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(Photo by Ronda Churchill/Getty Images)
I remember in law school when the Socratic method would lead to a professor extending some criminal statute to an extreme example that would be patently unjust. Those still in favor of the law would, inevitably, lean heavily on prosecutorial discretion to avoid that disfavored result. But if Florida governor Ron DeSantis continues down this path, that release valve for the criminal justice system will be replaced with whatever conservative hellscape he can dream up.
Today DeSantis announced — for the second time — he was suspending a Democrat elected as a State Attorney for reasons. This time it’s Orlando’s Monique Worrell that’s come into DeSantis’s crosshairs. As reported by Huffington Post:
“Prosecutors have a duty to faithfully enforce a law. One’s political agenda cannot trump this solemn duty,” DeSantis said at a press conference Wednesday morning. “Accordingly, I am today announcing the suspension of State Attorney Monique Worrell.”
This move has been telegraphed since at least April, when Worrell wrote that the governor “seeks to exploit his political agenda against me” and that DeSantis was trying to “build and justify a baseless case against a prosecutor he simply disagrees with politically.”
And now that the move is a fait accompli, Worrell is telling her own truth about the real reason behind her suspension:
“Under this tyranny, elected officials can be removed simply for political purposes and from the whim of the governor, and no matter how you feel about me you should not be ok with that,” Worrell said.
“This is simply a smoke screen for Ron DeSantis’ failing and disastrous [presidential] campaign. He needed to get back in the media in some way that will be red meat for his base.”
So let’s never forget — in addition to trying to undo the will of the people that voted for Worrell in 2020, Ron DeSantis is also terrible at running for president.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.
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