About the Attorney
Eric J. Dirga - Member of the Florida Bar since 1995; Middle District of Florida since 1998; Eleventh Circuit 2001; United States Supreme Court since 2002. Member of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Graduated University of Florida, College of Law 1995.
Central Florida Roots
Eric J. Dirga grew up in the Central Florida area graduating from Palm Bay High School in Brevard County. After High School he attended the Auxiliary Law Enforcement Academy, graduating first in the class and served as an auxiliary deputy sheriff in Brevard County before entering the United States Army.
Military Service
Eric J. Dirga served four years in the United States Army as an electronic
warfare/voice interceptor and attended the Defense Language
Institute Foreign Language Center in Monterey, California. After 19
months of training in California and Texas he was stationed at Ft.
Hood.
While in Texas he served in the 163rd Military Intelligence Battalion. The unit crest was emblazoned with the words "Knowledge is Power." His platoon was instrumental in creating the first mobile Hum-Vee (known to civilians as "Hummers") radio jamming unit in the United States Army.
As a squad member of the 1st Platoon, Bravo Company, he and his fellow platoon members consistently proved themselves superior in training with other units. After his tour of duty, that included participation in the largest ReForGer (1987) Training Exercise of the Cold War, he was honorably discharged and received the Army Commendation Medal.
Education - Double Gator
Eric J. Dirga is a double graduate of the University of Florida. He earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree within 3 years after leaving the service. While attending the University he was in the Army Reserve 356th MI Co (CEWI)(SF) Company in Jacksonville, Florida and worked as the VA Student Liaison in the Student Affairs Office at the University. He graduated as a member of the Gold Key Honor Society and Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society.
Eric J. Dirga went to the University of Florida, College of Law. He volunteered in VITA, a student participation program assisting people prepare their taxes and worked at the law library, media center, and the University Museum. He also volunteered at the Eighth Judicial Circuit State Attorney's Office. He graduated law school in two and a half years and immediately took and passed the Florida Bar Exam.
Legal Experience
Upon graduating law school, Eric J. Dirga was immediately hired by the State Attorney's Office of the Ninth Judicial Circuit. While serving in the Orlando Office he began by prosecuting misdemeanor cases. He was then promoted to the Juvenile Division where he handled hundreds of juvenile cases that involved such minor things as shoplifting to major sex offenses. Eric J. Dirga was quickly promoted to the specialized unit of the appellate division handling all county to circuit appeals and all petitions to seal or expunge criminal arrest records. Finally, Eric J. Dirga was promoted to the Osceola County Branch Office where he was a felony trial attorney.
After several years as a prosecutor, Eric J. Dirga was hired by a prominent criminal defense attorney as an associate of his law office. At that time he became a member of the Federal District Court for the Middle District of Florida. While there he assisted in several high level federal cases.
Eric J. Dirga opened his own law practice focusing on criminal cases, he also handled family law cases and real estate cases. After returning to the State Attorney's Office briefly where he again worked as a felony trial attorney, Eric J. Dirga reopened his law practice in downtown Orlando where he currently practices all forms of Criminal Defense Law, Arrest Record Sealing and Expungements, Criminal Traffic Defense, Traffic Ticket Defense, and Family Law cases.
In 1998 Eric J. Dirga became a member of the Federal Court for the Middle District of Florida, in 2001 a member of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeal in Atlanta and most recently he has become a member of the United States Supreme Court in September 2002. He is an active member of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
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