State Attorney Larry Basford announced Morgan Morrell and Jackson White have been sworn in both as members of the Florida Bar and as prosecutors for the 14th Judicial Circuit.
Both said they were drawn to the area by its geography and legal history and are ready to make an impact.
Jackson White obtained his law degree from Florida State University College of Law after graduating from FSU. During his college career he received a Certificate of Distinguished Pro Bono Service and worked for Legal Services of North Florida in numerous capacities.
Morgan Morrell attended Texas Tech University and received her law degree from the Charleston School of Law in South Carolina. While working as an Executive Legal Assistant Intern during that time she uncovered a $170,000 embezzlement by an employee and assisted in the criminal investigation that ultimately resulted in most of the funds being recovered.
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White said he grew up in a rural small town in west Georgia, “and was looking for an area that had a southern culture and that wasn’t a big city.” He had lived in Daytona Beach and liked the mixture of southern culture and beaches he saw here.
“I think in our current climate the most important thing an assistant state attorney can do is ensure people are held accountable for their actions,” White said. “It protects the people of our community and keeps them safe. You deter criminals by ensuring people know they’re not going to get away with it.”
Morrell said she enjoyed living by the beach in Charleston, and in studying areas for potential jobs she was drawn by what she described as this circuit’s “pristine” reputation. Initially in college she studied finance and was interested in business law, but when she uncovered a $170,000 embezzlement while working as a legal assistant intern her career plans took a turn.
“Discovering and investigating the embezzlement sparked my passion for wanting to pursue white collar crimes,” Morrell said. “Although those aren’t typically crimes that put others in danger physically, they do great harm financially and emotionally and those criminals deserve to be punished accordingly.”
For more information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.