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Chief Assistant State Attorney Amira Fox is the most qualified and experienced choice to become top prosecutor in the 20th Judicial Circuit serving Southwest Florida.
Fox earns our strong endorsement for election as state attorney to take over from her boss, retiring Steve Russell. It should speak volumes to voters that Russell, a virtually unchallenged fixture as state attorney for 15 years, chose Fox in 2014 as chief assistant. That means she already has several years’ experience handling the awesome responsibility of directing a team of 120 prosecutors and staff of 300, with the accompanying budget management and immense caseload challenges that state attorney's offices in Florida face.
If this isn’t persuasive enough, consider the endorsements of Fox by Collier Sheriff Kevin Rambosk and Lee Sheriff Mike Scott. Each sheriff has handily won re-election every time; the public has an abiding faith in them that should carry great weight as they support Fox.
Keep in mind that law officers always want their arrests prosecuted, so the potential for an adversarial relationship exists if a case doesn’t go forward. If there was a concern Fox won’t be tough on crime, the area’s sheriffs wouldn’t be openly endorsing her.
Notably, our counties continue to experience record low crime rates while simultaneously looking toward rehabilitative options when appropriate for nonviolent offenders. There’s a drug court (for users, not drug sellers), a mental health court and a special court for struggling military veterans who offend.
Fox has the bona fides of both a passionate prosecutor and a compassionate one. It’s not just a case to her; it’s a person and a victim. Each case means figuring out “the right thing to do for the person,” she says.
Meanwhile, she says “community outreach is immensely important” and points to the office’s efforts such as battling economic crimes (fraud) and racketeering (gangs) as examples.
Why elect Fox if it means just continuing the same path as the current state attorney? We’re convinced Fox won’t undo what’s right but will bring her own vision to the office. She cited an example of expanding efforts to take a fresh look at cold cases to see if new eyes can find ways to identify offenders and bring them to justice.
Let’s address some criticisms from the campaign trail:
• Low conviction rate. We’ve looked at state court record summaries and don’t find alarming variances compared with conviction rates in other circuits, if comparable data is used. If there are fewer adjudications of guilt, that’s judicial discretion, not the state attorney’s final call. If this reflects a concerted effort to give first-time offenders the chance to rehabilitate and contribute to society rather than becoming a career jailbird, we don’t find fault.
• Campaign contributions from prominent attorneys. Who represents a defendant in court is public record, as are campaign donations. Why presuppose favoritism will occur? If it happens, it would be transparent on the public record. Judicial candidates get similar contributions. This is an argument for campaign finance reform, not who we should elect.
• Not prosecuting tough cases. There’s a high burden of proof in court for prosecutors, who must be demanding of investigators and evidence rather than waste valuable court time on shaky cases. Some decisions are “heartbreaking” for prosecutors to make, Fox says, but following the law isn’t a negotiable principle.
We have one regret in endorsing Fox over opponent Chris Crowley. A November write-in candidate leaves this Aug. 28 decision to half the voters — Republicans only. We’d prefer a resounding vote by all Southwest Floridians for Amira Fox as our next state attorney.
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