The longtime Broward State Attorney is running for re-election against a seasoned criminal trial lawyer.
Brian Ballou covers southwest Broward County for the Sun-Sentinel. A University of Arizona graduate, he has covered breaking news and courts in Boston, New York, Detroit and Los Angeles. He grew up in Sierra Vista, Arizona.
In Florida, the top prosecutor in each judicial circuit is called the State Attorney. The other attorneys working at the State Attorney’s Office are called “Assistant State Attorneys.”. Other states use the term “District Attorney.”. In the federal system, the equivalent terms are “United States Attorney” and “Assistant United States Attorney.”.
The State Attorney is given the task of seeking to convict or punish the guilty while protecting the innocent from false allegations. While acting as the Chief Criminal Prosecutor, the State Attorney also represents the State in various civil matters and litigation.
In addition to the 20 state attorneys, Florida also has an elected cabinet post position for the attorney general who serves as the chief legal officer of the state and is head of the Florida Department of Legal Affairs. Ashley Moody, a Republican, is the current attorney general who took office on January 8, 2019.
Florida is divided into twenty (20) judicial circuits, each of which is composed of Circuit and County Courts. For this reason, Florida has twenty (20) different State Attorneys representing the twenty (20) different judicial circuits. In each judicial circuit, the State Attorney acts in a semi-judicial role in leading a staff ...
For the District 3 seat, which covers East Broward, Incumbent Heather Brinkworth faced challenger, Sarah Leonardi. Leonardi, a teacher, appeared to have bested Brinkworth, who has held the seat since 2014, by receiving about 52 percent of the vote, with nearly all votes counted.
Carli Teproff grew up in Northeast Miami-Dade and graduated from Florida International University in 2003. She became a full-time reporter for the Miami Herald in 2005 and now covers breaking news.
Gordon Weekes, chief assistant public defender in Broward County. While Weekes will most likely be the next public defender, there is a write-in candidate who filed for November’s general election. Also on the ballot Tuesday were two Broward County School Board seats. Four were up for election, but two board members did not face challengers ...