate of the University of Miami.