Matt Shirk... Public Defender or Playboy?

[CityLife]

This guy is melting down badly. Sad to see...but also scary that somehow he held an important office in this city.

http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=540497

On the morning a newspaper story detailed criticisms of how Public Defender Matt Shirk's office handled the terminations of three female employees, Shirk sent a blistering text message to one of the men quoted in the story.

In an Aug. 25 story, A.L. Kelly told The Florida Times-Union he "could not deal with those folks (the Shirk administration) mistreating people and destroying their lives the way they did."

At 5:36 a.m. that day, Shirk sent a text message to Kelly, the former director of investigations, calling him a "no good backstabbing piece of garbage with ZERO integrity. ZERO."

Shirk questions Kelly's loyalty in the text message.

"And to think what I've done for you giving you a job paying $85k a year and it was about the most cushion job i (sic) could give someone. ... And then when you left I paid out your leave time because of the friendship because i didnt (sic) have to and had not for many other employees. And this is how you repay me? This (is) how ... much my family means to you?"
Shirk went on to say "I always knew you were a lier (sic) but I could deal with it. But you are something else."

[thelakelander]

Who needs AMC, Regal or Redbox? Keep those text messages coming!

[BridgeTroll]

A must read from yesterday... all three girls named... even the one he calls... "Chesty"...

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2013-09-11/story/shirk-and-his-chief-staff-connected-deletion-shirks-wifes-access-badge

[Cheshire Cat]

Looks like Matt Shirk has deactivated his FB page.  He should have done this before he took his personal business with his wife public.  Just my opinion.

[Vautrinjr]

This story seems to have disappeared. I could find no online references on a search for Matt Shirk dated after Sept 15.

[spuwho]

As far as I can tell States Attorney Bill Cervone has not released his findings yet.

[spuwho]

Per the T-U on December 16, 2013.

Topher Sanders: (904) 359-4169 is the reporter for the T-U.

The investigation into embattled Public Defender Matt Shirk's office will span into 2014, but is anticipated to conclude by the end of March, special prosecutor Bill Cervone's office said Monday.

That update came after Shirk's wife filed for divorce Friday, according to court records. The couple has been together for nearly 10 years, but separated in November after weeks of media scrutiny of Shirk's management of his office.

Michelle Shirk's divorce filing says her marriage is "irretrievably broken."

Cervone was appointed in late August by Gov. Rick Scott to investigate Shirk's office after the Times-Union published articles about the firing of three female employees coming on the heels of Shirk's wife confronting one of the women at the public defender's office.

The newspaper revealed that Shirk's office deleted public records just days after the Times-Union requests similar items from the city and that Shirk permitted alcohol consumption in his office, which is against city law. Also, Shirk spent $5,000 of his campaign funds at an auction benefiting the private school attended by one of Shirk's family members. Campaign funds aren't supposed to be used for personal gain, but Shirk said he didn't personally gain from the purchases.

Darry Lloyd, Cervone's deputy chief investigator, wouldn't provide details on the investigation but said everything "is pretty much still under review."

"At the early part of next year we'll be able to have more information and move forward," Lloyd said.

Lloyd said the investigation is moving at it's current pace because Cervone's office wants "to get it right." "We're not going to rush through," he said.

Other factors impacting the how long the investigation will take are that those assigned to the case have other duties and Cervone's office is involved in about a half-dozen special prosecutor assignments, Lloyd said.

Cervone is state attorney in the 8th Judicial Circuit, which serves Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Levy, Gilchrist and Union Counties.

Shirk did not comment on the investigation, but he did send a response to the newspaper related to his wife's divorce filing.

"It is offensive that the Times-Union would write about such things," Shirk said in a text message. "It is not newsworthy in any way, shape or form. My personal life is just that, personal."

Shirk said he would expect and appreciate "privacy" related to his family.

Michelle Shirk declined to comment for this story.

But according to court records she's asking to have exclusive rights to the couple's home, alimony and child support, and to share parenting responsibilities of the couple's school-age son, with Michelle being the "majority timesharing parent."

In August, the Times-Union published the accounts of two former public defender investigators who said several female employees were unfairly terminated by Shirk. One of the female employees had a confrontation with Michelle Shirk at the public defender's officer prior to being terminated.

The story detailed the May and June hirings of two female employees from Whisky River nightclub and restaurant into the Public Defender's Office. The investigators said there was a perceived unusual closeness between Shirk and one of the women, Kayle Chester. Chester, another woman hired from Whisky River and the woman Michelle Shirk confronted were fired in June.

Public records released in October show Matt Shirk exchanged dozens of text messages with Tiffany Ice, the woman Michelle Shirk confronted at his office. Michelle Shirk told the Times-Union in September that she went to the office to have a face-to-face meeting with Ice after reading "inappropriate" text messages between Ice and her husband. Matt Shirk acknowledged sending inappropriate text messages to Ice and other employees, but wouldn't divulge the details of those texts.

Records showing Michelle Shirk had an access badge to the public defender's office were deleted two days after a Times-Union request for similar records related to Matt Shirk's access badge. Matt Shirk has said he didn't know about the newspaper's request when he instructed his chief of staff to delete his wife's badge information.

[thelakelander]

Lawsuit says Public Defender Matt Shirk asked employee to shower with him in office

http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1279529-tiffany-ice-suit.html#document/p1

A former administrative assistant in Public Defender Matt Shirk's office has filed a federal lawsuit against Shirk for sexual harassment, gender discrimination, promoting a hostile work environment and libel.
Tiffany Ice claims she was fired last year because of her gender after Shirk sexually harassed her. The suit, filed last week, contains many of the same details first published by the Times-Union in 2013.

"During business hours defendant Matt Shirk sent plaintiff a text message asking her to take a shower with him in his private office shower," the suit states.

Ice's attorney, Bill Sheppard, said the suit "speaks for itself" and declined further comment.

The suit also claims Shirk later sent Ice an electronic greeting card with a picture of a man and a woman and a caption reading: "I think if we had sex there would be very minimal awkwardness afterwards."

The lawsuit states Ice rejected "Shirk's advances."

Shirk could not be reached for comment.

full article: http://members.jacksonville.com/news/metro/2014-08-25/story/lawsuit-says-public-defender-matt-shirk-asked-employee-shower-him-office

[tufsu1]

I wonder if Shirk can use "you were also hired because of your gender" as a way of getting out of this.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

I wonder if Shirk can use "you were also hired because of your gender" as a way of getting out of this.

At the minimum he should have a nice counter-suit.

I'm sure afternoon showers and plenty 'o sex was promised and once she was hired, she fell through on her end of the deal.  Sounds like Shirk needs some "Family Law only.  Men Only."  help.

[TheCat]

Running for Re-election

It took Public Defender Matt Shirk the better part of a year to decide if he was going to seek re-election.
And a lot of thought and prayer.

It wasn't a matter of Shirk wavering between yes or no.

It was a matter of what was best for his family considering, he said, "the public nature of what we went through for a couple of years."

Shirk's public problems began Aug. 25, 2013, when The Florida Times-Union published a story on his indiscretions with female employees.

Day after day, the media was at his front door. His marriage was unraveling. And, there were other personal issues going on that he won't talk about.

One week after the first story published, he found himself telling God, "I will follow you if you save me from all this."

The result, Shirk said, was "a radical transformational encounter with Jesus Christ that changed my life."

His professional troubles continued for more than a year, culminating with a grand jury report that called for his resignation.

Shirk doesn't want those issues to define his re-election campaign, where he will face retired County Court Judge Charles Cofer, the only opponent currently in the race.

Shirk knows he can't hide from the scandals of the past two years. "To the extent that I need to apologize to people, I will," he said.

But he intends to talk about positives, like the Vision for Excellence program his office started in 2010.

The mentoring program for 9- to 15-year-old boys has grown each year, he said, from about 20 the first year to 70 last year.

The priority, Shirk said, is to keep those young men from becoming clients of his office.

The program is run by a nonprofit established by the office, Shirk said, and funded mainly through private donations.

Math and science teachers are hired to tutor the participants.

http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=546830

[TheCat]

Retired Judge Charles Cofer is running against Matt Shirk:

Fourth Circuit public defender Matt Shirk has been under fire so long it's hard to remember when he wasn't. A shower scandal will do that to you. He has yet to file for re-election, and he dodged one significant challenge when Mike Weinstein took a job in the Lenny Curry administration.

Even after Weinstein demurred, Shirk still hedged his bets when it came to filing for re-election.

He has yet to file.

Now, if he does, he has an opponent who has, like Weinstein, credibility throughout the Jacksonville area. But unlike Weinstein, who raised $40,000 for the race before quietly withdrawing, he's in it to win it.

On Monday, Duval County Judge Charles Cofer retired from the bench. On Tuesday, he telegraphed his move to run for public defender to replace Shirk. And he has tough critiques of the incumbent.

On Wednesday, Cofer drove to Tallahassee, very early in the morning, to open his campaign account.

On the way back, he talked with FloridaPolitics.com.

Cofer described Shirk as "all icing and no cake," underperforming in key ways.

"His job is to provide adequate representation for defendants," Cofer said. "What I fault him for is his failure of leadership."

"I don't offer ill will toward Shirk," Cofer said. However, he said he "couldn't stand by any longer and see the office suffering."

http://floridapolitics.com/archives/195692-charles-cofer-finally-launches-challenge-to-matt-shirk