Why is Reams not being reinstated?

Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.

The matter of Clerk of Court Kirk Reams' non-reinstatement to office following his acquittal by a jury is raising questions among some local residents.
Paul Henry, a retired Florida Highway Patrol trooper and a proclaimed friend of Reams, raised the issue at the Jefferson County Commission on Thursday evening, Jan. 18.
Henry urged the commission to adopt a resolution asking Governor Rick Scott to reinstate Reams to office, given that a jury had exonerated Reams of the charge of petit theft on Jan. 11. Scott suspended Reams from office almost immediately after Reams was charged.
Henry noted that in the case of Liberty County Sheriff Nicolas Finch, whom Scott suspended from office in June 2013 following a charge of official misconduct for falsifying records, the Governor reinstated the sheriff mere hours after a jury had
exonerated him. “How was the case of Reams any different?” Henry asked.
The Monticello News put the question to the Governor's office, asking why the Governor could reinstate, by executive order, in one situation (Finch) but it is requiring Senate action in the other (Reams)? The reference to the Senate action was in keeping with an earlier cryptic response from the Governor's office relative to Reams' reinstatement, stating that, “In accordance with the Florida Constitution, this issue will come before the Florida Senate."
The response from the Governor's office came via email from Kerri Wyland, who referred the Monticello News to three websites, encapsulated within the electronic message.
The first website contains the Florida Constitution. Wyland, in her email, directed particular attention to Article 4, Section 7, Subsection (b). Article 4 deals with the Executive Branch, i.e., the Governor and Cabinet; Section 7 deals with suspensions and the filling of offices during suspensions; and Subsection (b) deals with the Florida Senate's role in suspensions.
Subsection (b) states in its entirety: “The Senate may, in proceedings prescribed by law, remove from office or reinstate the suspended official and for such purpose the Senate may be convened in special session by its president or by a majority of its membership.”
The other two websites referenced in the email contained the original suspension orders for the Finch and Reams cases, respectively. The response gave no other information.
The Governor, in his Executive Order suspending Finch from office, cited his arrest for official misconduct, a third-degree felony. Finch, according to the investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), had falsified records and personally released from jail a man who had been arrested by a deputy for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit.
Hours after being acquitted of the charge, by a Liberty County jury in October 2013, Scott reinstated Finch.
“Sheriff Nick Finch will be reinstated immediately," Governor Scott said in a written statement at the time. "I would like to thank the members of the jury in Liberty County for their service in this trial. I would also like to thank Interim Sheriff Buddy Money for his service to the state of Florida.”
The Governor, in his Executive Order suspending Reams from office, cited the his arrest for petit theft, a first-degree misdemeanor. Reams, according to the FDLE investigation, gave his then girlfriend a county-owned laptop for her personal use for about a year, of which charge a Jefferson County jury exonerated him, earlier this month.
The Governor's Executive Order, however, also mentions that the FDLE investigation “revealed that Reams improperly used his official position to gain access to a government facility after business hours in February 2013 for the purpose of engaging in inappropriate conduct with a paramour,” in reference to the alleged nude photo-taking in the courtroom.
Wyland, in a brief conversation with the Monticello News did say that the requested information that was sent alluded to the malfeasance and/or misfeasance citation in the Governor's Executive Order relative to Reams as being significant, in terms of its difference from the Finch Executive Order.
The Executive Order removing Reams from office states: “An investigation by the FDLE revealed Kirk Reams committed malfeasance and/or misfeasance in the abuse of his position of public trust through the improper acts described above, as evidenced by the Affidavit in Support of Arrest Warrant attached hereto, which is incorporated as if fully set forth in this Executive Order.”
Article 4 and Section 7, does not appear to preclude the Governor from reinstating a suspended official, nor does it require the Governor to do so.
Section 7, Subsection (a), in fact, specifically states: “By executive order stating the grounds and filed with the custodian of state records, the governor may suspend from office any state officer not subject to impeachment, any officer of the militia not in the active service of the United States, or any county officer, for malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty, drunkenness, incompetence, permanent inability to perform official duties, or commission of a felony, and may fill the office by appointment for the period of suspension. The suspended officer may at any time before removal be reinstated by the governor.”
Does this mean that, in the case of Reams, the Governor is choosing not to reinstate because of the malfeasance and/or misfeasance issue, and this is why the issue is being referred to the Senate?
The Monticello News is still awaiting the Governor's office’s response.