The legal battle over whether Gov. Ron DeSantis had the right to suspend Scott Israel from his role as Broward Sheriff got a step closer to the Supreme Court this weekend.
On Saturday, Israel’s attorneys filed a request for oral arguments before the state’s highest court. In a separate court filing, they argued that DeSantis went beyond his constitutional authority when he “imposed his will on the people of Broward County to decide who should be the Sheriff of Broward County.”
DeSantis has blasted Israel for not accepting his fate, saying the former sheriff “continues to live in denial.”
The governor suspended Israel on Jan. 11 shortly after taking office, citing neglect of duty and incompetence in the wake of last year’s Parkland shooting. The Valentine’s Day 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School left 17 dead and another 17 injured.
DeSantis said lessons that should have been learned from the 2017 shooting at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport were never implemented. That misstep led to a disorganized response to the Parkland shooting that cost lives and eroded trust in the Broward Sheriff’s Office, the agency that patrols Parkland, the governor alleged.
After suspending Israel, DeSantis appointed former Coral Springs Sgt. Gregory Tony as sheriff.
Tony, a law enforcement veteran with a background in active-shooter training, is the first black sheriff in the history of Broward County.
Israel has vowed to fight “vigorously” to get his job back.
Israel filed suit in March accusing DeSantis of overstepping his legal authority when he ousted him from office.
When Israel won re-election in 2016, he captured more than 70 percent of the vote.
“Let’s understand the suspension for what it really is, a massive political power grab, by the governor, to subvert the will of our Broward County voters,” Israel said after he was removed from office.
The case is heading straight to the state’s highest court after an appellate court certified the case as a matter of great public importance.
Ben Kuehne and Stuart Kaplan, attorneys for Israel, have requested the court give each side 30 minutes to argue their case.
“This appeal presents important questions of Florida constitutional law, due process considerations, timely public policy questions, and the extent to which the Governor can subvert the will of the voters when determining their choice of elected leaders,” Kuehne and Kaplan wrote in their filing with the Florida Supreme Court.
The Florida Constitution gives the Florida Senate the authority to rule on gubernatorial suspensions. But the Senate has delayed a vote on the Israel case until all court proceedings are complete.
Click here to read the initial brief filed by Scott Israel.
Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4554. Find her on Twitter @Susannah_Bryan.