Howard Finkelstein was the

public defender A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Hungary and Singapore, ...

of Broward County, Florida. He was first elected in 2004 and re-elected in 2008, 2012, and 2016. He retired in January 2021. Howard Finkelstein

Early life and education

Howard received his Bachelor of Arts degree in the Social and Behavioral Sciences from the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF is ...

in 1975. He received his Juris Doctor degree from the

University of Miami School of Law The University of Miami School of Law (Miami Law or UM Law) is the law school of the University of Miami, a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. Founded in 1926, the University of Miami School of Law is the oldest law school in ...

in 1978.

Career

He practiced both as a government lawyer and in the private sector. While in private practice, he was a partner in the law firm of Brackey, Finkelstein and Dallas, and specialized in criminal defense. In 1987, Finkelstein's license to practice law was suspended after he pleaded no contest to drug possession and driving under the influence. Prosecutors also accused him of using his position as an attorney to obtain a court order that allowed him to retrieve drugs confiscated from a client. As a public defender for most of his career, he represented clients charged with crimes ranging from misdemeanors to murder. As a Chief Assistant Public Defender, Finkelstein was instrumental in forming the first drug court in Florida and initiating a misdemeanor and felony mental health court in Broward County. He also serves as the on-air legal analyst for WSVN Channel 7 News for the past 17 years. In that capacity he has provided gavel to gavel legal commentary in the case of the State of California vs. O.J. Simpson and has provided ongoing commentary during the U.S. vs. Timothy McVeigh Oklahoma bombing trial, the President Clinton impeachment proceedings, the Princess Diana investigation, Bush vs Gore legal battle for the Presidency, the "nanny" murder trial, INS vs Elian Gonzalez, the Terry Schiavo right to die case and the Marv Albert and Michael Jackson trials. His televised commentaries during the

O.J. Simpson trial ''The People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson'' was a criminal trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court starting in 1994, in which O. J. Simpson, a former National Football League (NFL) player, broadcaster and actor, was t ...

made him a star on local Florida television. WSVN-TV still uses his "Help Me Howard" feature. Howard was honored as "Man of the Year" by the Deerfield Beach Democratic Club in 2013.WSVN7 News
County public defender honored as "Man of the Year"
, WSVN-TV, September 22, 2013.

References

External links

Broward Country public defender official biography

Website of law office of Broward Country public defender
{{DEFAULTSORT:Finkelstein, Howard Year of birth missing (living people) Living people South Broward High School alumni People from Broward County, Florida Florida lawyers Public defenders