ORLANDO, Fla. – During his State of the State address last week, Gov. Ron DeSantis commended himself for removing prosecutors from office — Andrew Warren in Hillsborough County and Monique Worrell in Orange and Osceola counties.
While Worrell waits to see if her suspension will be overturned, she kicked off a re-election campaign this week.
“The governor has consistently used my unjust removal as a campaign talking point,” Worrell told News 6. “It’s 100% politically motivated.”
Just last week, Andrew Warren’s case for reinstatement got some hope.
[EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your photos]
In a 59-page ruling, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals kicked the case back to the original federal judge, writing, “the district court should reexamine” the case.
Meantime Worrell is waiting for Florida’s Supreme Court to rule on overturning her suspension.
“Because the governor has failed to establish a specific fact of my neglect of duty, dereliction of duty or incompetence, that the executive order should be stricken and I should be returned to my position, that is what we’re asking the Supreme Court to do,” Worrell said.
Whether the court rules in her favor or not, Worrell is running for re-election and could be facing off at the polls later this year with the man the governor appointed to replace her — Andrew Bain.
“I don’t believe that the voters of this circuit are going to fall for the, you know, untruthful information that’s spread by a governor’s appointed state attorney,” Worrell said.
Find more reports from our News 6 Investigators on YouTube:
News 6 political analyst Jim Clark says the situation is unprecedented and the Supreme Court ruling could come at any time, even after this year’s election.
“I would think based on what happened with State Attorney Warren, that it will come sooner than later, and that means it will come before the election, however, that may not mean much because I’m sure Gov. DeSantis will appeal whatever ruling it is. This could stay in the courts for the next three or four years,” Clark said.
Either way, Worrell says she is forging ahead.
“One of the things that I worked diligently towards when I was in office was rebuilding the trust and the faith of our community in our justice system. And that’s what I’ll continue to do when I’m re-elected,” Worrell said.
Meanwhile, Warren has asked the court to speed up his case so that he can finish out the last year of his term which technically ends next January.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: