ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Florida's governor says a prosecutor is wrong in arguing he violated the state constitution when he took away almost two dozen cases from her office after she announced she'd no longer seek the death penalty.
State Attorney Aramis Ayala, whose district covers Orlando, is challenging the governor's orders before the Florida Supreme Court.
Scott and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi filed their response Thursday.
The controversy started last month when Ayala said her office would no longer seek the death penalty.
Scott responded by reassigning the cases. Ayala says the governor has no authority to do so.
But the governor said that Ayala previously had requested six unrelated cases to be reassigned to a different state attorney.
He says those requests are difficult to reconcile with Ayala's current position.
