April 6, 2026

A day after Gov. Ron DeSantis and Attorney General James Uthmeier called on the Florida House to impeach Leon Circuit Judge Tiffany Baker-Carper over her handling of a case related to the murder of a Tallahassee girl, her supporters are defending her and casting blame on the state.

The Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in an April 1 news release fired back at both DeSantis for his impeachment remarks and the State Attorney’s Office for its handling of the same case involving the stepfather accused in the murder of 5-year-old Missy Mogle.

“Florida’s governor is urging impeachment of a Tallahassee judge,” the association said. “He should respect our constitutionally mandated separation of powers and quit using the criminal legal system and the lives of Floridians to bolster his political career, impugning along the way the good names of public servants who can’t fight back — judges.”

 

The fight over Missy Mogle’s heartbreaking murder case just exploded into a political brawl, with Gov. Ron DeSantis and Attorney General James Uthmeier calling for the impeachment of Leon Circuit Judge Tiffany Baker-Carper, and her defenders blasting back hard. The Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers accused DeSantis of trampling separation of powers and using Floridians’ pain to boost his political career, while the state’s handling of the case has also come under fire. The uproar comes after DeSantis made his impeachment push in Tampa while signing “Missy’s Law,” named for the 5-year-old Tallahassee girl who died May 19 after suffering injuries including cuts, bruises, burns and ligature marks at her Southwood home. Her stepfather, Daniel Spencer, 36, and mother, Chloe Spencer, were later indicted on first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and other charges, and both face the death penalty.

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