Parker named new Assistant State Attorney

James E. Parker has been named the new Assistant State Attorney and Supervising Attorney for the Santa Rosa County Office of the State Attorney, First Judicial Circuit effective July 1.

According to State Attorney William “Bill” Eddins, the Santa Rosa location has a staff of about 39 employees, including three at the Santa Rosa Kids House.

There is a state attorney elected for each of the twenty judicial circuits. The State Attorney [Eddins] is charged with being the chief prosecuting officer of all criminal trial courts in his respective circuit and performs all other duties prescribed by general law.

Eddins is responsible for the administration of 224 employees, including approximately 76 Assistant State Attorneys, from Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, and Walton counties in the First Judicial Circuit.

Eddins says the State Attorney’s Office will be focusing on the prosecution of cases with an enhanced status.

“With the increase in our staff we will have a better ability to concentrate on enhanced status cases such as meth cases, and the cases in which a law enforcement officer has been injured or killed. These are they types of cases we will be pushing to get prosecuted in a time sensitive manner,” he says.

Eddins also reports the addition of prosecutors to the Santa Rosa Kids House will make it easier to focus on prosecuting child abuse cases.

Parker has worked for the State Attorney’s Office (First Circuit) since 1992. He has been a felony prosecutor in Walton County, a special prosecutor for child abuse cases, and a felony and misdemeanor prosecutor for Okaloosa County.

Before working for the State Attorney’s Office in the First Judicial Circuit, Parker worked with the Twelfth Judicial Circuit and the Sixth Judicial Circuit of the State Attorney’s Office. He was a felony prosecutor in Manatee County, a special prosecutor for child abuse cases, and a felony and misdemeanor prosecutor for DeSoto and Pinellas Counties.

Parker attended Troy University, where he received a Bachelor’s Degree in Business and received his Law Degree from Stetson University College of Law in 1983.

A lifelong resident of the panhandle area, Parker says he has many longstanding relationships in the area.

“I graduated from Florala High School and I have strong ties to this area. I grew up attending ball games at Allentown, Milton, and Munson. I am proud to call this area my home and I look forward to helping keep the area safe.”

Parker is also a pastor. He leads the congregation of the Yellow River Baptist Church in Baker, the same church his father led for 14 years.

On being a pastor and a prosecutor, Parkers says, “There is no conflict with the two jobs; both of them involve doing the right thing and saving people’s lives.”

“One thing I have learned from Bill [Eddins] is that it can be just as important to decide not to prosecute a case as it is to decide what cases should be pursued,” he says.