CFACDL 2023-2024 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
David Varet is a passionate, lovable, and charismatic defender of criminal rights of the indigent in Central Florida. Following his graduating FSU Law in 2012, Mr. Varet came to Orlando to work at the Office of the Public Defender, 9th Circuit, where he quickly worked his way up the ranks to felony court. After a quick sojourn to private practice, Mr. Varet returned to the Office of Regional Conflict Counsel, 5th District to continue defending the indigent, where he currently remains. When not visiting clients or researching case law, Mr. Varet enjoys spending time with his perfect, perfect dog, cooking, and watching his beloved New York Yankees.
Daniel Cull is a criminal defense attorney with the Office of the Public Defender for the Ninth Judicial Circuit. He graduated from the Ohio State University at the undergraduate level and received his Juris Doctorate from Washington State University in St. Louis in 2018. Mr. Cull practices full time with a felony docket and has over thirty criminal trials. While in law school, Mr. Cull participated in multiple criminal law clinic and interned with the Ohio Justice and Policy Center. Mr. Cull also received the CALI awards for Criminal Procedure: Adjudication and Legal Research Methodologies; the Dean’s Public Service Award; and the Dean’s Fellowship Award. Mr. Cull was published in the Washington University’s Global Studies Law Review on a criminal subject. At the undergraduate level, Mr. Cull received a Phi Beta Kappa designation and graduated magna cum laude. Prior to law school, Mr. Cull worked as a pricing analyst.
Katie Horton (née Treski) was born and raised in Orlando, Florida. After earning her JD from Tulane University in New Orleans, Katie returned home to work for the Office of the Public Defender (9th Judicial Circuit) from 2012 to 2017. Katie earned her LLM in Securities and Financial Regulation (2018) from Georgetown Law in Washington, DC. From 2018 to 2023, Katie worked as an Associate in the Litigation group at Squire Patton Boggs. As a mid-level associate, Katie was responsible for managing numerous teams, including e-discovery on a multi-billion dollar civil litigation, Pro Bono projects, and co-authoring an amicus brief to the Supreme Court of the United States in support of a Florida inmate facing the death penalty. Katie also represented clients in “White Collar” matters, such as compliance with anti-money laundering regulation and Federal Mail and Wire Fraud. In 2023, she returned home again to Central Florida to focus on representing individuals accused of State and Federal criminal charges. Throughout her legal career, Katie has embraced active roles in providing training and mentoring to other attorneys, e.g. training on Baker Acts and VOPs at PD9, and Mentor for the Summer Associate program at SPB. Katie now has her own criminal defense practice, Katie Horton Law, PLLC. She is both the “Director of Fun” and the Secretary on the board of the Democrats of Celebration. When she isn’t working, you will find her cooking, listening to hip-hop, and cuddling her three lovable big dumb dogs.
Shaina Yost is a current assistant public defender at the Ninth Circuit, handling a felony docket. Shaina graduated from the University of Alabama, doubling majoring in Political Science and History and attended Barry University School of Law. While in law school, she interned at the PD’s office and was on the Executive Boards of the American Constitutional Society and Earth and Law Animal Society. Shaina is excited to continue serving her clients as a public defender and getting more attorneys involved in CFACDL.
Andrew Clark is an assistant public defender, working in Seminole and Orange Counties for the past 13 years. At the Orange County office, he is responsible for a serious felony docket and trains new attorneys in jury selection. Mr. Clark has earned his reputation as an excellent trial attorney in his over 100 felony jury trials. He is board certified in Criminal Trial law by the Florida Bar since 2012. A member of the CFACDL Board of Directors for the past several years, Mr. Clark has a passion for the organization and its mission in the Central Florida legal community.
Andrew Reath is an Assistant Public Defender in Ninth Judicial Circuit, where he has honed his trial skills over nearly six years of dedicated service. With more than 25 cases tried to verdict, Andrew recently sat for the board certification exam in criminal trial law, underscoring his commitment to legal excellence. His legal experience spans both public defense and private criminal defense.
In 2023, Andrew was honored with the James T. Miller Scholarship by the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. This prestigious award recognizes attorneys with five years or fewer of practice who demonstrate exceptional character, competency, dedication, and humility in their work.
Beyond his legal practice, Andrew is deeply committed to advancing the profession through leadership roles in various voluntary bar associations. He has served as Vice President of the Central Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Secretary of the Orange County Bar Association Foundation, and President of the Greater Orlando Asian American Bar Association.
Outside the courtroom, Andrew enjoys spending time at home with his cat, Gavel.
Emma Boggs has been a diligent member of the CFADL board as a Junior Board Member. She has been interested in this position since starting at the PDs office and has experience in the military organizing people and working in a team. She is currently on her way to being work at Mandel Law so will be able to network CFACDL to more of the Private Criminal Bar. In Emma Boggs term as a Junior Board Member she has attended every event, helped to organize CLE’s (including the fantastically successful crimmigation CLE that we had in the Jury room last month). She is set on networking and the organization will flourish under her motivated enthusiasm!
Irvenie Latortue is a current Assistant Public Defender with PD9. She graduated from Notre Dame Law School in 2020 and started working for PD9 in 2021. Her main passion is juvenile criminal defense, which is where she has practiced for most of her career so far, but she’s recently been working at PD’s downtown office learning more skills. She’s very excited to have the opportunity to serve on the CFACDL board and be more present in our defense lawyer community.
Ben Flieger has worked for the Office of the Public Defender Ninth Circuit since 2014. He is Board Certified in Criminal Law. In his tenure at the Public Defender’s office he has handled numerous trials and taken on an important role as mentor to many of the younger attorneys on his dockets throughout the years. He received his Juris Doctor from Florida State University and began his law career with the Florida Legislature as a Staff Attorney. Ben looks forward to becoming more involved with the CFACDL Board.
Ben Sigman is a Defense Attorney working in the 9th Judicial Circuit. Ben grew up in Lake Mary Florida going to Lake Mary High School. In High School, Ben participated in the Marching Band as a Trumpet player and in the Brain Bowl Competitions. Ben received his Associates from Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville and received a Bachelors in Sociology from the University of Florida. Ben went to Stetson Law School during the school years and in the summers came back to Central Florida to clerk for the Honorable Robert LeBlanc and then to intern at the Public Defenders Office, where he currently works. He has had the privilege of participating in about a dozen jury trials in his first year and a half as a lawyer. He has served as a Junior Director for CFACDL from 2024-2025. He is the recipient of the 2025 FACDL James T. Miller Scholar Award.
Michael Barber is a solo-practitioner with an office in Winter Park representing the accused in both the state and federal courts of Florida. He graduated from the University of Central Florida in 2008, and the University of Florida School of Law in 2011. He has litigated 70 criminal trials, including numerous cases where his clients were facing life in prison and nationally televised trials. He is rated AV-Preeminent by Martindale Hubble and is the only attorney in Central Florida listed as a Florida Super Lawyer Rising Star in the area of White Collar Criminal Defense. In addition to serving as a board member of CFACDL, Michael currently serves as the Treasurer of the Orange County Bar Association (OCBA). He is a former President of the Young Lawer Section of the OCBA, two-term Chair of the OCBA Criminal Law Committee and a past winter of the Larence G. Mathews, Jr. Young Lawyer Professionalism Award. Michael is also an active member of the Florida Bar, serving on the Advertising Committee, the Education Law Committee, and on a Grievance Committee for the Ninth Judicial Circuit.
Miranda Raustad is currently an Associate Attorney at Bogin Munns & Munns in their criminal defense department. For the past two years Miranda worked as an Assistant Public Defender in the Ninth Judicial Circuit in Orange County, Florida. Throughout her career as a defense attorney she has had the opportunity to represent hundreds of clients in various felonies, misdemeanor, and traffic offenses. Before becoming an attorney Miranda received a bachelor’s degree in legal studies at the University of Central Florida and her Juris Doctorate from Barry University School of Law.
