Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Photo: Hunter Crenian/Shutterstock.com

The Florida Supreme Court Tuesday ruled Gov. Ron DeSantis did not abuse his gubernatorial powers by removing former Okaloosa County School Superintendent Mary Beth Jackson from office.

The high court entered an order denying Jackson's petition for writ of quo warranto. Jackson, who was dismissed from her elected position by executive order on Jan. 11, had argued that DeSantis' suspension was an overreach of powers granted to him by the Florida Constitution.

The decision comes as another ousted official, former Broward Sheriff Scott Israel, is suing DeSantis over his removal from public office via executive order.

DeSantis had justified Jackson's removal by citing conduct that allegedly occurred under her watch during her first term in office, including charges of “child abuse/neglect by instructional personnel” and “numerous criminal charges of failing to report suspected child abuse by instructional personnel and administrators,” according to the governor's order. But Jackson had argued she could only be removed from office for alleged failures that occurred during her current term, not for alleged infractions before her re-election in November 2016.

George Levesque, a shareholder with GrayRobinson's Tallahassee office, represented Jackson. He argued in the petition that the Florida Supreme Court “has long held that the governor's authority to suspend an officer under the Florida Constitution is limited to acts occurring during the current term of office of the suspended officer.” The attorney characterized DeSantis' order as “an invalid exercise of authority” and contended “Jackson is entitled to reinstatement as superintendent of schools of Okaloosa County.”

But the high court found that Jackson's appeal was “based on a faulty premise.”

“Read fairly and in its entirety, the suspension order alleges acts and omissions occurring during Jackson's current term, and bases Jackson's suspension on her alleged ongoing mismanagement of the school district,” the order said.

The high court also cited DeSantis' mention in the executive order of two Okaloosa County grand jury reports, in February and June 2018, on Jackson's conduct.

“The text of the suspension order leaves no doubt that, in the governor's view, those failures continued up to the time of Jackson's suspension in January 2019,” the court found.

Because DeSantis' suspension order concerned purported failures by Jackson during her most recent term, the high court found ”there is no need for us to address the constitutional validity of a hypothetical suspension order alleging facts that relate exclusively to a suspended official's earlier term in office.”

A concurring opinion by Florida Supreme Court Justice Barbara Lagoa held Article IV, Section 7 of the Florida Constitution, which grants the governor suspension power, “doesn't outline a temporal limitation on the executive's suspension power such that the constitutionally enumerated grounds resulting in suspension must occur during the suspended officer's current term of office.”

Read the Florida Supreme Court's order: 

The governor celebrated the high court's decision.

“I am pleased that @FLCourts rejected Mary Beth Jackson's challenge to my authority to suspend her as Okaloosa County Superintendent for failing to protect students,” his official account tweeted. “My administration will not tolerate negligence nor incompetence from any government official, especially those charged with the sacred duty of protecting our children.”

Levesque did not respond to requests for comment by press time.

Jackson's petition is not the only litigation to reach the Florida Supreme Court concerning DeSantis' suspensions.

A lawsuit by Broward's former sheriff, Israel, against the governor is also currently before the high court.

In a statement, Israel's attorney, Benedict “Ben” Kuehne, said the court's findings do not impact his client's claims against DeSantis.

“Sheriff Israel interprets the Supreme Court's ruling today as requiring strict adherence to the constitutional provision,” Kuehne said. “Unlike Superintendent Jackson's appeal, Sheriff Israel has identified the failure on the part of the governor's suspension order to identify a single mandatory duty that Sheriff Israel neglected or incompetently administered. Without a showing of a violation of a mandatory duty, the strict text of the Florida Constitution does not validate the sheriff's suspension.”

Related stories:

Florida Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Scott Israel's Lawsuit Against Gov. DeSantis

Ex-Broward Sheriff Israel Appeals Dismissal of Suit Against Gov. DeSantis Over Parkland School Shooting