• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
MENUMENU
MENUMENU
  • Home
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • FlaglerLive Board of Directors
    • Comment Policy
    • Mission Statement
    • Our Values
    • Privacy Policy
  • Live Calendar
  • Submit Obituary
  • Submit an Event
  • Support FlaglerLive
  • Advertise on FlaglerLive (386) 503-3808
  • Search Results

FlaglerLive

No Bull, no Fluff, No Smudges

MENUMENU
  • Flagler
    • Flagler County Commission
    • Beverly Beach
    • Flagler History
    • Mondex/Daytona North
    • The Hammock
    • Tourist Development Council
    • Marineland
  • Palm Coast
    • Palm Coast City Council
    • Palm Coast Crime
  • Bunnell
    • Bunnell City Commission
    • Bunnell Crime
  • Flagler Beach
    • Flagler Beach City Commission
    • Flagler Beach Crime
  • Cops/Courts
    • Circuit & County Court
    • Florida Supreme Court
    • Federal Courts
    • Flagler 911
    • Fire House
    • Flagler County Sheriff
    • Flagler Jail Bookings
    • Traffic Accidents
  • Rights & Liberties
    • First Amendment
    • Second Amendment
    • Third Amendment
    • Fourth Amendment
    • Fifth Amendment
    • Sixth Amendment
    • Seventh Amendment
    • Eighth Amendment
    • 14th Amendment
    • Sunshine Law
    • Religion & Beliefs
    • Privacy
    • Civil Rights
    • Human Rights
    • Immigration
    • Labor Rights
  • Schools
    • Adult Education
    • Belle Terre Elementary
    • Buddy Taylor Middle
    • Bunnell Elementary
    • Charter Schools
    • Daytona State College
    • Flagler County School Board
    • Flagler Palm Coast High School
    • Higher Education
    • Imagine School
    • Indian Trails Middle
    • Matanzas High School
    • Old Kings Elementary
    • Rymfire Elementary
    • Stetson University
    • Wadsworth Elementary
    • University of Florida/Florida State
  • Economy
    • Jobs & Unemployment
    • Business & Economy
    • Development & Sprawl
    • Leisure & Tourism
    • Local Business
    • Local Media
    • Real Estate & Development
    • Taxes
  • Commentary
    • The Conversation
    • Pierre Tristam
    • Diane Roberts
    • Guest Columns
    • Byblos
    • Editor's Blog
  • Culture
    • African American Cultural Society
    • Arts in Palm Coast & Flagler
    • Books
    • City Repertory Theatre
    • Flagler Auditorium
    • Flagler Playhouse
    • Special Events
  • Elections 2024
    • Amendments and Referendums
    • Presidential Election
    • Campaign Finance
    • City Elections
    • Congressional
    • Constitutionals
    • Courts
    • Governor
    • Polls
    • Voting Rights
  • Florida
    • Federal Politics
    • Florida History
    • Florida Legislature
    • Florida Legislature
    • Ron DeSantis
  • Health & Society
    • Flagler County Health Department
    • Ask the Doctor Column
    • Health Care
    • Health Care Business
    • Covid-19
    • Children and Families
    • Medicaid and Medicare
    • Mental Health
    • Poverty
    • Violence
  • All Else
    • Daily Briefing
    • Americana
    • Obituaries
    • News Briefs
    • Weather and Climate
    • Wildlife

Ex-Public Defender Matt Shirk of Jacksonville Suspended for Year

August 27, 2022 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

Mark Shirk's official photo when he was a public defender.
Mark Shirk’s official photo when he was a public defender.

The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday approved suspending former Jacksonville-area Public Defender Matt Shirk from practicing law for one year. Justices unanimously approved a suspension recommended in April by appointed referee Kenneth James Janesk.

A St. Johns County judge had recommended the suspension in April.




The Florida Bar pursued discipline against Shirk, who was elected public defender in 2008 and re-elected in 2012 in the 4th Judicial Circuit, which is made up of Duval, Nassau and Clay counties. Shirk came under investigation, including by a grand jury and the Florida Ethics Commission, for alleged misconduct.

Among the allegations were that he improperly hired women to work in the public defender’s office and then directed that they be fired “for the private benefit of himself and to save his marriage,” according to the referee’s report. An Ethics Commission report was more detailed. Shirk, a 2019 settlement found, violated the law “by hiring or directing the hiring of three women contrary to procedure, policies, or qualifications, or outside of normal hiring practices, engaging in workplace or work-related interactions with them of personal interest to himself and unrelated or marginally related to the function of the Public Defender’s Office, and terminating them or having them terminated from their employment at the Public Defender’s Office” to benefit himself.

None of the women “were at fault in any way,” the Grand Jury found.

He also was alleged to have had alcoholic beverages in a Jacksonville city building and improperly revealed information about a former juvenile client. Shirk admitted to the facts. The referee recommended that Shirk be found guilty of violating Florida Bar rules.




“While the Grand Jury believes that the personal life of public figures should be largely a private matter,” a Grand Jury found, “when those matters interfere with or undermine the ability of a public official to fairly, effectively and professionally run his office, create a perception of such in the public eye, or call into doubt the functioning of a public office, they become subject to public scrutiny.”

Shirk had no experience managing an office as large as the 4th Judicial Circuit Public Defender’s Office, nor had he the experience to handle many of the cases the office was routinely charged with, the Grand Jury found.

grand-jury-presentment-matt-shirk
Support FlaglerLive's End of Year Fundraiser
Thank you readers for getting us to--and past--our year-end fund-raising goal yet again. It’s a bracing way to mark our 15th year at FlaglerLive. Our donors are just a fraction of the 25,000 readers who seek us out for the best-reported, most timely, trustworthy, and independent local news site anywhere, without paywall. FlaglerLive is free. Fighting misinformation and keeping democracy in the sunshine 365/7/24 isn’t free. Take a brief moment, become a champion of fearless, enlightening journalism. Any amount helps. We’re a 501(c)(3) non-profit news organization. Donations are tax deductible.  
You may donate openly or anonymously.
We like Zeffy (no fees), but if you prefer to use PayPal, click here.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • Conner Bosch law attorneys lawyers offices palm coast flagler county
  • grand living realty
  • politis matovina attorneys for justice personal injury law auto truck accidents

Primary Sidebar

  • grand living realty
  • politis matovina attorneys for justice personal injury law auto truck accidents

Recent Comments

  • Pierre Tristam on Netanyahu’s ‘Cowardly’ Attack on Qatar and His Rage for Decapitation
  • No enforcement on Palm Coast Would Limit Ebike Speeds to 10 MPH on Sidewalks, Ban Riders Younger Than 13 and AirPods While Riding
  • I'd like to see you try on Palm Coast Would Limit Ebike Speeds to 10 MPH on Sidewalks, Ban Riders Younger Than 13 and AirPods While Riding
  • JC on Netanyahu’s ‘Cowardly’ Attack on Qatar and His Rage for Decapitation
  • Jan on Palm Coast Council Isn’t Thrilled by USTA Florida’s Approach Shot to Taking Over Southern Rec Center Management
  • Ed on Bunnell Gives Final Approval to 6,100-Home Haw Creek Development That Will Dwarf City’s 1,000 Households
  • Ray W. on The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Tuesday, September 9, 2025
  • Andy Dodzik on Palm Coast Would Limit Ebike Speeds to 10 MPH on Sidewalks, Ban Riders Younger Than 13 and AirPods While Riding
  • Sherry on Why FEMA Is Essential in Disasters
  • R.S. on Netanyahu’s ‘Cowardly’ Attack on Qatar and His Rage for Decapitation
  • Sherry on Netanyahu’s ‘Cowardly’ Attack on Qatar and His Rage for Decapitation
  • Jim on The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, September 10, 2025
  • James on Guns and Ammo Will be Tax-Free in Florida Until the End of the Year
  • Skibum on Ft. Lauderdale Joins Miami in Challenging Transportation Department’s Erasing of Street Art and Memorials
  • Who Cares on Bunnell Gives Final Approval to 6,100-Home Haw Creek Development That Will Dwarf City’s 1,000 Households
  • JimboXYZ on Palm Coast Would Limit Ebike Speeds to 10 MPH on Sidewalks, Ban Riders Younger Than 13 and AirPods While Riding

Log in