Florida attorney Monique Worrell seeks state Supreme Court’s intervention to nullify DeSantis’ action.
Orlando-based State Attorney Monique Worrell Challenges Governor DeSantis’s Suspension
Orlando-based State Attorney Monique Worrell has taken a bold step by filing a complaint against Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) after he moved to suspend her last month. The suspension was based on allegations of “neglect of duty and incompetence,” with DeSantis accusing her of failing to properly prosecute cases. Worrell, however, is not backing down and has asked the Florida Supreme Court to declare the order invalid due to a lack of evidence supporting the governor’s claims.
A Call for Clarity and Specificity
“Instead, the Order vaguely refers to Ms. Worrell’s ‘practices and policies’ throughout but notably fails to identify a single, specific policy or practice, making the Order distinguishable from recent cases involving other Florida state attorneys, where the executive orders identified specific policies alleged to constitute a neglect of duty,” the 46-page petition by Worrell’s attorney states, alluding to another state attorney DeSantis suspended in 2022.
Worrell’s legal team highlights the lack of clarity in the governor’s order, pointing out that it fails to pinpoint any specific policies or practices that allegedly constitute neglect of duty. This sets it apart from previous cases involving other state attorneys, where specific policies were identified. The petition emphasizes the need for evidence to support the allegations made against Worrell.
Challenging the Narrative
As a Democrat elected in 2020 as state attorney in the 9th Judicial Circuit in Orange and Osceola counties, Worrell has faced criticism for being perceived as too lenient on crime. However, her lawyers argue that there is no factual basis to prove that her policies have resulted in lower incarceration rates.
“Such data, even if accurate, reflects a host of factors unrelated to the practices or policies of the state attorney and thus cannot be relied on to demonstrate that Ms. Worrell has practices or policies that result in lower incarceration rates,” the court filing reads. “Moreover, because there is no duty for a state attorney to maximize incarceration rates, lower than average incarceration rates are no evidence of neglect of duty or incompetence.”
Worrell’s legal team challenges the notion that lower incarceration rates automatically indicate neglect of duty or incompetence. They argue that such data is influenced by various factors unrelated to the state attorney’s practices or policies. Furthermore, they emphasize that it is not the duty of a state attorney to maximize incarceration rates.
A Call for Reinstatement
Attorneys and lawmakers at the Orange County Courthouse have rallied behind Worrell, calling for her reinstatement and questioning the constitutionality of DeSantis’s order. They argue that the governor’s allegations are vague and lack specificity.
When Governor DeSantis announced Worrell’s suspension in a 15-page executive order, he stated that there was a “duty to act to protect the public from this dereliction of duty.” It is worth noting that this suspension comes over a year after DeSantis ousted Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren, a Democrat, on similar grounds. Warren is still fighting in court after appealing DeSantis’s decision.
The Washington Examiner has reached out to Governor DeSantis’s office for comment.
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