In our everyday lives, many of us do things we really do not want to do. Mostly because we have no choice.

District Attorneys and law enforcement may not agree with whether there should be a particular law or not. They do not have the option about whether to prosecute or enforce laws Only the legislative branch has the power to pass, repeal, or change the law. The executive branch is the enforcement branch and as such has an obligation to make sure all laws on the books are adhered to.

There is such a thing as prosecutorial and police discretion. For example, are there extenuating circumstances or can the evidence support a conviction? These are valid questions that should be asked before proceeding. Having discretion is one thing, but complete refusal to act should result in those cops and D.A.s being removed.

Governor DeSantis has the authority to suspend elected officials who are not doing their jobs. Recently he removed Andrew Warren, the State Attorney for Hillsborough County, for saying he would not enforce certain laws. However, nowhere could I find an instance or the governor citing under what circumstances Warren had not enforced the laws. Therefore, did DeSantis remove Warren for saying he wouldn’t prosecute abortion laws or for not doing so?

Saying you won’t do something is different from a person not doing something. One is abstract and the other an act that would need to be punished. Did DeSantis overstep the authority granted him? I would say the answer is yes.

Unless Warren refused to prosecute an individual, who had broken a law, there is nothing that the prosecutor did that should be considered grounds for removal.  I think DeSantis should have waited until Warren’s actions were more than rhetoric. On both Warren and DeSantis’ parts they are playing politics. There is no crisis.

In the past decade, a movement has started that think that county sheriffs are sovereign. There is an entire organization made up of sheriffs and other law enforcement officials that believe that federal and state laws are subordinate to county sheriffs having the final decision on whether to enforce a law or not. The doctrine of these so-called “Constitutional Sheriffs” believe that they can ignore laws that they deem to be unconstitutional. It is a real development that is being tied into the sovereign citizen movement.

Pinterrest

The office of county sheriff goes all the way back to medieval England. Then the sheriff of a shire was the one calling the shots. You need to think the Sheriff of Nottingham of “Robin Hood” fame. Even in medieval England the shire’s sheriff was in office for only the period the king wanted. In many instances the sheriff was also subordinate to the barons or earls in that particular shire. The constitutional sheriff’s movement ignores the last thousand years of common law, court decisions, and the U.S. Constitution to come up with this half-baked theory. There are at least 5 Florida sheriffs who believe they are the ultimate deciders of what is and is not constitutional and what laws they will enforce in their jurisdictions.

Governor DeSantis has conveniently ignored them. Shouldn’t he remove officials who not only don’t recognize his authority but also that of the legislature, Congress, the Supreme Court, and the president.

Today everything is politics. Right or wrong is conveniently tossed aside for the politically expedient. We are fast approaching the point of no return. DeSantis and others are turning real and cherished principles into political theater. The nation will not be able to tolerate much more of this.