in lock-down mental facilities. Sharlyn Singh case In 2007, an Orlando women was accused of putting her 11-month-old baby in an oven. McCarthy was appointed to the case, and eventually got the dependency case dropped, and the child reunified with the mother. Rifqa Bary case McCarthy served as a lawyer for Aysha Bary for a good part of the Rifqa Bary case. He claimed that Rifqa Bary was not being taught the faith correctly, and that the dependency case had become a "television event". He further argued that neither of the Barys had ever threatened their daughter. McCarthy moved to have the case moved back to Ohio, which it eventually was. He also alleged that the girl's story of travel to Florida had "holes in it". He criticized Governor Charlie Crist for commenting on the case, referring to the statements as inappropriate for someone who was the boss of attorneys on both sides of the case. He compared the Crist comments to the general politicization he saw in the case. Arguing against Christian versus Muslim sentiments in the case, McCarthy tried to dispel the perception that the parents were fundamentalists. He never billed the state for his work. Political career McCarthy successfully ran for and served on the board of the Ochlockonee River Soil and Water Conservation District while living in Leon County, Florida. He ran for the Florida House of Representatives out of District 36, against incumbent Scott Randolph, receiving early support from Conservatives. He, along with local Tea Party leaders and politicians, drove in a caravan to Arizona to support its immigration law, claiming selective immigration enforcement is uncompassionate and causes people to live in fear, and that the federal government has failed in its duties to protect the people of Arizona. McCarthy lost the race to Greg Reynolds in the Republican primary. Judicial career On June 1, 2021, McCarthy was appointed a general magistrate of the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida. On July 11, 2022, McCarthy was appointed to the bench as a Florida circuit court judge to fill the vacancy left by Judge Bob LeBlanc. References 1967 births Living people Satellite High School alumni United States Military Academy alumni United States Army officers United States Army reservists Florida State University College of Law alumni Florida lawyers People from Orlando, Florida 21st-century American judges Florida state court judges