A.G. Gancarski
Melissa Nelson may have an uphill battle to unseat 4th Circuit State Attorney Angela Corey. But former State Attorney Harry Shorstein backs Nelson without reservation.
“I’ve been with a number of very prominent lawyers encouraging her to run the last four to five years,” Shorstein told FloridaPolitics.com Friday.
“Melissa worked for me for around eight years,” Shorstein said. “She’s an outstanding attorney and person, [and that’s] pretty much the opinion of everyone in the system.”
Shorstein preceded Corey in office, and noted that the vast majority of lawyers left the office when Corey got elected. A great number got fired, Shorstein said, and a great number quit, including the “best assets.”
When asked if Nelson’s election would represent a return to normalcy for the very high-profile State Attorney’s Office, Shorstein was emphatic.
“Absolutely.”
Shorstein cited Nelson’s high level of ethics and professionalism as deeply important for the job of State Attorney, saying that she would set an example for other lawyers in the office.
“She’s demonstrated professionalism and a high level of ethical standards throughout her entire career,” Shorstein added, and has “universal respect and admiration.”
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Nelson’s path was complicated Thursday by the filing of a write-in candidate, which closed the Republican primary.
When asked if he thought it was a political move by Corey to close the ballot, Shorstein billed it an attempt to “take away the right of the majority of people to vote,” keeping them from weighing in on a “big issue among the black community,” Corey’s “focus on black juveniles.”
While recruiting a write-in candidate is “allowed,” Shorstein said that “in some respects, it is shameful.”
[Note: there are some who assert that Corey’s campaign manager filed that write-in candidate’s paperwork in Tallahassee, and FloridaPolitics.com has unsuccessfully sought an answer to that question since Thursday evening.]
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“I can’t tell you how important this race is,” Shorstein said. “It’s critical. Will the public get on board? I think they will.”
One comment
Mark
June 12, 2016 at 9:29 am
Angela Corey plays favorites and refuses to investigate her pet detectives and their families.
Check out Duval County case 2014-CA-007716, Gilbreath (Kerry Dale) v. Teresa Watson.
Watson is Gilbreath’s sister-in-law.
Gilbreath is Angela Corey’s favorite and primary detective.
This case resulted from a situation where Watson refused to participate or condone the actions of Gilbreath’s wife, Denise Watson, (former States Attorney Prosecutor and current family lawyer), when Denise attempted to bribe Teresa to not object when Denise took papers turning over their mothers significant property holdings in Georgia to Denise, to be signed by their mother while their mother was under heavy narcotics, in a nursing home.
The November 12, 2014 Defendant’s Answer and Counterclaim are locked because of the illegal activity detailed by Defendant against Detective Gilbreath and his wife, Denise Watson.
However, Defendant’s 11-17-14 and 11-24-14 Affidavits in Support of are only secured such that a request must be submitted to obtain copies.
In Judge Virginia Norton’s 3-13-2014 ORDER on Motions, she iterated that she was referring this to the States’ Attorney’s Office.
Over and over again, through the months of hearings, Judge Norton kept chiding Detective Gilbreath and his attorney, Michael Price, for having brought this case to her higher level court.
Assuming that Judge Norton carried out her referral, Angela Corey should have recused her office from any investigation, and it should have been referred to another jurisdiction.
It was not.
One final note – Watson has mentioned to me that when she searched the Duval County Clerk of Court website, she finds numerous evictions actions of a Teresa Watson, through the years. She wants it stressed that SHE is not the same Teresa Watson, and never has lived in Duval County until 2013, and lived only at Plaintiff’s condo until March of 2015.
M.
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