Florida Bar opens investigation into Matt Shirk

Grand jury recommended in 2014 that former public defender resign

Embattled former 4th Judicial Circuit Court public defender Matt Shirk now faces a disciplinary investigation from the Florida Bar, which could lead to him losing his law license all together.

The News4Jax I-TEAM learned Wednesday evening that the Florida Bar was reviewing a special grand jury's findings on Shirk from two years ago. When Shirk left office, he returned to the jurisdiction of the Florida Bar, which formally announced the next day it had opened a disciplinary investigation into his conduct.

In December 2014, a grand jury recommended that Shirk resign, citing allegations of inappropriate relationships with women in his office and poor hiring practices. But Shirk chose to finish his term, which ran through 2016.

The investigation began after Shirk hired two waitresses from a local bar, who had no legal experience, to work at his downtown office in 2013. Their salaries were funded with taxpayer dollars.

According to the grand jury's report, Shirk had a shower built in his private office, which was also paid for by tax dollars, even after the city denied his request.

The 16-page report noted, "The testimony heard by the grand jury clearly establishes that Shirk kept alcoholic beverages in his personal office during this time."

The contents of the report also quoted an e-card Shirk sent to one female employee that read: "I think if we had sex, there would be very little awkwardness after."

The drama in the public defender's office came to a head when Shirk's wife came in, confronted one of the women and accused her of having an affair with her husband, according to the report.

"He has put his personal interest first and has acted as if his office was a playpen intended to amuse and indulge his whims. In so doing, he has shown himself to be lacking the maturity to hold that office and possessed of an entitlement mentality that is simply unacceptable," the report concluded. "The grand jury calls upon Shirk to immediately resign from his position."

In an exclusive interview in 2014, Shirk told News4Jax anchor Tom Wills he would not resign because he was not charged with a crime.

"I'm not going to say that the grand jury was wrong ... but they relied on testimony that was inaccurate," Shirk said in the interview.

At the time, the Florida Bar could not investigate Shirk because the attorney was a constitutional officer. Now, Francine Walker, public information director of the Bar, said that's all change as of this week now that Shirk is no longer in office.

"When your new public defender was sworn in, then Mr. Shirk came back under Florida Bar jurisdiction," Walker said.

Walker said the Bar gets thousands of complaints every year, and more complaints against Shirk for his conduct could still come in and be part of the investigation. Right now, she said, the focus is on the grand jury's report and findings. 

"We take our responsibility of regulating the conduct of lawyers to protect the public very, very seriously," Walker said.

The Bar will now send Shirk a letter informing him of the investigation so that he can respond directly to the allegations, as they pertain to rules of the Florida Bar. He has 15 calendar days from receipt of the Bar letter, but he can request an extension (20 more calendar days). His response will be confidential.

If there are apparent violations of Bar rules, the case will go to a grievance committee for review to determine if there is probable cause to file a formal complaint against the lawyer with the Florida Supreme Court, according to Walker.

The process could take six to 12 months.

Discipline can include disbarment, suspension, public reprimand or admonishment.

News4Jax tried to contact Shirk on Thursday for comment, but he has not returned the call.