State Attorney Larry Basford welcomed two new prosecutors to the 14th Judicial Circuit Tuesday with the swearing-in ceremonies of Heather Errede and Morgan McAfee.
Errede and McAfee join a team of prosecutors who handle misdemeanor cases in Bay County, and both hit the ground running.
Errede studied Law at Florida State University College of Law and served an internship at the 2nd Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office prior to taking a position here in the 14th Judicial Circuit. McAfee studied at the Belmont College of Law in Nashville, Tenn., and served as a legal intern at the Rutherford County District Attorney’s Office there.
Both were drawn here to pursue their passion for the law by the people of the area and the impression it made on them.
“Being a prosecutor, you’re in a better position to make a positive change,” Errede said. “I’ve wanted to do juvenile law and it was really the programs here and the whole area, the people, that drew me. The people here, when you stop and have a conversation with them, they actually care and want to talk and help make a difference. And I want to carry that over into being a prosecutor.”
McAfee was in law school with a current prosecutor in this circuit who helped her decide this was more than a good place to be a prosecutor, it was a good place to live.
“I always knew I wanted to do something to carry out justice for the community, I just didn’t know where that would be,” McAfee said. “I was that person who always said, “Yes, but what about the principle of the matter?’ So I knew what I wanted to do and I just prayed and asked God to open a door for me and show me where I should be. The answer was here.”
For more information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.