WFSU Local News

DOJ may be investigating North Florida State Attorney’s office

WFSU | By Tristan Wood

Published May 6, 2024 at 1:28 PM EDT

Close up on the scales of justice on a small bronze statue over a blue background. — -

The State Attorney's Office for the 2nd Judicial Circuit may be under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.

An anonymous source shared records with WFSU News confirming the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division is conducting an inquiry at the State Attorney’s office. WFSU filed a public records request with the office for emails to and from investigators.

Over a week later, the office said those records were exempt because they are “linked to an active investigation.” When asked for the statute number for the exemption, the office cited the exemption for civil rights discrimination investigations.

It is still unclear what launched the investigation, its parameters and what has been found.

Screenshots of email correspondence between reporter Tristan Wood and 2nd Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office on May 2, 2024. The correspondence is as follows. Tristan Wood writes, quote, "Hello, I am reaching out to request a status update on the above request. Thank you." The response from the office is, quote, "Good Morning, I apologize for the delay. The items you request are linked to an active investigation, thus are exempt from disclosure at this time. You are welcome to monitor the situation and renew your request at a later date. We do not 'hold open' requests nor do we monitor case status."

Email correspondence on May 2, 2024 between reporter Tristan Wood and the 2nd Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office. The correspondence is as follows: Tristan Wood writes, quote, "What is the statute number for the exemption." The office responds, quote, 119.071(2)(g). — Email correspondence between WFSU reporter Tristan Wood and the 2nd Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office about a public records request for emails between U.S. Department of Justice attorneys and the office.

The text of the Florida statute cited by the office for its exemption reads "All complaints and other records in the custody of any agency which relate to a complaint of discrimination relating to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, handicap, or marital status in connection with hiring practices, position classifications, salary, benefits, discipline, discharge, employee performance, evaluation, or other related activities are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution until a finding is made relating to probable cause, the investigation of the complaint becomes inactive, or the complaint or other record is made part of the official record of any hearing or court proceeding."
The 2^nd Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office, helmed by State Attorney Jack Campbell, came under fire about a year ago after a whistleblower accused the office of pursuing harsher punishments against Hispanic people in the office’s Jefferson County branch. First reported in the progressive media site OurTallahassee, the whistleblower found a paper printed in the office telling employees to pursue harsher penalties for certain violations if they are Hispanic.

Campbell at the time said the printed policy was supposed to say undocumented immigrants and defended its implementation.

“When he wrote that document out, he made a mistake, and instead of saying ‘undocumented immigrants,’ he used the word ‘Hispanics.’ And that was completely inappropriate, insensitive and inconsistent with the policy of the office,” Campbell said at the time.

Campbell declined to comment for this story on the DOJ inquiry.