Dear FFASA Supporter,
In FFASA's very first e-newsletter, published on April of this
year, I wrote:
As a former Assistant State Attorney, I witnessed first-hand
why so many state prosecutors leave their jobs and, to this day,
continue to wonder why prosecutor turnover is not a “hot” public
issue. Instead, today’s “hot” public issues include Tallahassee’s
debate over which pie should be voted the “state pie”. Even more
ridiculous, is the fact that this “gastronomical” legislation makes
the front page of newspapers and was covered by radio and television
news agencies. Unlike the “state pie” issue, the magnitude of the
detrimental effect prosecutor turnover has on public safety remains
unrecognized.
In fact, if at the time of FFASA's first e-newsletter you would
have searched the term "prosecutor turnover" in the search engine of
any major newspaper in Florida, your search results would have been
dissapointing. For many years, the issue of high prosecutor turnover
remained in obscurity.
Today, the Sun Sentinel (one article and an editorial), the Daily
Business Review (two cover stories), the Palm Beach Sun-Sentinel
(front page article), the Orlando Sentinel, NBC 6 News, and Comcast
Newsmakers have all reported on the topic of turnover. Even the
gubernatorial candidates joined the conversation when they responded
to FFASA's request for their official positions on prosecutor
turnover. Yesterday's article in The Miami Herald validates FFASA's
efforts and continues the conversation we started. Click
here to read The Miami Herald article titled Counsel turnover takes
toll on criminal justice system
Presently, if you Google the term "prosecutor turnover" you will
find that FFASA is at the heart of the topic. Click
here to read the list of articles published after FFASA's
creation.
Thanks to FFASA, the issue of high prosecutor turnover is getting
hotter and is now front page news. High prosecutor turnover deserves
front page attention because it affects the effectiveness of our
criminal justice system. FFASA commends all the reporters who have
investigated and reported on this issue of utmost importance to the
safety of our communities!
FFASA will continue to keep the spotlight on the issue of high
prosecutor turnover as we move to implement our legislative strategy
for 2007. Keeping the spotlight on prosecutor turnover must continue
to be a year-round effort if we want lawmakers to take this issue
seriously.
As we reported last month, Florida's legislature will convene on
November 21, 2006 for an organizational session to appoint committee
members and their chairpersons. As soon as the legislative
committees are constituted, FFASA will begin direct communication
with the members in the four committees with jurisdiction over our
subject matter: Judiciary, Governmental Oversight and Productivity,
Justice Appropriations, and Ways & Means. When the legislative
session opens March 6, 2007 every member of these committees will
know that FFASA is watching and will hold them publicly accountable
for the loan repayment bill's fate.
FFASA's legislative strategy is a concerted effort to effectively
engage our legislators in Tallahassee. FFASA is prepared to do what
no other grassroots organization has done on behalf of state
prosecutors and public safety: To present a united front that
demands a solution and to hold lawmakers in Tallahassee accountable
for implementing a solution.
Thanks For Standing Up Against High Prosecutor Turnover In
Florida!
Juan Carlos Arias
FFASA President & Founder
