On Jan. 21, Tampa’s Tiger Bay Club will host a public defender, Hillsborough’s state attorney, and the county’s chief judge, as they discuss how they work outside of the courtroom to address problems together.
State Attorney Andrew Warren, Public Defender Julianne Holt, and Hillsborough County Chief Judge Ron Ficarrotta will discuss how they work to tackle outstanding issues within the justice system in front of the Tiger Bay audience. The public is invited to purchase tickets through Tiger Bay’s ticket portal ($25-$35). Only members of the non-partisan political group are allowed to ask questions of the guests.
Tom Scherberger, President of Tiger Bay Club, told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that putting the event together started with the idea that there is usually an adversarial process that is built into the judicial system, but for big picture issues, it is sometimes put aside for the greater good.
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“The public defender and the state attorney are always opposing each other in the courtroom,” Scherberger said. “And the judge is there to kind of referee things. But what they told us is that behind the scenes outside the courtroom, the public defender and the state attorney are working on on ways to bring justice to the system.”
Scherberger says that working for the right for felons to vote was one example of how local State Attorney Andrew Warren, public defenders, and much of the community at large saw eye to eye on a social justice issue, and worked together to confront the problem. In 2019, after state legislation said felons could vote in Florida, but only after they paid fees owed to the state, Warren made it easier for those who owed fees in Hillsborough County to vote.
“When people on every side acknowledge that the ultimate goal is justice, and that the system can always be improved to get us closer to that goal—then it becomes simply a matter of sitting down to figure out how to make it happen,” Grayson Kamm, chief communications officer for SAO13 told CL in an email.
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Kamm said that some programs that rely on collaboration with the Public Defender’s Office, the 13th Judicial Circuit, and local law enforcement already exist.
He referenced some examples on SAO13’s website, such as the Juvenile Arrest Avoidance Program (JAAP), which helps replace civil citations in lieu of juvenile arrests. The Adult Pre-Arrest Avoidance Program (APAD) a diversion program that helps avoid adult arrests. The Veterans Treatment Court, Drug Court, and Mental Health Court (including Florida’s first Juvenile Mental Health Court), all help address unique mental health issues in the justice system.
“Without any one of these agencies being on board, these important and proven-effective justice options simply would not work,” Kamm wrote.
In the spirit of this collaboration and problem solving, Scherber said that Tiger Bay Club likes direct, tough questions for the guests, so the issues can be fully addressed.
“If people have questions about how they’re working on these issues, we want them to come and hold their feet to the fire on these things,” he said.
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This article appears in Dec 16-22, 2021.
