Craig Alan McCarthy (born August 13, 1967) is a

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

, lawyer, and politician from

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. He moved to Florida in 1979, and graduated from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

in 1989, serving as a member of the

Berlin Brigade The Berlin Brigade was a US Army brigade-sized garrison based in West Berlin during the Cold War. After the end of World War II, under the conditions of the Yalta and Potsdam agreements, the Allied forces occupied West Berlin. This occupation las ...

until returning to the United States to attend law school at Florida State University College of Law. He has practiced many areas of law, eventually opening his own practice for primarily dependency law. He has been an attorney on multiple cases that have gained both national and international attention, including the Rifqa Bary case and the Sharlyn Singh case. He was elected to the Ochlockonee River Soil and Water Conservation District and ran for the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

out of District 36 as a Republican. On June 1, 2021, he was appointed a general magistrate of the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida. On July 11, 2022, McCarthy was appointed to the bench as a Florida circuit court judge.

Life

Early life

McCarthy was born in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

and moved to Brevard County, Florida with his family in 1979 at the age of eleven. McCarthy attended

Satellite High School Satellite High School is a public high school (grades 9 - 12) located in Satellite Beach, Florida in Florida's Space Coast, Brevard County. It was founded in 1962, and has been rated an 'A' school in the state of Florida since 2003 . The mascot is ...

, where he served as student body president; he graduated in 1985.

Military service

McCarthy attended the

on the nomination of

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

Paula Hawkins and then-Congressman Bill Nelson, graduating in 1989. After graduation, McCarthy became a commissioned officer in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, serving as a

field artillery Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement. Until the early 20t ...

officer at

Fort Sill Fort Sill is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles (136.8 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. It covers almost . The fort was first built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. Following this appointment, McCarthy was deployed overseas as a member of the

. In

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, he was the youngest battalion staff level fire support officer in the United States military. McCarthy left active military service in 1992, but returned to service as a member of the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed F ...

Legal career

McCarthy received his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from Florida State University College of Law. He began practicing law in Florida in 1995; his career has covered multiple areas of law. Following graduation from law school, McCarthy began his career as a

legal aid Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to co ...

Central Florida Central Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, including the Tampa Bay area and the Gr ...

. Afterward, he worked in medical license regulation for the state of Florida, and then in employment and civil rights law. Moving to Orlando in 2001, McCarthy worked for the Florida Department of Children and Families, before opening a private firm, where he practices juvenile and dependency law and as an attorney ad litem for children in lock-down mental facilities.

Sharlyn Singh case

In 2007, an Orlando women was accused of putting her 11-month-old baby in an oven. McCarthy was appointed to the case, and eventually got the dependency case dropped, and the child reunified with the mother.

Rifqa Bary case

McCarthy served as a lawyer for Aysha Bary for a good part of the Rifqa Bary case. He claimed that Rifqa Bary was not being taught the faith correctly, and that the dependency case had become a "television event". He further argued that neither of the Barys had ever threatened their daughter. McCarthy moved to have the case moved back to

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, which it eventually was. He also alleged that the girl's story of travel to Florida had "holes in it". He criticized

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Charlie Crist Charles Joseph Crist Jr. (; born July 24, 1956) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011 and as the U.S. representative for from 2017 to 2022. Crist has been a member of the Democratic ...

for commenting on the case, referring to the statements as inappropriate for someone who was the boss of attorneys on both sides of the case. He compared the Crist comments to the general politicization he saw in the case. Arguing against Christian versus Muslim sentiments in the case, McCarthy tried to dispel the perception that the parents were fundamentalists. He never billed the state for his work.

Political career

McCarthy successfully ran for and served on the board of the Ochlockonee River Soil and Water Conservation District while living in

Leon County, Florida Leon County is a county in the Panhandle of the U.S. state of Florida. It was named after the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León. As of the 2020 census, the population was 292,198. The county seat is Tallahassee, which is also the state cap ...

. He ran for the

out of District 36, against incumbent

Scott Randolph Scott Randolph (born October 17, 1973) is a Democratic politician who has served as the Orange County Tax Collector since 2013. Prior to his election as Tax Collector, he served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing ...

, receiving early support from Conservatives. He, along with local Tea Party leaders and politicians, drove in a caravan to Arizona to support its immigration law, claiming selective immigration enforcement is uncompassionate and causes people to live in fear, and that the federal government has failed in its duties to protect the people of Arizona. McCarthy lost the race to Greg Reynolds in the Republican primary.

Judicial career

On June 1, 2021, McCarthy was appointed a general magistrate of the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida. On July 11, 2022, McCarthy was appointed to the bench as a Florida circuit court judge to fill the vacancy left by Judge Bob LeBlanc.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCarthy, Craig 1967 births Living people Satellite High School alumni United States Military Academy alumni United States Army officers United States Army reservists Florida State University College of Law alumni Lawyers from Orlando, Florida 21st-century American judges Florida state court judges