Former Chief Assistant State Attorney for the 4th Judicial Circuit L.E. Hutton was sworn in as a circuit judge Jan. 2.
Appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, he fills the vacancy created by the retirement of 4th Circuit Judge Don Lester.
Hutton became chief assistant under State Attorney Melissa Nelson in 2017. His role included supervising operations in Clay, Duval and Nassau counties; serving on the homicide unit and officer-involved critical incident review rotation; managing the Grand Jury Indictment Review Panel; and working with the targeted prosecution unit to combat gang violence.
A graduate of the University of Florida Levin College of Law, Hutton began his legal career with the State Attorney’s Office in 1998.
He then joined the Willis, Ferebee & Hutton firm in 2001 and continued his criminal law career representing defendants at the state and federal levels before returning to the State Attorney’s Office in 2017.