Newly appointed Orange-Osceola state attorney says he’ll review cases, speed up trials

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — New State Attorney Andrew Bain released his plan for his first 100 days in office on Thursday.

Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Bain, who was a judge in the Ninth Circuit, to take Monique Worrell’s seat on Wednesday.

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According to the document, Bain says some cases will be reviewed.

One of the first things on his agenda is reviewing dropped cases under Worrell’s administration particularly homicides, sex crimes, drug trafficking and major violent crimes.

Read: Andrew Bain: Who is the state attorney appointed to replace Monique Worrell?

He also said he’s going to implement measures to speed up trials.

Bain met with law enforcement leaders in Orange and Osceola counties on Thursday.

He said he wants to enhance communication and data sharing between the agencies and his office to combat crime. By communicating, he said they’ll be able to identify Orlando’s most dangerous criminals: repeat offenders.

Read: ‘It is the loss of democracy’: Monique Worrell responds to her suspension as state attorney

DeSantis accused now-suspended State Attorney Monique Worrell of failing to impose mandatory sentences for gun and drug crimes and also allowing juveniles to avoid incarceration.

Bain said he’s providing extra training for prosecutors to effectively prepare for trials and pre-trial motions.

Another big challenge for Bain that he said he wants to tackle is recruiting prosecutors.

Read: Gov. Ron DeSantis suspends Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell

The 100-day plan says the office is “severely understaffed,” but doesn’t specify numbers.

Worrell has acknowledged a shortage of prosecutors in the past few months.

All of the points the state attorney’s office listed in the plan are fairly vague. It doesn’t provide an action plan of how they’re going to accomplish the goals. But he’s also only two days into his time as state attorney.

Video: Andrew Bain: Who is the state attorney appointed to replace Monique Worrell? Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Andrew Bain to replace Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell after he suspended her citing “neglect of duty." (Karla Ray, WFTV.com)

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