Florida Proposes Loan Payback For Prosecutors And PDs

From The (Florida) Sun-Sentinel:

As a young prosecutor with $50,000 in law school debt, David Prather worked three jobs to make ends meet.

“I worked in a gas station on Friday and Saturday nights and worked at Mervyn’s [department store] during the week,” he said. “I was exhausted.”

Though he loved his work at the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office, Prather left in 1995 after three years for more lucrative private practice.

The same story is told across Florida.

State data show more than half of Florida’s prosecutors have three years or less experience and more than half of prosecutors leave the job within their first five years.

Seeking a remedy, two South Florida representatives in the state legislature are backing a loan repayment assistance plan for career assistant state attorneys, assistant public defenders and assistant attorneys general.

“You can’t expect to recruit and retain the best and brightest when you’re paying 50 percent of a private law firm’s salary,” said one of the sponsors, Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres. “The cost of living and the burden of college and law school loans make it impossible for many good people to take these positions.”

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