Q & A with State Attorney, 7th Judicial Circuit, R.J. Larizza

Q: Is your office, like many businesses, in need of employees?
A: The 7th Judicial Circuit covers Volusia, Flagler, St. Johns, and Putnam counties. We are struggling to fill prosecutor positions. We currently have approximately 68 Assistant State Attorneys, but we are about six or seven short. It’s difficult to find people to apply for a number of reasons, but for one thing, enrollment is down at law schools due to the high cost and then when students graduate, they often have a lot of student loans. Seven years ago or so, we would interview at the University of Florida and Florida State University and get between 10 and 15 candidates interested in an interview. Last year we had just one. 

Q: How are you addressing this to try to attract qualified candidates?
A: We have raised the starting Assistant State Attorney salary to a minimum of $65,000, but you can easily add $20,000 to $25,000 on top of that if you consider benefits we offer like health insurance and retirement.

Inexperienced prosecutors start in misdemeanor, and that pays the $65,000 minimum. A felony line attorney makes $75,000 minimum and for drug prosecutors, the minimum is $82,500. Felony intake attorneys, who make the filing decisions, earn a minimum of $90,000 and criminal prosecutors earn a minimum of $100,000. Finally, homicide attorneys and managing attorneys each make a minimum of $120,000.

The 7th Circuit is the highest paid in the state. I want people who work with us to be able to take care of their families and be comfortable … and to stay with our office.

Q: What is a unique benefit of working with the State Attorney’s office?
A: There’s an emotional and mental satisfaction of a well-prosecuted case. We are serving the victim and the community. When you successfully prosecute, for example, someone who has sexually assaulted a child or an adult, and when you get justice for that victim, there’s a special satisfaction of getting the crime element off the streets. It’s like nothing else.

Q: How should interested parties learn more about employment opportunities with your office?
A: All of the information about the positions, including how to apply, may be found on our website, www.sao7.com