The system of checks and balances is suffering again in Florida

The Florida Supreme Court has set a shocking precedent by upholding the suspension of Monique Worrell, the elected district attorney for Orange and Osceola counties.

Six of the seven judges said they were willfully unaware that Gov. Ron DeSantis failed to provide legitimate grounds for her suspension last August. They ignored evidence that many of the allegations in his suspension order were based on incomplete or inaccurate information or were untrue. They refused to acknowledge that DeSantis is simply opposed to Worrell’s law enforcement policies, which she campaigned on and which earned her 65% of the vote.

His only opponent was Judge Jorge Labarga, who in his dissenting opinion questioned the fundamental lack of justice in DeSantis’ actions.

Suspending an elected constitutional official is “a huge undertaking that requires clear justification,” Labarga wrote. “At a minimum, the official in question should be informed of the specific allegations that led to his suspension in order to give him the opportunity to meaningfully defend himself.”

Worrell had no such opportunity, he said.

But according to the majority opinion, that doesn’t matter. The law doesn’t matter. Facts don’t matter. And voters certainly don’t matter—they were mentioned only in a few footnotes. Instead, the court slavishly bowed to DeSantis: As long as he dots all the I’s and crosses all the T’s, he can suspend anyone he wants for any flimsy reason, and no one can stop him. This decision represents another breakdown of the system of checks and balances.

This is wrong – and Florida voters will have to make changes to restore justice to Florida’s justice system.

The facts matter

In DeSantis’ suspension order, Worrell was accused of dereliction of duty and incompetence.

“Worrell’s practices and policies have too often enabled violent criminals to escape the full consequences of their criminal conduct, thereby endangering the innocent civilians of Orange and Osceola counties,” his office said. “Worrell has authorized or permitted practices or policies that have systematically enabled violent criminals, drug traffickers, serious juvenile offenders, and pedophiles to avoid incarceration when they would otherwise be warranted under Florida law.”

But as the Orlando Sentinel looked into these claims more closely, they began to fall apart. Many of the cases Worrell claimed to have “not” prosecuted were actually delayed for reasons beyond her control.

Some cases failed because police did not present enough evidence or violated the rights of suspects. The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office sometimes failed to determine the amount of drugs seized, a key factor in drug trafficking cases. The governor and Osceola Sheriff Marcos Lopez also said that none of those charged with drug trafficking received sentences that were consistent with the state’s mandatory penalties – which was not true.

The Sentinel’s investigation found that in 39 of 74 drug trafficking cases in which DeSantis and Lopez accused Worrell of botching, the charges were reduced, and in more than half of those cases, the case was dismissed due to circumstances beyond the prosecutor’s control.

In addition, DeSantis relied on Worrell’s promise to oppose harsh sentencing policies, especially against young and nonviolent offenders. That didn’t sit well with Florida’s self-proclaimed “law and order” governor, but it was well within Worrell’s discretion and appealed to the people who elected her in two Democratic-leaning districts. Still, the justices refused to consider DeSantis’ argument that the policy was a “dereliction of duty.”

Lapdog of the justice system

The court’s reasoning was clear. As long as the governor parrots the correct language, any official eligible for suspension can be removed from office – the facts don’t matter until the Florida Senate decides to review the suspension.

A suspended official can request a hearing in the state Senate. But the Republican-dominated body lacks the courage to question DeSantis’ suspension. In the case of the suspension of Broward Sheriff Scott Israel, even the Senate’s own legal expert said the governor’s arguments were so weak that he should be reinstated. The Senate nevertheless approved DeSantis’ suspension of Israel.

This decision goes far beyond the fate of Worrell (who, by the way, is running to regain office and has already raised nearly $220,000).

It is about supporting a governor who recognizes no limits to his power and is willing to abuse basic principles of accountability and fairness. It is about depriving voters of the opportunity to decide on candidates for public office and preventing those decisions from being respected at the ballot box.

Speaking of which, two of DeSantis’ hand-picked justices, Renatha Francis and Meredith Sasso, who signed the majority opinion in this case, will face statewide re-election votes on November 5.

The people will decide whether these two justices remain on the Supreme Court – just as they have the power to reinstate Monique Worrell.

The Sun Sentinel’s editorial board consists of Opinion Editor Steve Bousquet, Deputy Opinion Editor Dan Sweeney, Editorial Writer Martin Dyckman and Managing Editor Julie Anderson. Editorials reflect the opinion of the editorial board and are written by one of its members or a designee. To contact us, email [email protected].