Governor DeSantis suspends Orlando-area state attorney Monique Worrell in second sacking of democratically elected prosecutor

[essentialsaltes]

DeSantis said he was removing Monique Worrell of Florida’s 9th Judicial Circuit for “neglect of duty and incompetence” and accused her of pursuing lenient sentences and declining to prosecute certain charges.

DeSantis was joined at the news conference by two local sheriffs – neither of which serves a county that overlaps with Worrell’s jurisdiction. They used their time at the microphone to heap praise on the governor as a law and order leader.

The Florida constitution allows a governor to remove an elected official for “malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty, habitual drunkenness, incompetence, or permanent inability to perform official duties.” No previous Florida executive has interpreted that power as broadly as DeSantis. The state Senate can reinstate Worrell, but the chamber is controlled by Republicans closely aligned with DeSantis and have rarely stood in his way.

In 2020, Worrell won a contested Democratic primary to become the party’s nominee for state attorney serving Orange and Osceola counties. She was elected that fall with 66% of the vote in a deeply blue part of the state.

At Wednesday’s news conference, DeSantis and others pointed to heinous crimes from the past year allegedly committed by people with previous charges.

--

The first democratically elected state attorney that DeSantis removed was Andrew Warren. He has been suing to reverse the decision. A federal court said there was no federal remedy; he is appealing. He also applied to the Florida Supreme Court, but they said he had waited too long, so no soap.

 

[The IbanezerScrooge]

DeSantis was joined at the news conference by two local sheriffs – neither of which serves a county that overlaps with Worrell’s jurisdiction. They used their time at the microphone to heap praise on the governor as a law and order leader.

​

“This governor has always put the victims, always put the law-abiding citizens ahead of the criminals. Always. And that’s exactly what he’s done here today,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.​

​

I KNEW it was going to be him. I knew it before I even opened the article. He's actually a decent sheriff right now but he's kind of becoming Florida's version of that Arizona sheriff whose name I cant recall right now the longer he's in office.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

Not sure if what other incidents they can cite as evidence of neglect or incompetence...

However, according to The Hill, this was the specific incident cited.

...an incident from over the weekend that left two Orlando police shot as an example of her accused dereliction of duties during the press conference. She said Worrell had not filed a motion for pretrial detention for the shooting suspect, who was awaiting trial for the alleged rape of a girl, according to court records.

 

[essentialsaltes]

This is fine.

(From the press conference apparently.)

 

[Arcangl86]

​

“This governor has always put the victims, always put the law-abiding citizens ahead of the criminals. Always. And that’s exactly what he’s done here today,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.​

​

I KNEW it was going to be him. I knew it before I even opened the article. He's actually a decent sheriff right now but he's kind of becoming Florida's version of that Arizona sheriff whose name I cant recall right now the longer he's in office.

It's extremely telling that local law enforcement was not part of the press conference.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

Some additional information surrounding this one.

State data shows between July 1, 2021 thru January 2023, over 61% of violent felony referrals were dropped or dismissed in the ninth district.

And for a subset of that statistic:
the Ninth Circuit also led the state in dropped violent felony charges against juveniles at 42% and dropped gun charges at 29%.


I know the conversation tends to center around the concept of prosecutorial discretion.

But at what threshold/rate does declining to act on criminal referrals start to drift into the realm of "neglect of one's job"?


Some metrics from other locales as a point of reference:
In Wayne County, Mich., which includes Detroit, the prosecutor’s office reported declining 33 percent of its cases last year. Prosecutors in Philadelphia declined 4 percent and prosecutors in Cook County, Ill., which includes Chicago, declined 14 percent, according to data from those offices.


In the case of Andrew Warren, it was a little more clear cut, he went out and postured/bragged about how he intended to not prosecute specific things that were going to be criminalized under new laws he disagreed with it. (essentially threatening to act as a one-man law nullification machine)

However, Worrell's situation is a bit different.

While there is discretion for prosecutors, and it's unreasonable to think they're going to try to throw the book at 100% of criminal referrals that hit their desk... Declining to act on over 60% of the criminal referrals that hit their desk doesn't seem reasonable either.

 

[FireDragon76]

DeSantis said he was removing Monique Worrell of Florida’s 9th Judicial Circuit for “neglect of duty and incompetence” and accused her of pursuing lenient sentences and declining to prosecute certain charges.

DeSantis was joined at the news conference by two local sheriffs – neither of which serves a county that overlaps with Worrell’s jurisdiction. They used their time at the microphone to heap praise on the governor as a law and order leader.

The Florida constitution allows a governor to remove an elected official for “malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty, habitual drunkenness, incompetence, or permanent inability to perform official duties.” No previous Florida executive has interpreted that power as broadly as DeSantis. The state Senate can reinstate Worrell, but the chamber is controlled by Republicans closely aligned with DeSantis and have rarely stood in his way.

In 2020, Worrell won a contested Democratic primary to become the party’s nominee for state attorney serving Orange and Osceola counties. She was elected that fall with 66% of the vote in a deeply blue part of the state.

At Wednesday’s news conference, DeSantis and others pointed to heinous crimes from the past year allegedly committed by people with previous charges.

--

The first democratically elected state attorney that DeSantis removed was Andrew Warren. He has been suing to reverse the decision. A federal court said there was no federal remedy; he is appealing. He also applied to the Florida Supreme Court, but they said he had waited too long, so no soap.

DeSantis is getting desperate for positive photo ops? Drag queens been played out?

​

“This governor has always put the victims, always put the law-abiding citizens ahead of the criminals. Always. And that’s exactly what he’s done here today,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.​

​

I KNEW it was going to be him. I knew it before I even opened the article. He's actually a decent sheriff right now but he's kind of becoming Florida's version of that Arizona sheriff whose name I cant recall right now the longer he's in office.

Arpaio?

 

[FireDragon76]

Not sure if what other incidents they can cite as evidence of neglect or incompetence...

However, according to The Hill, this was the specific incident cited.

...an incident from over the weekend that left two Orlando police shot as an example of her accused dereliction of duties during the press conference. She said Worrell had not filed a motion for pretrial detention for the shooting suspect, who was awaiting trial for the alleged rape of a girl, according to court records.

I can tell you something about DeSantis and Orlando. He seems to have a special contempt for this city, and the way we do things. Probably because we didn't vote for him.

 

[mark46]

This is an interesting power for the state to give to a governor.

 

[FireDragon76]

This is an interesting power for the state to give to a governor.

Usually impeachment is the legislature's job.

I think this is just a photo op because his presidential campaign is going so badly.

Florida has an interesting history, to say the least (all the way back to Ponce de Leon being trolled by Indians). Before tourism (and people discovering orange juice), Florida mostly made its money through extractive industries (phosphate), and to a lesser extent, agriculture (specifically cattle). Which sounds like a typical banana republic. The infrastructure was built by robber barons, like Henry Flagler. Maybe that accounts for this peculiar custom.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

I can tell you something about DeSantis and Orlando. He seems to have a special contempt for this city, and the way we do things. Probably because we didn't vote for him.

So you don't think it has anything to do with what I cited in my follow-up post?

It's not like Orange county was a landslide Democratic victory:

Gadsden county voted for Christ by a much larger degree than Orange.

The prosecutor for Florida's 2nd circuit, Jack Campbell, (covering Gadsden County and Tallahassee) is also a Democrat. Yet, I haven't seen Ron DeSantis go after him.

But he also doesn't have the same track record as the two suspended by DeSantis.

On the matter that Andrew Warren got suspended for, Jack Campbell said this (despite disagreeing with the law)

And while Monique Worrell has used her prosecutorial discretion to decline to prosecute 61% of violent crime referrals that came across her desk, that number for the other "blue team" prosecutors like Jack Campbell and Katherine Fernandez is only 22% (more closely inline with the no-file rates of other democratic prosecutors in places like Chicago, Detroit, and Philly per my previous post)

Fair to say (despite people questioning his motivations and maybe not liking him so much) that he may have a valid gripe on this one?

At the end of the day, despite the prosecutor role being an elected position, and having the luxury of discretion, it's not their job to nullify laws they don't like (or claim they're going to), and it's not their job to no-file a conspicuously high percentage of criminal referrals to make some sort of "statement" about their desire for criminal justice reform.

 

[FireDragon76]

Not sure if what other incidents they can cite as evidence of neglect or incompetence...

However, according to The Hill, this was the specific incident cited.

...an incident from over the weekend that left two Orlando police shot as an example of her accused dereliction of duties during the press conference. She said Worrell had not filed a motion for pretrial detention for the shooting suspect, who was awaiting trial for the alleged rape of a girl, according to court records.

We have elected judges to exercise their own judgement. They aren't omniscient or soothsayers. Worrell was elected by the citizens of this state, and it's hard not to see this as politically motivated and part of a presidential campaign strategy, posturing as being "tough on crime" by taking down a judge known for her progressive stance on criminal justice reform.

In Orlando, police being shot is not unheard of, in certain neighborhoods and along the I-4 corridor (particularly the western Orlando area). DeSantis seems to be swooping in like a misery vulture to politicize this case needlessy. He should let the voters decide Worrell's fate, instead.

Families of some of the shooting victims have spoken out against DeSantis's treatment of Andrew Warren, another Democratic official that was fired, calling it "politically motivated": https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/08/09/desantis-suspends-state-attorney/

 

[Pommer]

So you don't think it has anything to do with what I cited in my follow-up post?

It's not like Orange county was a landslide Democratic victory:
View attachment 334446

Gadsden county voted for Christ by a much larger degree than Orange.

The prosecutor for Florida's 2nd circuit, Jack Campbell, (covering Gadsden County and Tallahassee) is also a Democrat. Yet, I haven't seen Ron DeSantis go after him.

But he also doesn't have the same track record as the two suspended by DeSantis.

On the matter that Andrew Warren got suspended for, Jack Campbell said this (despite disagreeing with the law)
View attachment 334447

And while Monique Worrell has used her prosecutorial discretion to decline to prosecute 61% of violent crime referrals that came across her desk, that number for the other "blue team" prosecutors like Jack Campbell and Katherine Fernandez is only 22% (more closely inline with the no-file rates of other democratic prosecutors in places like Chicago, Detroit, and Philly per my previous post)

Fair to say (despite people questioning his motivations and maybe not liking him so much) that he may have a valid gripe on this one?

At the end of the day, despite the prosecutor role being an elected position, and having the luxury of discretion, it's not their job to nullify laws they don't like (or claim they're going to), and it's not their job to no-file a conspicuously high percentage of criminal referrals to make some sort of "statement" about their desire for criminal justice reform.

Yeah but why is it up to the discretion of a governor to implement this law based on her “performance” in bringing cases to court? She’s elected. She can be unelected. That’s how it works.
Using a law that protects the people from corrupt public officials to curtail a prosecutor who isn’t “up-to-snuff” without a mechanism for public-officials to appeal, would be a 1st & 14th Amendment violation.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

We have elected judges to exercise their own judgement. They aren't omniscient or soothsayers. Worrell was elected by the citizens of this state, and it's hard not to see this as politically motivated and part of a presidential campaign strategy, posturing as being "tough on crime" by taking down a judge known for her progressive stance on criminal justice reform.

But at what threshold does declining to prosecute become neglecting one's duty?

As noted, she declined to file against 60% of the violent crime referrals that came across her desk. (for her fellow democratic peers in FL, that number was closer to 20% - on par with democratic prosecutors in other major cities like Detroit, Philly, and Chicago)

You don't have to be omniscient or a "soothsayer", and as I've noted, nobody should have the expectation that a prosecutor is going take on and swing for the fences on 100% of the cases that land on their desk. ...but declining to take action 60% of the violent crime cases? You don't feel that's a little high?

As I noted before, simply holding an "elected position" doesn't mean "I get to do whatever I want (or ignore whatever I want) because that must be what the people wanted"

If any holder of an elected position got to ignore anything they wanted, there wouldn't be a purpose for a legislature. You want drugs to be legal? Just vote for a prosecutor who promises not to take on drug cases, right?


Progressives (rightfully) feel very different when conservatives pull that kind of stuff.

Examples:

When that elected county clerk (I forget her name) was refusing to issue marriage licenses in Kentucky because she didn't agree with gay marriage...was that right? She was "elected by the citizens" after all. Does that mean she gets to decline to perform duties that come with the job description?

When Oregon passed a round of gun control legislation, and rural sheriffs (in elected roles - and roles that also allow for discretion) were vowing to not enforce the gun laws they didn't agree with, was that cool?

I recall some progressives being rather upset by that (rightfully so, I was on their side in those debates)


If "I don't want to ever have to do something I disagree with" is that important to someone, then administrative roles and roles in the executive branch of government isn't for them.

If you're a democratic prosecutor in a red state, you're going to have to occasionally try someone for doing something that you don't think should be a crime. If you're a republican sheriff in a blue state, you're going to have to occasionally enforce some gun laws you may not agree with. That's the job.

In my county, the person who's in charge of approving home improvement projects is an elected position. If some staunch libertarian guy got elected to that spot and started saying "well, I'm not going to enforce permit requirements because I don't think it's the government's business what people build in their own yard", some people would be none-too-pleased.

 

[FireDragon76]

Yeah but why is it up to the discretion of a governor to implement this law based on her “performance” in bringing cases to court? She’s elected. She can be unelected. That’s how it works.
Using a law that protects the people from corrupt public officials to curtail a prosecutor who isn’t “up-to-snuff” without a mechanism for public-officials to appeal, would be a 1st & 14th Amendment violation.

It's unusual in the state of Florida for this kind of thing to happen. I'm not aware of any other case like this in my lifetime.

Somehow, I don't think disagreeing with an elected official's views of jurisprudence and justice constitutes evidence of dereliction of duty or gross incompetence.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

Yeah but why is it up to the discretion of a governor to implement this law based on her “performance” in bringing cases to court? She’s elected. She can be unelected. That’s how it works.
Using a law that protects the people from corrupt public officials to curtail a prosecutor who isn’t “up-to-snuff” without a mechanism for public-officials to appeal, would be a 1st & 14th Amendment violation.

So would the proper recourse for the elected lady who was denying marriage licenses to gay couples in Kentucky, or the Sheriffs in Oregon who were vowing not to bust people for violations of the new gun control laws they didn't like be to simply wait around till the end of the election cycle and vote someone else in?

Per the Florida state constitution:

SECTION 7. Suspensions; filling office during suspensions.—
(a) By executive order stating the grounds and filed with the custodian of state records, the governor may suspend from office any state officer not subject to impeachment, any officer of the militia not in the active service of the United States, or any county officer, for malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty, drunkenness, incompetence, permanent inability to perform official duties, or commission of a felony, and may fill the office by appointment for the period of suspension. The suspended officer may at any time before removal be reinstated by the governor.

In the cases of the 2 prosecutors he suspended, I think there was a valid case on the grounds of neglect of duty.

In the case of Warren (the first guy he suspended), it was pretty clear cut. He basically went on record as saying he wasn't going to prosecute people under a law he didn't agree with.

In the case of Worrell, declining to prosecute 60% of the violent crime referrals is, at the very least, worthy of scrutiny (especially when that's triple the no-file rates of her democratic peers in both the state of Florida, as well as democratic prosecutors in other states)

 

[Pommer]

So would the proper recourse for the elected lady who was denying marriage licenses to gay couples in Kentucky, or the Sheriffs in Oregon who were vowing not to bust people for violations of the new gun control laws they didn't like be to simply wait around till the end of the election cycle and vote someone else in?

Per the Florida state constitution:

SECTION 7. Suspensions; filling office during suspensions.—
(a) By executive order stating the grounds and filed with the custodian of state records, the governor may suspend from office any state officer not subject to impeachment, any officer of the militia not in the active service of the United States, or any county officer, for malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty, drunkenness, incompetence, permanent inability to perform official duties, or commission of a felony, and may fill the office by appointment for the period of suspension. The suspended officer may at any time before removal be reinstated by the governor.

In the cases of the 2 prosecutors he suspended, I think there was a valid case on the grounds of neglect of duty.

In the case of Warren (the first guy he suspended), it was pretty clear cut. He basically went on record as saying he wasn't going to prosecute people under a law he didn't agree with.

In the case of Worrell, declining to prosecute 60% of the violent crime referrals is, at the very least, worthy of scrutiny (especially when that's triple the no-file rates of her democratic peers in both the state of Florida, as well as democratic prosecutors in other states)

Yes, the law is poorly written, but it is the law for now; this court case will be interesting to watch unfold.