Duval County Courthouse in downtown Jacksonville. | Trib file photo

Two Jacksonville lawyers in private practice who tout their work in civil legal aid are running to fill one of the two open Duval County Court judge seats in August’s primary.

Matt Lufrano, a criminal defense attorney who previously sought a judicial seat in 2024, and Latoya Williams Shelton, a family and personal injury attorney, are campaigning for the County Court judge Group 1 seat, currently held by the retiring Judge Scott Mitchell. 

Early voting begins August 7.

Williams Shelton’s campaign declined to interview with the Florida Trib. 

Lufrano began his career at the public defender’s office before launching a private practice in 2014.

“I want to do what I can to preserve the integrity of our system of justice, and that has a couple meanings, but part of it is making sure that our laws are followed, making sure that people have faith in our judicial system,” Lufrano said in an interview. “That’s one reason why I’m running, and the other is service and serving.”

Matt Lufrano. | Candidate photo provided to the Duval County Supervisor of Elections

County court judges are able to mentor young lawyers practicing regularly in their courtrooms, Lufrano said, citing his own experience learning from local judges. But, outside the courtroom, he serves as the president of Jewish Family and Community Services’ board of directors and is “committed to pro bono work,” including with the Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, or JALA.

“Judges are really supposed to be servants to the people. They’re not supposed to lord over people,” Lufrano said.

In a short bio provided by her campaign, Williams Shelton pointed to her mentorship of high school students and pro bono work while serving on the JALA board. Referring to her legal career, Williams Shelton opened her firm in 2010 and “has built a reputation for being both a strong advocate, a compassionate listener, and someone who treats every client with dignity and respect.”

Williams Shelton represented her husband Vernon Shelton, a former Duval County teacher, in 2019 when he was allegedly texting with a female student that he wanted to “hug and kiss” her and said he thought of her sexually, according to Florida Department of Education documents. He was reprimanded, placed on two years probation, ordered to take a sexual harassment education ethics course, and fined $750.

Shelton then worked for the City of Jacksonville as a building inspections manager from 2018 until earlier this year after two employees accused him of sexual harassment. He resigned shortly after he was placed on administrative leave, according to city workplace complaint documents obtained by the Trib. 

Latoya Williams Shelton. | Candidate photo provided to Duval County Supervisor of Elections

One woman said he repeatedly asked for hugs, touched her waist, and kissed her neck during a hug, according to the complaints filed with the Jacksonville Human Rights Commission. The other employee wrote in her complaint that he made sexual comments about her body and tattoos and  “ran his finger across the back of my neck.”

Williams Shelton’s campaign did not return a request for comment regarding the allegations against her husband. 

Three local attorneys are running for the County Court Group 13’s judicial seat, and three sitting county judges — Group 6, 14, and 16 — were unopposed.

Molly Farrar is a Report for America corps member and the Florida Trib’s Jacksonville municipal watchdog reporter. She can be reached at molly.farrar@floridatrib.org.

Molly Farrar covers accountability and policy in the consolidated city-county government of Jacksonville for The Florida Trib. Before joining us as a Report for America corps member, Farrar worked as a staff writer for Boston.com with the Boston Globe, WHDH Channel 7, and as a freelance reporter in the Greater Boston area covering local politics. Her news and transportation reporting won regional awards, and Farrar was selected as a First Amendment Institute Fellow with the New England First Amendment Coalition. Her investigative work on criminal justice and prisons was published in GBH News and The Intercept. Her stories have also appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and The Boston Globe. Farrar graduated from Boston University with a degree in journalism and cello performance, where she also served as editor-in-chief of the Daily Free Press, the independent student newspaper. You can reach Molly at molly.farrar@floridatrib.org.