Worrell: "This should not happen in a democracy"
In a move rumored to happen for weeks, Gov. Ron DeSantis Wednesday suspended State Attorney Monique Worrell of the 9th Judicial Circuit, which covers Osceola and Orange County.
“It is my duty as Governor to ensure that the laws enacted by our duly elected Legislature are followed,” DeSantis said in a release sent out Wednesday morning. “The people of Central Florida deserve to have a State Attorney who will seek justice in accordance with the law instead of allowing violent criminals to roam the streets and find new victims.”
According to the release, the reasoning is, “For neglecting her duty to faithfully prosecute crime in her jurisdiction. Worrell’s practices and policies have too often allowed violent criminals to escape the full consequences of their criminal conduct, thereby endangering the innocent civilians of Orange and Osceola counties.”
In Worrell’s place, DeSantis has appointed Andrew Bain, who has most recently served as an Orange County judge in the 9th Judicial Circuit, and was an Assistant State Attorney in the 9th Circuit under State Attorney Jeffrey L. Ashton, who served as 9th Circuit State Attorney from 2010-14.
According to Osceola County Clerk of Court Communications Director Maggie Rosenbaum, 43 proceedings at the Osceola County Courthouse from Wednesday morning will need to be rescheduled, but those scheduled for the afternoon will go on as scheduled after receiving direction from Bain.
“We don’t anticipate any other delays beyond this morning because of this situation,” Rosenbaum said.
According to the Governor’s executive order that carried this out, “Worrell has authorized or allowed practices or policies that have systematically permitted violent offenders, drug traffickers, serious-juvenile offenders, and pedophiles to evade incarceration, when otherwise warranted under Florida law.
“These practices or policies include non-filing or dropping meritorious charges or declining to allege otherwise provable facts to avoid triggering applicable lengthy sentences, minimum mandatory sentences, or other sentencing enhancements, especially for offenders under the age of 25, except in the most extreme cases. Worrell's practices or policies contravene the policies of the Florida Legislature as expressed in statute and undermine the safety, security, and welfare of the communities that Worrell has been elected to serve.”
The 40-page order also accused Worrell’s office of failing to issue minimum mandatory sentences of 10 to 25 years in prison in gun crimes, and the “inexcusable delay” in processing juvenile cases. Statistics provided in it also show the 9th Circuit leading the state in the percentage of cases not filed or prosecuted (nolle prosequi).
In March, Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez held a press conference stating that a majority of the drug traffickers caught and arrested in Osceola weren't getting mandated sentences. On Wednesday afternoon, Lopez issued a statement: "The safety of our community is and always will be my number one priority. The criminal justice system only works when law enforcement investigates and arrests those who commit crime and the State Attorney’s Office prosecutes those offenders. We welcome Judge Andrew Bain as the new State Attorney and look forward to our offices working together for justice. The victims of crime in Osceola County will always come first."
Other reaction to the news came swiftly Wednesday. The Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers called the action, "Another example of his continued abuse of power against democratically-elected officials who refuse to yield to his demands."
State Rep. Kristen Arrington, whose District 46 includes Kissimmee, said, "This is another horrible example of our bully Governor's overreach of authority. I support our state attorney, and I urge central Floridians to fight back against our tyrant of a governor and remind their family, friends and loved ones to vote in Democrat in November 2024."
Said Osceola's state Senator, Victor Torres: "“Once again, we see the Governor acting against the will of the voters by suspending another elected State Attorney. This trend of disregarding the democratic process has continued for years. Prosecutors are entrusted with the responsibility of exercising prosecutorial discretion, and these suspensions only undermine that crucial function. We have to protect the choice the voters made at the ballot box. The Governor is distracted by his flailing political ambitions outside of the state."
Worrell addressed the issue Wednesday morning at a press conference on the steps of the Orange County Courthouse, the headquarters of the 9th Judicial Circuit, where she said she intends “to fight and not be silent,” among other pointed statements she made about how DeSantis made this a political posturing issue.
“My reelection bid (in 2024) will continue. “This is bigger than just me, there is a family being harmed by a political hit job, it is nothing less than that,” she said. “Two deputy chief assistants have also been fired. One has five children to support. He has no way to support his family now because of political gamesmanship.
“Unlike a law enforcement officer who gets suspended with pay for misconduct, as of today I will not be paid, won’t have benefits for me and my family. This should not happen in a democracy.”
Rumors swirled about how DeSantis, who suspended Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren last year for much the same reasons of “neglect of duty and incompetence”, might suspend Worrell, first in February after a gunman with a prior record shot and killed three people, including a local news reporter. It was renewed again after a shooter wanted in connection with crimes in Miami shot two Orlando Police officers last Friday night near downtown Orlando.
Worrell said her and her team had been preparing for this, and re reviewing an administrative order to reverse the action.
“I reminded them, ‘You’re working for this people of the 9th Circuit, and your work must continue in my absence,” she said. “I talked to my legal team and am prepared to fight this in court, But the governor has assembled the court. Justice does not prevail in the state of Florida.”
As of today, Bain becomes the fourth lead prosecutor in the 9th Circuit since 2014. Ashton, Aramis Ayala and Worrell have each served one term.
“Andrew Bain is a great guy. But this is the work of the governor,” Worrell said. “People who work here deserve better. They should be proud of the work they do, I’m proud of each one of them.
“The governor and his cronies have been searching for a reason to suspend me for over a year now. Crime is down in the 9th Judicial Circuit. They are giving a false narrative that I have failed to prosecute. Statistics show people are more protected now. What are they so afraid of?"
The Fraternal Order of Police of Orlando called Worrell “soft on crime” in a social media post Saturday, the News Service of Florida reported.
"When I ran I pledged to hold law-enforcement officers accountable for their actions,” Worrell said. Wednesday. “On that I delivered, and that is the reason that law enforcement galvanized behind the governor's undemocratic attack to work toward my removal."
