On Thursday, Florida’s highest court rejected the reinstatement request of a suspended state attorney, who Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis removed from office last year in his second suspension of a Democratic prosecutor.
Monique Worrell, the suspended State Attorney of the 9th Judicial Circuit, which includes metro Orlando, filed a petition, which the Supreme Court denied 6-1. The majority of justices disagreed with her claims that DeSantis’ reasons for suspending her were too unclear or that the suspension violated her lawful exercise of prosecutorial discretion.
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According to DeSantis, Worrell neglected to pursue minor offenses and did not seek mandatory minimum penalties for firearms crimes, endangering the public in her central Florida district.
Worrell said her suspension was politically motivated, given that it occurred when DeSantis was running for the GOP presidential nomination. She contended that the state law only allows for the suspension of an elected official for serious misbehavior, and that she was simply performing her duties as she thought fit.
DeSantis appointed five of the Supreme Court justices.
Gov. Charlie Crist nominated Justice Jorge Labarga in 2009, who stated in a dissenting judgment that given Florida’s size, state prosecutors must have the discretion to address unique difficulties in their areas.
Without that, when state lawyers decide which cases to prosecute, they “may also face suspension and replacement despite having been overwhelmingly elected by the voters of the circuit,” Labarga said.
Last year, State Attorney Andrew Warren, a twice-elected Democrat in Tampa, was removed by DeSantis after he signed pledges not to pursue criminal charges against abortion seekers or providers, as well as policies not to prosecute certain low-level crimes.
DeSantis chose Orange County Circuit Judge Andrew Bain to succeed Worrell, and this year’s election will pit the two against each other.
