- April 16, 2024
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Years ago, before he went to law school or took the bench as a judge, J. David Walsh was in Hong Kong with the U.S. Navy. Three sailors on his ship had been arrested after taking advantage of the city’s nightlife. Walsh and his ship’s legal officer went to court to negotiate their release.
“I’ll never forget the picture,” said Walsh, who recently replaced Circuit Judge Raul Zambrano at the Kim C. Hammond Justice Center. “As I walked in, there was this sea of heads, and of course everyone turned around and looked at us. We were outsiders.”
A British judge presided over the hearings. Prisoners came from a hole in the floor to plead their cases. Walsh secured the sailors’ release, with the understanding that they would be disciplined when they returned back to the ship. The journey back to the ship was silent. Walsh’s sailors had gotten a glimpse of another justice system — one much harsher than America’s — and knew they had narrowly escaped.
To Walsh, perspective is everything. From growing up with a mentally handicapped brother to more than 150 combat missions as a naval flight officer, the experiences he’s had are what informs his practice of law.
“It’s important that a judge be someone who can listen and interpret what people say within a framework,” he said. “Who are these people? Where did they come from? What’s their experience? Because of what I’ve seen in the world, I can appreciate people’s circumstances.”
To those he has worked with, Walsh’s wide experience is a large part of what brings him success as a judge.
“He has that extra measure of experience of working with all sorts of people in the military and having put his life on the line,” said attorney Harry McConnell.
His move from Daytona Beach’s Foxman Justice Center to Bunnell is a part of a regular rotation within the circuit. Walsh will hear criminal cases and will oversee drug court, child dependency and delinquency cases. As he transitions, Walsh is preparing to handle the usual challenges of moving as well as challenges unique to Flagler County, including overcrowding at the jail. When Walsh moved into his office in Bunnell early this month, he toured the jail and said he left knowing the facility was overcrowded, but also recognizing that its staff, as well as court and Flagler County Sheriff’s Office officials, are doing what they can under the circumstances.
Flagler County has plans to expand capacity. But design and construction could take at least two years.
“There are a lot more people who probably should be incarcerated,” Walsh said, adding that it’s usually the nonviolent offenders who are spared. This could cause people to take crime lightly, expecting they wouldn’t do jail time for minor crimes, he said. “My view is it’s really not society stepping up to its duty to impose just sentences.”
Although he knows there’s little anyone can do to expedite the process of increasing the jail capacity, Walsh does have some ideas of how to respond to the jail overpopulation problem in the meantime. Many of the inmates in the Flagler County jail are waiting to be treated for mental health problems or for substance abuse rehabilitation. Walsh said that by getting through as many hearings as possible, inmates can be removed from the jail and put into treatment facilities, freeing up more space for other inmates. He’s already moved drug court hearings forward. A bigger impact, though, could come from getting funding from state legislators for a new judge in the court — an addition that is recommended by the circuit, but not funded.
“We have cases that tend to get a little backlogged,” Walsh said. “It could potentially affect (the jail population), and we don’t want to keep people in jail longer than they need to be. This county is woefully undermanned.”
Walsh hopes to give trials the attention they deserve while also being efficient. He also looks forward to exploring new areas of the law during his tenure here, such as covering child dependency. After all, what initially drew him to law was its many avenues of exploration. He’s always been academically driven.
And as he hears case after case centered on abuse, neglect or drugs, two things keep Walsh from adopting a bleak outlook on life. The first is his family. The support Walsh receives from his wife, Stephanie, has been monumental, he said. Between conversations with her and his children and time spent with his horses, Walsh finds a balance between professional and personal.
The second is the visible outcome his work achieves.
“It’s a situation where you can become jaded, but we try not to do that,” Walsh said. “I find it’s a positive experience. We do achieve justice, and we do help people get treatment or help.”
— Jared Mauldin contributed to this story.
