Are *you* paying for ex-Schofield prosecutor Jerry Hill's legal defense against my Florida Bar complaint?

Lawyers for the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association (FPAA) are representing Hill. Are they working Pro Bono? If not, who is paying them? Taxpayers?

[Update]

The executive director of the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association (FPAA) would not tell me if Jerry Hill is a member. He would not say if FPAA was paying for Jerry Hill’s defense against my Bar complaint. In fact, he declined to answer any questions. Instead, he wrote this:

Please direct any and all inquires regarding this matter to our General Counsel, Arthur I. Jacobs.

Arthur I. “Buddy” Jacobs is the Jacobs in Jacobs, Scholz, and Wyler.

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The private Fernandina Beach law firm of Jacobs, Scholz, and Wyler often represents the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association (FPAA) in legal matters. Here’s an example. The firm is now representing longtime former State’s Attorney Jerry Hill in his defense against my Florida Bar complaint alleging misconduct by Hill as a private lawyer in connection with the Leo Schofield case.

Current 10th Circuit State’s Attorney Brian Haas, a longtime Hill employee, is the FPAA’s treasurer secretary. [After the first version of this story, the Florida Bar website updated its FPAA information to show Haas as secretary. There is no FPAA website.]

I asked Jacob Orr, Haas’ spokesman, if the 10th Circuit SAO was paying Hill’s bills to defend against allegations of misconduct that occurred after he left office. Here’s his answer:

The SAO is not.  It is my understanding that as a former elected State Attorney for 32 years, Mr Hill is covered by his FPAA membership for representation in this matter.

Hmmmmm.

Can Jerry Hill be a member of FPAA? Do all former elected state’s attorneys get free FPAA defense lawyer help for their behavior as private lawyers?

Here’s the thing about “membership” in the FPAA. It seems restricted to active elected state’s attorneys and their active assistants. The FPAA website seems to have expired; but I found this overview in LinkedIn. There’s nothing about serving the personal needs of former prosecutors turned private lawyers — even if they were elected officials for 32 years.

I have an email into FPAA executive director Garett Berman seeking to clarify FPAA’s role in Hill’s defense. I have not heard back from him yet.

I also have a follow-up email into Orr asking if Brian Haas pays for his FPAA membership with personal funds or with agency (taxpayer) funds.

For instance, when I was an elected School Board member, the Polk County School District paid for my membership in the Florida School Boards Association (FSBA) from district (taxpayer) funds. It does so for all active board members — and always has.

The Polk County School District no longer pays for my membership to FSBA because I am no longer a member of FSBA. That is because I no longer actively serve on the Polk School Board as an elected official. Board member emeritus is not a taxpayer-funded thing.

[Update]

Orr answered my question like this: “The SAO pays an annual assessment to FPAA.  Mr Jacob’s firm representing Mr Hill has no effect on our assessment.”  

A hypothesis I’m eager to test

Orr’s answer certainly strengthens my hypothesis that private lawyer Jerry Hill is receiving private, personal, taxpayer-funded benefit from an organization of elected and public officials, of which he is not a member.

If so, I wonder if that has ever happened before. If not, I encourage Haas, Orr, Hill, and the FPAA to fully clarify their arrangement.