Defense attorneys and forensic experts testify, state and defense rest in trial of former Jefferson County Clerk of Court Kirk Reams

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – The trial of former Jefferson County Clerk of Court Kirk Reams saw some unusual circumstances Friday as a defense attorney stood on the other side of the courtroom and testified as a witness.

Reams is charged with grand theft and fraud. The state alleges he willfully misappropriated public funds. The state rested Friday after one of Reams' attorneys was called to the stand, as well as an auditor who presented a key piece of evidence – a forensic audit of county clerk and county commission expenses.

Reams' attorney, David Collins, testified for about an hour Friday morning, a turn of events as Collins had been making arguments since the trial began.

Prosecutors questioned the attorney about his involvement in the collection of documents for the forensic audit commissioned by the Jefferson County Commission to investigate the clerk's finances and county commission expenses.

Collins testified that he was hired by the office to ensure that Reams provided the information requested of him for the audit.

“He was under a lot of attack politically and in the news, and his main job was to help him stay fully compliant so they wouldn't come out and accuse him of hiding something or not disclosing it, and I was happy to do that,” Collins said. “It was a reasonable request, and I told him, 'Give it up,' and to my knowledge he did.”

Prosecutors said they called Collins as a witness because he had a financial relationship with Reams, having been his attorney and receiving money from him. They also said Collins knew Reams personally.

In a tense exchange, prosecutor Jack Campbell asked Collins about previous occasions on which he had represented Reams and his role in a recent audit of the clerk's office. Judge Stephen Everett later interrupted testimony and sent the jury from the courtroom.

Both sides spent the rest of the morning arguing about what would be allowed and what would be prohibited when the forensic examiner took the stand later Friday.

That forensic examiner, Julian Dozier, ended up becoming a key witness in the case. Dozier's testimony was highly anticipated after the defense repeatedly mentioned his name in its closing arguments this week.

Dozier sat on the witness stand for two and a half hours. Prosecutors called the auditor as a witness to review his $40,000 audit of expenses for the clerk's office and the county commissioner.

The state went into great detail in its audit report, which it presented to the jury page by page. Dozier testified that he did not receive all of the documents he requested during his audit, but ultimately concluded that the clerk's office had exceeded its budget by $800,000.

When it came to the alleged overspending from the clerk's office, the defense repeatedly argued that Dozier had not been able to determine exactly where the money had actually gone in his audit.

During his hearing, Dozier discussed the limitations of his role as an auditor.

“The part about intent is tricky for a fraud investigator – a forensic accountant or something – because we're very careful not to take on the role of a jury or a judge or whoever when a case gets to that point,” Dozier said. “So when I testified about it, when we talked about it, I wasn't really there to talk about intent. I like to talk about scale, volume and repeatability.”

In addition to his testimony, two women from the Palm Beach County and Martin County clerks' offices said they were also called in to look into the case. They testified that they found checks totaling up to $97,000 made out to a title company. When asked by the defense if they knew who that company was associated with, both testified that the checks were all associated with Charles Culp.

After the state concluded its evidence, the defense called Betsy Barfield again. She discussed statements she had made to FDLE regarding a conversation in which she expressed her dissatisfaction with Reams and said she wanted him fired.

The trial is expected to resume on Monday. Closing arguments are expected.

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