MEET THE DEFENDER
On Tuesday, June 15, 2021, Attorney Alec Fitzgerald Hall received his appointment letter from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, Chief Judge William Pryor, formally installing him as the new Federal Defender for the Middle District of Florida. This is history for both the Middle District of Florida and for the State of Florida as there has never been an African-American to lead the Defender’s Office and one to be named in the State of Florida. The Honorable Charles R. Wilson, Eleventh Circuit Judge, swore Attorney Hall in as the new Federal Defender on June 21st. The Middle District of Florida’s jurisdiction extends from Jacksonville south covering all areas including Ocala, Orlando, Tampa, and Ft. Myers. The Middle District is the second largest district in the country. The motto for the Federal Defender’s Office is “Representing Those Who Cannot Represent Themselves.”
Attorney Hall is a native of Tampa and was reared by his maternal grandmother, the late Maggie Cleggette, along with his two brothers and sister in the Riverview Terrace Housing Projects in Tampa, Florida. Attorney Hall is a graduate of Hillsborough Senior High School, and Project Upward Bound, and he later attended and graduated from the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida with a Bachelor of Arts degree in American history (post-bellum America). Attorney Hall formerly worked for the Florida Department of Corrections as a probation officer and later worked for the Florida Parole Commission as a parole examiner before attending law school. Attorney Hall received his Juris Doctor degree from Nova Southeastern University, Shepherd Broad Law Center, in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. At Nova Southeastern, Attorney Hall was his first-year section winner for Moot Court and he was on the Moot Court and Trial Advocacy traveling teams. Attorney Hall received his Master’s of Divinity degree in ministry from Luther Rice University and Seminary in Lathonia, Georgia.
Attorney Hall has practiced law for over 23 years beginning his career as a state assistant public defender for Seminole and Brevard Counties. He has been an Assistant Federal Public Defender for the Middle District of Florida for over 20 years. Attorney Hall specializes in vertical criminal representation, which includes trial, appellate, and habeas corpus practice. Attorney Hall has tried numerous cases and is known as a tough litigator. He is a member of the Florida and District of Columbia Bars. He is also a member of the United States Supreme Court, the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eleventh Circuit, and D.C. Circuit Courts of Appeals, and the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Florida. Attorney Hall has appeared before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals for oral argument on several occasions and had his client’s conviction reverse/vacated in United States v. McCarrick, 294 F.3d 1286 (11th Cir. 2002) (published opinion) and obtained a certificate of appealability from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, reversing the district court, in Barrett v. Secretary Florida Department of Corrections, Case No. 13-15153-EE (first-degree murder - life case).
Attorney Hall is a life member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. He has twice received the Omega Man of the Year Award for his chapter, Pi Iota, for the State of Florida and for the Seventh District (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi). He has received the Superior Service Award three times. He was recognized with the Hometown Hero Award by the Convention and Visitors’ Bureau of Tampa, Florida for his efforts in helping to secure the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.’s 82 Grand Conclave now rescheduled for Summer 2024.
Attorney Hall is a native of Tampa and was reared by his maternal grandmother, the late Maggie Cleggette, along with his two brothers and sister in the Riverview Terrace Housing Projects in Tampa, Florida. Attorney Hall is a graduate of Hillsborough Senior High School, and Project Upward Bound, and he later attended and graduated from the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida with a Bachelor of Arts degree in American history (post-bellum America). Attorney Hall formerly worked for the Florida Department of Corrections as a probation officer and later worked for the Florida Parole Commission as a parole examiner before attending law school. Attorney Hall received his Juris Doctor degree from Nova Southeastern University, Shepherd Broad Law Center, in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. At Nova Southeastern, Attorney Hall was his first-year section winner for Moot Court and he was on the Moot Court and Trial Advocacy traveling teams. Attorney Hall received his Master’s of Divinity degree in ministry from Luther Rice University and Seminary in Lathonia, Georgia.
Attorney Hall has practiced law for over 23 years beginning his career as a state assistant public defender for Seminole and Brevard Counties. He has been an Assistant Federal Public Defender for the Middle District of Florida for over 20 years. Attorney Hall specializes in vertical criminal representation, which includes trial, appellate, and habeas corpus practice. Attorney Hall has tried numerous cases and is known as a tough litigator. He is a member of the Florida and District of Columbia Bars. He is also a member of the United States Supreme Court, the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eleventh Circuit, and D.C. Circuit Courts of Appeals, and the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Florida. Attorney Hall has appeared before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals for oral argument on several occasions and had his client’s conviction reverse/vacated in United States v. McCarrick, 294 F.3d 1286 (11th Cir. 2002) (published opinion) and obtained a certificate of appealability from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, reversing the district court, in Barrett v. Secretary Florida Department of Corrections, Case No. 13-15153-EE (first-degree murder - life case).
Attorney Hall is a life member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. He has twice received the Omega Man of the Year Award for his chapter, Pi Iota, for the State of Florida and for the Seventh District (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi). He has received the Superior Service Award three times. He was recognized with the Hometown Hero Award by the Convention and Visitors’ Bureau of Tampa, Florida for his efforts in helping to secure the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.’s 82 Grand Conclave now rescheduled for Summer 2024.
