Magistrate Whitacre was admitted to the practice of law in 1988.  He served as the Assistant Law Director/Prosecutor for the City of North Ridgeville from 1988 to 1989, at which time he left that position to focus on his private practice.  Magistrate Whitacre remained in private practice until 1996 when he was hired to serve as an attorney for the Erie County Legal Aid and Public Defender’s Office.  Thereafter Magistrate Whitacre was selected to serve as the Erie County Public Defender.  He remained in this position from 2000 until his 2022 appointment, when he was appointed to serve as a Magistrate for the Honorable Judge Tygh Tone.  Magistrate Whitacre is a member of the Erie County Bar Association, the Ohio State Bar Association, and the Ohio Association of Magistrates.