Orange County judge dismisses Sunshine Law violation against Chris Dorworth
An Orange County judge today dismissed a charge of breaking the state's public meeting laws against former state representative-turned-lobbyist Chris Dorworth.
Judge Tanya Davis Wilson, who was set to start jury selection Thursday, ruled that Dorworth's First Amendment rights to free speech was violated by the misdemeanor charge against him.
"A private citizen has a protected constitutional right to communicate with public officials or members of a public body about matters that may come before that body," Wilson wrote.
Dorworth's attorney, Richard Hornsby of Orlando, said, "I'm pleased. I thought this was a flawed prosecution from the beginning."
Chief Assistant State Attorney Richard Wallsh said his office would issue a reaction later this afternoon.
Dorworth was accused of acting as a go-between, or conduit, between two former members of the Orlando Orange County Expressway Authority in a plot to oust then-director Max Crumit.
According to the state's so-called "Government in the Sunshine" laws, authority business could be discussed only in public, such as a board meeting, and not in private. Conviction of the misdemeanor is punishable by a $500 fine and up to 60 days in jail.
Dorworth, according to an Orange County grand jury indictment, passed information between Scott Batterson and Marco Pena, who were on the board and were part of a 3-2 vote in August 2013 to seek a replacement for Crumit.
Pena earlier this year pleaded guilty to breaking the sunshine law and paid a $500 fine. Batterson last week pleaded no contest to the same charge.
Hornsby said the proper people to go after were Pena and Batterson, not Dorworth.
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Orange County judge dismisses Sunshine Law violation against Chris Dorworth