Chris White, Seminole State Attorney’s Office Chief of Staff,

Named Statewide Outstanding Prosecutor for 2011

            Seminole-Brevard Assistant State Attorney Chris White is the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association 2011 recipient of the Eugene C. Berry Award for Outstanding Prosecutorial Service. White, a prosecutor for 35 years, has served as the Chief of the Seminole County office for State Attorney Norm Wolfinger since 1992.

White has prosecuted and convicted some of the most notorious murderers in Central Florida during his career including: William Cruse, who killed six people including Palm Bay Police Officers Ron Grogan and Gerald Johnson; Mark Schwab who killed 11-year-old Junny Rios Martinez; Anton Meyers who killed 14-year-old Kathy Engles; and, Bryan Jennings, who killed 6-year-old Rebecca Kunash. Each of the cases rippled with the personal grief of the surviving victims, but each also faced intricate legal challenges, and White successfully shouldered the burden of seeking justice for the victims by conquering the legal issues. 

“This award is an honor not only to Chris but to all the attorneys and staff in this office as Chris would be the first to tell you, ‘It takes teamwork to find justice.’ We all deserve to be proud,” said State Attorney Norm Wolfinger.  

Wolfinger said White has tried 44 first-degree murder cases. One very busy year, he was in the courtroom on 33 felony cases which included six first-degree murder trials. White originally began work in the Brevard office in 1976, but was asked to lead the Seminole office in 1993 where he supervises 40-plus attorneys.

In addition to being the administrative head of the Seminole office, he has continued to carry a limited trial case load as well as handle pending appellate issues for the office and carry out a host of other duties. An important factor in his selection according to the FPAA was his continuing efforts at education among the prosecutors of the state. He has chaired death penalty, post conviction, and homicide seminars for the FPAA and has assisted in reports on those issues generated by the FPAA for the Florida Supreme Court. He has also worked recently with the FPAA, the Florida Sheriff’s Association and the Chiefs’ of Police to develop lineup identification policies for presentation to the Innocence Commission and the Legislature.

According to the FPAA, they also took into consideration his civic involvement in Titusville where he lives and has served in the Jaycees, as a Little League and soccer coach, and a member of the municipal planning and zoning board, the environmental commission, and the North Brevard Parks and Recreation Commission.

The Eugene C. Berry Award is named in memory of a prosecutor from Florida’s west coast who was gunned down in the doorway of his home in 1982 by the wife of a man he sent to prison on drug charges. A plaque bearing the names of the yearly recipients hangs in the governor’s office.

Lynne Bumpus-Hooper
Communications and Research Assistant
for State Attorney Norm Wolfinger
office--321-617-7548
website--sa18.state.fl.us
pager--321-635-3648