 AnneMarie Rizzo is a former Assistant State Attorney with extensive trial experience in the State of Florida. She graduated with her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida, Magna Cum Laude. She graduated from the University of Florida Levin College of Law with her Juris Doctorate. During law school, AnneMarie was trying criminal traffic and domestic violence cases as lead prosecutor during her internship with the State Attorney’s Office in Gainesville, Florida. During her tenure as an Assistant State Attorney she specialized in prosecuting Domestic Violence and Criminal Traffic cases. She assisted hundreds of victims involved in Domestic Violence relationships in criminal prosecution and assisted victims at hearings seeking protective injunctions. AnneMarie leaves a legacy of winning four separate, consecutive criminal traffic jury trials in the same trial week. She was appointed as a Special Prosecutor by the Governor of Florida to represent the State of Florida on a DUI case in Lee County in 2007 which resulted in another favorable jury verdict for her at trial. She has quickly gained the reputation of being an aggressive and zealous advocate.
AnneMarie has trained law enforcement officers and prosecutors across the state specifically in the areas of evidence based prosecution and trial advocacy in Domestic Violence and Criminal Traffic. She also has trained medical doctors at SHANDS UF and Child Protective Investigators with the Department of Children and Families in the area of domestic violence and family dynamics. AnneMarie has successfully completed the Advanced DUI School hosted by the Florida Prosecutor Attorney Association. She also has successfully completed the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Course sponsored by the Institute of Police Technology and Management, a course designed to train law enforcement to effectively identify impairment in individuals suspected to be driving under the influence. (A field sobriety exercise regularly used on the roads today) AnneMarie also attended and successfully completed the Trial Advocacy School at the National Advocacy Center held at the Department of Justice in South Carolina.
Locally, AnneMarie serves in the community as Chair of Sarasota County Bar Association Young Lawyers Division Law Week Committee where she recruits attorneys to teach high school students about the legal system. She also has served as a Guardian ad Litem since January 2004 and continues to help children involved in dependency cases have a voice in court. In addition, she spends time serving as a presiding judge over Teen Court proceedings in Sarasota County. AnneMarie is involved in other local organizations such as Florida Association of Woman Lawyers, Young Professional Group of Sarasota, and Junior League of Sarasota.
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