New Attorney General Ashley Moody says opioids, fraud top priorities

Feb. 22--WEST PALM BEACH -- Waging a data-driven war against the opioid crisis, targeting fraudsters who prey on Floridians and managing several nationally watched lawsuits are among the top priorities for new Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody.

There's also a puppy to train.

Elected in November to be the state's top lawyer, Republican Moody will keep Florida in a multi-state lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Obamacare and a high-profile suit against pharmaceutical companies filed by her predecessor, Pam Bondi. And Moody will guide the state's apparent change of course on medical marijuana after new Gov. Ron DeSantis agreed with plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging Florida's ban on smoking pot for medicinal purposes.

Her office is defending Florida against a National Rifle Association lawsuit that seeks to undo a post-Parkland law raising the age to buy a gun in the state to 21 from 18. Moody, who campaigned as a Second Amendment advocate, told reporters last month that "whether certain positions and stances and arguments as to the specifics of that litigation may adjust based on my examination of case law, that remains to be seen. But, yes, we'll continue that litigation."

Moody, 43, has been a civil attorney, federal prosecutor and, from 2007 to 2017, a circuit judge in Hillsborough County. She is married to a Drug Enforcement Agency special agent and has a 19-year-old son who recently enlisted in the Army and a 9-year-old son in elementary school. Winning in November meant moving her family from Hillsborough County to Tallahassee and dislodging her younger son from his school and his baseball team.

"So I did what every good parent would do -- I bought him a puppy," Moody told The Palm Beach Post during a recent visit to the attorney general's 85-employee office in West Palm Beach. "So that has added to our difficulty in transition."

As a judge, Moody saw the ravages of the opioid epidemic firsthand. But she said she learned about the issue in a different way on the campaign trail.

"I had parents, sisters, brothers cry on my shoulder. The venue of a courtroom does not often allow for that. So I talked to a lot of people that were suffering from this, had lost family members, had very valid suggestions on how we could do things differently," Moody said.

"What I realized campaigning is there are true experts on this matter and there was not a statewide body working together in a concerted effort to examine data-based approaches, what's working, what isn't. I would hear certain sheriffs trying things that were working. I would hear other community groups trying things that might not have worked and there just wasn't a lot of interplay and coordination," Moody said.

In her first week in office, Moody appointed an 18-member Opioid Abuse Working group headed by Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma and including Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg, a Democrat who led Republican Bondi's efforts to combat pill mills during her first term. Moody said the working group will gather information so state and local governments can use a "vetted approach and well-researched practices" to fight opioid abuse.

She's also backing legislation to create a statewide task force on opioids. And she's pushing to maintain public interest in the issue.

"It is my true fear that we get tired of talking about the opioid epidemic," Moody said last month in Tallahassee at an annual gathering of top elected officials and journalists from around the state organized by the Associated Press.

Moody highlighted the importance of the opioids issue this month by appearing in court in Pasco County -- her first courtroom appearance as attorney general -- for a hearing on the state's 2018 lawsuit that accused pharmaceutical companies of misleading consumers about the dangers of prescription opioids.

"I felt it was very important as the attorney general to be there in person, to express to the judge how important the case was to me, how important it was to our state, that the crisis is not going away, in fact it is escalating, that our death toll has increased and that I would like that case to be moved as efficiently as possible, meaning, I would like it set for trial in a time that we can start seeking redress for what' happened here in Florida," Moody said.

Moody also mentioned fighting fraud -- including scams aimed at seniors, identity theft and post-hurricane ripoffs -- as a top priority.

"This is the type of thing that an attorney general can really lead on. And Florida leads the nation in reports of incidents of fraud and so it certainly is a priority of mine," Moody said.

Florida will remain one of 20 states in a lawsuit that seeks to have the 2010 Affordable Care Act declared unconstitutional. A federal judge in Texas ruled in the states' favor in December in a case that both sides expect to be ultimately decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. Moody said she favors guaranteeing that people with pre-existing medical conditions can get health insurance -- but she said that's a policy issue separate from the constitutional questions about the federal law.

Moody declined to join 16 states in a recent lawsuit challenging Trump's emergency declaration to justify more money for a border wall.

"I think the president is trying to protect our country from dangers that he sees are presented by those entering into the country illegally," Moody said. "And there's no question that those in the United States here illegally have committed criminal acts and harmed American citizens. There's no question that human trafficking occurs as a result of very loose and lax borders. There's no question that drugs are pouring over our borders. So I support him in his efforts to try and protect the citizens of our country."

At the AP forum in Tallahassee, Moody said she had spoken with state Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, about "how we might be able to address recidivism and crime in Florida in a more effective, responsible way to taxpayers." She praised Brandes "for being so passionate" about criminal justice reform without taking a position on specific measures he advocates, such as allowing judges to be more lenient in sentencing some drug offenders.

State Rep. Shevrin Jones, D-West Park, said he was encouraged by Moody's response.

"She did acknowledge that Sen. Brandes is passionate about criminal justice reform," Jones said. "She's saying all the right things. But the question is how does all of that play out and how does it translate when it comes back to the community."

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