Aramis Donell Ayala v. Rick Scott

Summary

Justice Pariente, dissenting, would hold that the Governor lacked good and sufficient reason to remove State Attorney Ayala for deciding not to seek the death penalty while continuing to prosecute first-degree murder cases. She reasoned that Florida law leaves the decision to seek death to prosecutorial discretion and that the Governor's duty to faithfully execute the laws does not displace the constitutional independence of elected State Attorneys. Justice Quince concurred in the dissent.