(TheRedWire.com) – On Thursday, Florida’s state Supreme Court denied efforts by Democratic state attorney Monique Worrell that she be reinstated after being removed from office last year by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis.
The Justices voted six-to-one, ultimately siding with DeSantis and denying Worrell’s request to be reinstated after a suspension in August 2023 from the Orlando-based district position she held.
State Supreme Court justices denied Worrell’s request, writing that they disagreed with the arguments she made about DeSantis’ reasons for suspension being too vague and that the decision infringed on her rights off prosecutorial discretion.
When DeSantis went public with Worrell’s suspension from Florida’s 9th Judicial Circuit, he told the press that he was doing so for a “neglect of duty.”
Worrell had been elected to serve in 2020 and had decided to run for reelection in 2024.
However, DeSantis described the state attorney as having a “clearly and fundamentally derelict” administration of criminal justice, adding that these actions constituted “neglect of duty and incompetence.”
Worrell argues her suspension is politically motivated, considering it occurred when DeSantis had launched his Presidential campaign. She argued that she had done her job as she saw fit, noting Florida’s constitution only allowed suspension for suspected egregious misconduct.
Justice Jorge Labarga, who was appointed to the bench in 2009 by Governor Charlie Crist, said state attorneys have the discretion to address their community’s challenges because of Florida’s size.
However, Worrell’s suspension isn’t DeSantis’ first.
In 2022, DeSantis suspended Andrew Warren, the Hillsborough County State Attorney for “neglect of duty,” following his refusal to enforce abortion and transgender surgery bans.
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