ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – After being suspended last year by Gov. Ron DeSantis on accusations of “neglect” and “incompetence,” former Ninth Circuit State Attorney Monique Worrell is now fighting to take back her old position from incumbent Andrew Bain.
The Ninth Judicial Circuit handles court cases in Orange and Osceola counties.
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Regarding Worrell’s suspension, DeSantis claimed she was too lenient on some criminals, including juvenile offenders, and avoided minimum mandatory sentencing guidelines.
Worrell denied DeSantis’ criticisms, instead claiming she was suspended because of her policies involving police accountability and demanding that law enforcement officers build better cases during criminal investigations.
While she sued in state court to be reinstated, the Florida Supreme Court ultimately sided with DeSantis, ruling that the suspension was reasonable.
Following her removal, Bain — a former DeSantis-appointed judge — was appointed to her role. Since then, he’s made multiple policy changes, pledged to review cases dropped by Worrell and used a grand jury to review law enforcement use-of-force cases.
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Meet the candidates
Andrew Bain: Website
Bain is running as a no-party-affiliate candidate.
Prior to is appointment as the current Ninth Circuit State Attorney, he served on the Ninth Judicial Circuit as an assistant state attorney for seven years, as well as on the bench as a judge for over three years.
While attending the University of Miami for his studies, Bain majored in psychology and African American studies with a minor in business law. Nowadays, he teaches as a professor at Florida A&M College of Law.
In 2020, Bain was appointed as a judge to the Orange County bench and was officially elected to the position in 2022. He ultimately stepped down from that position to return to the Office of the State Attorney for the Ninth Judicial Circuit in August 2023 after being selected by DeSantis.
[RELATED: Who is Andrew Bain?]
Monique Worrell: Website
Worrell is running as a democratic candidate.
She was elected to the position of State Attorney for the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida in 2020, serving as the chief prosecutor until her removal in 2023.
Before her time as state attorney, Worrell graduated from the University of Florida’s College of Law with a law degree and became a public defender in Orange County. From there, she pivoted toward a private practice and taught as a clinical law professor at her alma mater.
While in her position as the state attorney, Worrell acted as the founding director for the office’s Conviction Integrity Unit, which led investigations into claims of wrongful conviction.
[RELATED: Who is Monique Worrell?]