Jeff Ashton must fire Prosecutor Kenneth Lewis, says Civil Rights Group

Orange Osceola County State Attorney Jeff Ashton should have fired Assistant State Attorney Kenneth Lewis on the spot over his distasteful facebook posts, said Florida Civil Rights Association President J. Willie David, III.  The implementation of a social-media policy to protect the integrity and smooth operation of the State Attorney’s Office should be a top priority, added David.

This is a matter of public’s trust and confidence this State Attorney has neither, especially from communities of color, David stated.

In order for prosecutor Lewis to establish a claim under the First Amendment, he must first show that the speech in question meets three requirements. First, he must demonstrate that his speech was made as a “citizen” in accordance with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision, Garcetti v. Ceballos, 547 U.S. 410, 419 (2006). Second, he must show that the speech addressed a matter of “public concern. Third, he must show that his interest in the speech outweighs the State Attorney’s Office countervailing interest in “promoting workplace efficiency and avoiding workplace disruption.”

It’s this last step that gives government employers (like the State Attorney) the most protection–particularly in the context of a negative comment made by a public employee on his or her Facebook profile, said David.

Assistant State Attorney Kenneth Lewis comment  was made in his official capacity as a prosecutor and not as a citizen regarding  to a news article (concerning the Florida Civil Rights Association on News channel 2) suggesting a lack of diversity in State Attorney Jeff Ashton’s office regarding hiring Hispanics and African Americans as top managers. Lewis included former State Senator Gary Siplin in his post.

Lewis prosecuted Siplin in 2006 for grand theft, but the conviction was later overturned by the Fifth District appeals court. In 2007, Lewis expressed his outraged over how the Florida Department of Corrections provided special treatment to Senator Siplin when they release him for alleged violation of probation. In 2008, Lewis wrote his own article to the Orlando Sentinel statement that Siplin was found not innocent and  in 2013, Lewis still attack Siplin in facebook post on an issue that has nothing to do with Senator Siplin.. It’s clear that Lewis comments involved the State Attorney’s Office, its hiring practices on diversity, and former criminal defendant he prosecuted.

State Attorney Jeff Ashton said he finds prosecutor Lewis’ comments offensive and dehumanizing, but failed to take serious action. Ashton has an arsenal of court case laws and internal policies at his disposal to fire Lewis.

The Florida Civil Rights Association is deeply concerned that defendants will not be treated fairly by prosecutor Lewis because of their race, or drug addictions. In addition, Lewis’ behavior could be grounds for criminal defendant attorneys seeking appeals for their clients prosecuted by Lewis. This means that hundreds of criminal cases could be overturned.

Also, Lewis facebook comments are subject to (Brady vs. Maryland case law) Brady disclosures, meaning that the free sharing of one’s random thoughts and personal life on the Internet may indeed have serious and careerending consequences if that information is used to discredit prosecutor Lewis’ character in court.

Lewis cold hearted facebook posts states “Happy Mothers’ day to all the crack hoes out there. “It’s never too late to tie your tubes, clean up your life and make a difference to someone out there that deserves a better life is an embarrassment to the State Attorney’s Office, stated David.  His comments makes light of addiction. He assumes that no drug addict mother has ever been raped.  Some women are raped in exchanged for drugs.  Finally, Lewis comment fails to address the real issue which is that the drug laws criminalize addiction.

Lewis attack on U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor is over the top and mean spirited. He should be fired for bringing a dark cloud over the State Attorney’s Office regarding his facebook posts, David.