The August 20 primary features two of the four candidates hoping to become the next Ninth Judicial Circuit State Attorney. The race, which will be decided in November, covers both Orange and Osceola counties and serves about 1.9 million residents
Who is running for State Attorney in the Ninth Judicial Circuit?
There’s a Republican primary on August 20 for two candidates running to become the Ninth Judicial Circuit State Attorney for Orange and Osceola counties.
Related: Voter Guide: Know the candidates and issues
Thomas Feiter, an army veteran and a former prosecutor who currently owns a criminal defense law firm and Seth Hyman, a former assistant state attorney and a criminal defense attorney.
Seth Hyman worked under two former state attorneys: Jeffrey Ashton and Aramis Ayala. He was let go back in 2016.
Aside from the Republican candidates trying to secure their seat in the primary, Monique Worell, a Democrat, and Andrew Bain, no party affiliation, will both be on November’s general election ballot.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, last year, suspended former State Attorney Monique Worell accusing her of neglecting her duties to prosecute. In her place, DeSantis appointed Andrew Bain. He previously worked as both an assistant state attorney and an Orange County judge.
Getting beyond the politics
While there are some concerns that this race has become more about how we got here, people like Desmond Meade say the focus has to be on the importance of the role and the ability of whomever is elected to change lives.
Meade is a 2021 MacArthur Genius Grant winner and founder of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition. He also spent 15 years behind bars and now works to create a better re-entry path for people leaving prison.
Meade said a state attorney's ideas around crime and rule of law are crucial, not only when it comes to diversion programs after someone has committed a crime, but also prevention, and supporting programs that keep young people especially, on the right track.
“If I could have a state attorney that could prevent somebody from breaking into my car, I'd rather have that type of state attorney than the state attorney that's going to prosecute somebody after they broke into my car,” Mead said.
The criminal justice system and the State Attorney
Attorney Richard Hornsby believes Orange and Osceola counties need consistency in the office as well as someone who’s a good communicator. Hornsby worked as an assistant public defender for the Ninth Judicial Circuit from 2000 to 2005. He now runs his own private law firm in Orlando.
“If they don't have a good working relationship, the criminal justice system can kind of grind to a halt because the public defender's office can put a stick in the wheels of justice,” Hornsby said. “Likewise, the state attorney's Office can also make things exceedingly difficult by making plea offers harder to come by, or cases harder to resolve.”
Hornsby also said it’s important to elect someone who prosecutes and resolves cases quickly, efficiently and fairly; something he says he hasn’t seen with the past several state attorneys.
“When I was in Osceola County at the public defender's office, we used to all go to lunch and sit down and work through the cases that we had that's completely missing from today,” Hornsby said. “Primarily because of the high turnover rate, but also because I think a major change in philosophy, because you've had four different state attorneys in the last 15 years. There's almost the sense that you can't get along with each other, and that you have to have this constant tension.”
In regards to the candidates, Hornsby said he hopes that whoever is elected is a better administrator, rather than someone who is concerned about being a great politician or lawyer. In reference to the candidates, he said the next state attorney needs to have case management and leadership skills to end the inconsistency and chaos that he has seen in the office for several years.
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