By Christopher Cann
Orlando Sentinel
•
Apr 28, 2023 at 4:24 pm

Despite the permitless carry bill signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier this month, many state attorney’s offices across Florida are still prosecuting those arrested for carrying concealed weapons and say they plan to continue doing so until July 1, when the law takes effect.

DeSantis signed what he called “constitutional carry” legislation on April 3, which allows non-felons and those over 21 years of age to carry concealed firearms without permits, nixing the previous requirement for background checks and gun safety courses.

The new law, however, did not include any retroactive provisions about pending cases, leaving hundreds of arrestees and defendants in a gray area. They’re accused of committing a crime that soon will no longer exist in the Sunshine State.

And the stakes for defendants are high. If convicted, those who would soon be able to legally carry without permits could be labeled as felons, losing their right to possess firearms and greatly limiting their housing and jobs options, especially for occupations that require licenses.

As of Thursday morning, the State Attorney’s Office for the Ninth Judicial Circuit was handling 775 concealed carry cases in Orange County and 104 in Osceola County, according to a log obtained via a public records request.

A half-dozen state attorney’s offices that responded to the Sentinel’s request for comment said they are also going to continue prosecuting pending concealed carry cases against non-felons and those over 21 — people who would largely be protected by the permitless carry law when it takes effect in less than three months.

This comes as prosecutorial discretion has become a political battleground in Florida, with the state’s top GOP officials taking aim at Democratic state attorneys, including Tampa’s Andrew Warren and Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell.

Keisha Mulfort, a spokesperson for Worrell’s office, said prosecutors will move ahead with their concealed carry cases because “our office cannot decide which laws to follow and which ones we won’t.”

“As it currently stands, this offense is still a crime in the State of Florida, and we will resolve these matters with the gravity it deserves,” she wrote in an email. Citing a pair of Easter weekend shootings that combined to kill seven people, she added, “not following the law in light of the devastating losses our community suffered... is not something our office is willing to do.”

Mulfort said people accused of illegally carrying concealed firearms will have opportunities to go through pretrial diversion and have their cases dropped when eligible, depending on their criminal history.

The stance by Worrell’s office comes after months of her prosecutors being criticized by law enforcement and Florida GOP officials alike for what they have said is a pattern of non-prosecution. Worrell has repeatedly denied and provided data to discredit the allegations, which she says are being used as a pretext for her removal from office.

DeSantis suspended Warren from office in August, accusing the prosecutor of implementing a policy of “presumptive non-enforcement” of some low-level criminal violations and citing a pledge Warren signed against pursuing abortion-related cases.

Asked by the Orlando Sentinel if they planned to move forward with concealed carry cases filed before July 1, Florida prosecuting offices led by officials from both sides of the aisle said they would.

Todd Brown, a spokesperson for the Seminole-Brevard State Attorney’s Office, said since there is no retroactive provision in the new law, the existing one will apply until midnight June 30.

He said the state attorney’s office, which is led by Republican Phil Archer, “has some latitude regarding the disposition of a criminal case, and depending on the specific circumstances, this may be an area where we can consider some alternative resolutions.”

Spokespersons for state attorney’s offices in the 1st, 11th, 13th and 20th judicial circuits — which cover areas including Miami, Tampa, Pensacola and Fort Myers — said they are prosecuting cases under the law that was in place at the time of the offenses.

Samantha Syoen, a spokesperson for State Attorney’s Office of the 20th Judicial Circuit in Southwest Florida, said, “The new law has not taken effect, so our handling of cases has not changed yet.”

John Molchan, a spokesperson for the State Attorney’s Office of the 1st Judicial Circuit in the Panhandle, said, “We’re just looking at them on a case by case basis at this point.”

“We will follow the law and prosecute pending cases under the law that was in force at the time of the offense,” said Ed Griffith, a spokesperson for the Miami-Dade County State Attorney’s Office.

Erin Maloney, a spokesperson for the State Attorney’s Office for the 13th Judicial Circuit, said prosecutors will look at every case law enforcement refers them. The Tampa office was run by Warren until his suspension and is now led by DeSantis’ chosen replacement, former judge Susan Lopez.

“Our prosecutors review all the facts and circumstances, and then we decide on whether to file charges or not,” said Maloney. “We will continue to meet that mission and enforce the law.”

Longtime defense attorney Roger Weeden said moving forward with these cases is a form of “punishment without crime.”

Those charged with concealed carry offenses face the risk of becoming convicted felons, which Weeden described as a “civil death penalty” due to its impact on people’s ability to obtain housing, employment and professional licenses as well as its immediate stripping of voting rights.

“It creates a personal environment in which a person’s life is always under the threat of destabilization,” Weeden said. “This threat of destabilization is present even if a person has not been formally convicted, but placed on probation.”

Weeden added that the vast majority of concealed carry charges stand alone, meaning they lack any accompanying charges — which, he said, “dispels the myth that it deters other offenses or makes the community safer.”

Additionally, Weeden said continuing these prosecutions only adds to the overwhelming workload state attorney’s offices face, which has been made worse by COVID-related delays and high vacancy rates.

In February, Worrell said turnover rates were around 25% in state attorneys’ offices across the state.

Katherine Fernandez Rundle, the state attorney for Miami-Dade County, recently wrote in the Miami Herald that her office is down “over 100 prosecutors and 250 staff, trending to a 30% vacancy rate and being crushed by a backlog of COVID cases.”

“It’s essentially a waste of the court’s time and resources,” Weeden said. “... And some otherwise law-abiding citizens may be labeled felons.”