As David Migut plans to leave, legal issues impact the county commissioners, his bosses.
ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — It appears the St. Johns County’s top lawyer will be leaving his position.
This comes while the county commission legally investigates one of its own, and that same commissioner sues the rest of the commission.
David Migut is the county attorney for St. Johns County. Like most attorneys for local governments, you don’t see or hear from him much. His legal advice has been pivotal recently as tensions have flared between county commissioners.
According to county documents, “the County and the County Attorney, David Migut, have mutually agreed to separate.”
Now it looks like Migut is on his way out. It is not confirmed. First Coast News has reached out to Migut and has not received a response.
No word about why, but the documents say it is “for reasons other than misconduct or cause”.
This comes after some legal issues have wracked the county commission. During a November board meeting, St. Johns County Commissioner Krista Keating Joseph reminded residents there is an upcoming election.
She said at the time, “There’s hope. In less than nine months, we have an election. I stopped by Vicky Oakes’ (Supervisor of Elections). Here’s the information.”
Commissioner Henry Dean could be heard, saying, “Point of order.”
Commissioner Sarah Arnold said, “Don’t you think this is out of line?”
The other four commissioners shut Keating Joseph down, seeking advice from Migut.
The following meeting in December, the commissioners voted to publicly censure Commissioner Keating Joseph, and they voted to have Migut and staff hire an outside law firm to investigate her.
Weeks later, Joseph filed a lawsuit against the other commissioners, putting Migut in a precarious position. During a county commission meeting, Migut asked the commission to not discuss the legal investigation against Joseph publicly.
“I’m recommending the commission remove this agenda item,” he said during that meeting.
A week later, Jan. 22, county documents state a separation agreement form was “provided” to Migut.
