Jeff Ashton sworn in as Orange-Osceola state attorney in wee-hours ceremony - OS

Jeff Ashton sworn in as Orange-Osceola state attorney in wee-hours ceremony

By Susan Jacobson, Orlando Sentinel
January 8, 2013

"I know Jeff has followed my career and I've followed his, so it was an honor to be asked," Lauten said.

Ashton's executive director, Richard Wallsh, and a few journalists looked on. Ashton assisted Wallsh on a murder case in the 1980s, when Wallsh was a division chief with the prosecutor's office.
Join us for a conversation about our gun culture and gun control

Ashton's authority began today — the first Tuesday after the first Monday of the year — so he decided to hold the brief ceremony to make sure the office was run legally after the switch in power just after midnight from longtime State Attorney Lawson Lamar.

By 12:15 a.m., most of the witnesses had left the lobby of the State Attorney's Office, where the ceremony was held in front of portraits of Ashton's precdecessors.

Ashton, best known for prosecuting accused child killer Casey Anthony, defeated his former boss in August. Lamar, a onetime Orange County sheriff, served for 24 years.

Ashton retired three days after Anthony was found not guilty of first-degree murder in July 2011. She was charged with killing her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee. He was an assistant state attorney for 30 years. The Anthony trial attracted worldwide attention and made Ashton a hero to some members of the public.

A ceremonial swearing-in, expected to be conducted by Chief Circuit Judge Belvin Perry, is scheduled for Friday afternoon at the Orange County Courthouse.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-jeff-ashton-swearing-in-state-attorney-20130108,0,5588501.story