Rick Parker has spent more than a quarter of a century working for people who can’t afford to hire a lawyer. Now, he’s moving to Afghanistan to train young Afghan lawyers.
Rick Parker, 63, has served as the Eighth Judicial Circuit public defender in Alachua County since 1984.
Now, he’ll train lawyers through Pacific Architects and Engineers Inc., a private company under contract with the U.S. State Department.
It all started in May when he received an e-mail through the Florida Public Defenders Association from PAE Inc. with one-year job opportunities for those interested in serving as criminal defense advisers in Afghanistan.
Parker had recently decided with his wife Kathy that he was not going to run for re-election in 2012.
“Part of the problem of looking for a new job is that sometimes you find one before you’re really ready to take it,” he said. “I don’t think the position will be available if I wait, so I’ve decided to take advantage of the unique opportunity.”
The exact duties and responsibilities of the job will be unknown to Parker until he is approved for flight and arrives in Kabul, Afghanistan. The company has offices in seven other provinces, and Parker could end up at any of them.
The goal, Parker said, is to create a stable nation that can resist the Taliban and deny a home to al-Qaida.
“If we can accomplish those things, it will make Europe and America both safer places to live,” he said.
Parker had a previous interest in Afghanistan and was familiar with the U.S. mission there.
Parker works with a man who served two one-year contracts in Afghanistan and a woman whose husband is in Afghanistan now. Parker talked with the woman’s husband about his experiences.
“Looking at his pictures and getting to talk to him about it, I thought it was a very noble thing to do,” Parker said.
“We’re going to be doing the best we can to stay away from the dangerous situations,” Parker said. One risk, he said, is roadside bombs. The lawyers will travel in armored vehicles.
“I feel blessed to have this chance to do something that I consider to be helpful, while at the same time challenging myself to do something totally different than what I’m used to,” he said.
He isn’t sure when he’ll fly to Afghanistan, but he expects it will be before the end of the year.
As for the open position of public defender, Parker said Stacy Scott, an assistant public defender in Alachua County, will be his recommendation to Gov. Charlie Crist.
