Ron DeSantis’ suspension of Monique Worrell is challenged on due process and First Amendment grounds

Share
Monique Worrell
Monique Worrell (2021). From her Facebook page as State Attorney in Orange-Osceola.

©2023 The News Service of Florida

Southern Poverty Law Center lawyers Thursday filed a federal lawsuit challenging Gov. Ron DeSantis’ suspension of Orlando-area State Attorney Monique Worrell, arguing the ouster violated the rights of voters.

The 22-page lawsuit, filed in U.S. district court in Orlando, came as the Florida Supreme Court is poised to hear arguments Wednesday in a separate challenge filed by Worrell.

The Southern Poverty Law Center case, filed on behalf of two voters and the group Florida Rising Together, contends the suspension violated due process and First Amendment rights.

It seeks reinstatement of Worrell as state attorney in the 9th Judicial Circuit in Orange and Osceola counties.

“Governor DeSantis’s intentional nullification of election results has undermined the fundamental fairness and integrity of the electoral process,” the lawsuit said. “The nature of the injury in this case is egregious. ,,, Governor DeSantis’s actions deprived nearly 400,000 people of their fundamental right to vote and threatens the integrity of the state’s democratic system.”

DeSantis on Aug. 9 issued an executive order suspending Worrell, a Democrat who was elected in 2020.

Among other things, the order alleged that Worrell’s policies prevented or discouraged assistant state attorneys from seeking minimum mandatory sentences for gun crimes and drug trafficking offenses.

But Worrell has argued in her challenge at the Florida Supreme Court that DeSantis did not have a legal basis to suspend her.

DeSantis appointed Andrew Bain, who had served as an Orange County judge, to replace Worrell as state attorney.

Ultimately, the Florida Senate would decide whether to remove Worrell from office. The Senate process has been put on hold amid the legal battle.

Leave a Reply

  • (will not be published)

XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

You may also like

Environmental advocates call for more electric school buses in Pinellas

Listen: Environmentalists in Pinellas County are calling for a renewed...

Florida Capitol
Ten big issues in the 2025 Florida legislative session

They still have to hammer out a budget, but Florida...

The Scoop: Mon. May 5, 2025, Tampa Bay and Florida headlines by WMNF

Roundup of news headlines produced for WMNF Community Radio: Trump,...

UF higher education university
The U of Michigan leader Santa Ono is the sole pick for the president of the University of Florida

Santa Ono, who leads the University of Michigan, is the...

Ways to listen

WMNF is listener-supported. That means we don't advertise like a commercial station, and we're not part of a university.

Ways to support

WMNF volunteers have fun providing a variety of needed services to keep your community radio station alive and kickin'.

Mo' Blues Monday
Mo' Blues Monday