Former Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren, who Gov. Ron DeSantis had suspended, will remain out of office since a federal judge on Friday ruled that he does not have the power to reinstate the prosecutor — despite ruling that the removal violated the First Amendment and Florida Constitution.
In an order dismissing the case, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle wrote that federal law prevents him from returning elected prosecutor Andrew Warren to office in a lawsuit that centered on state law.
DeSantis suspended Warren last year over the elected prosecutor’s signing of statements that said he would not pursue criminal charges against seekers or providers of abortion or gender transition treatments, as well as policies about not charging people with some minor crimes.
Warren — a twice-elected, Democratic state attorney in Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa — sued the governor in federal court to get his job back.
In testimony, Warren argued that he was suspended over his personal political positions on abortion and transgender issues. He said his office applied prosecutorial discretion over whether to bring charges in all cases, considering public safety and other matters.
Judge Hinkle’s decision largely sides with Warren’s arguments but finds that the case is effectively a state matter that cannot be resolved by a federal judge.“Florida Governor Ron DeSantis suspended elected State Attorney Andrew H. Warren, ostensibly on the ground that Mr. Warren had blanket policies not to prosecute certain kinds of cases. The allegation was false,” Hinkle wrote. “Mr. Warren’s well-established policy, followed in every case by every prosecutor in the office, was to exercise prosecutorial discretion at every stage of every case.”
He added: “But the Eleventh Amendment prohibits a federal court from awarding declaratory or injunctive relief of the kind at issue against a state official based only on a violation of state law.”
The governor had accused Warren of incompetence and neglect of duty, arguing that the prosecutor was picking and choosing which laws to enforce, citing in his executive order the non-prosecution of crimes such as “trespassing at a business location, disorderly conduct, disorderly intoxication, and prostitution.”
The suspension positioned DeSantis, a potential 2024 GOP presidential candidate, at the forefront of a wave of Republican opposition to progressive prosecutors who exercise discretion over whether to charge people with what they deem to be low-level offenses.
From Judge Hinkle’s ruling:
“The Governor violated the First Amendment by considering Mr. Warren’s speech on matters of public concern—the four FJP policies save one sentence—as motivating factors in the decision to suspend him.
The Governor violated the First Amendment by considering Mr. Warren’s association with the Democratic Party and alleged association with Mr. Soros as motivating factors in the decision. But the Governor would have made the same decision anyway, even without considering these things. The First Amendment violations were not essential to the outcome and so do not entitle Mr. Warren to relief in this action.
The suspension also violated the Florida Constitution, and that violation did affect the outcome. But the Eleventh Amendment prohibits a federal court from awarding declaratory or injunctive relief of the kind at issue against a state official based only on a violation of state law.”
You have to love this from DeSantis’ office. It would make George Santos proud:
“Today the judge upheld his decision to suspend Andrew Warren from office for neglect of duty and incompetence. Another win for Governor DeSantis and the people of Hillsborough County.”
That’s a lie. The judge actually found the opposite. The reason he was not reinstated is because of a technicality, something the wingnuts usually condemn. DeSantis is just as dishonestly grandiose as Trump.
This is another example of right wing authoritarianism and if DeSantis gains national power (and with the help of the right wing judiciary) he could really do some damage. This prosecutor was elected on a local level by the people of Florida. DeSantis didn’t like what he said about possibly not prosecuting abortion cases and decided that he had the sole power to decide which cases should be brought in all cases. (Either that or he thinks prosecutors are required to try every case that’s brought before them no matter what the evidence, which is literally insane.) It’s a major power play.
The Florida laboratory of democracy is building a Frankenstein’s monster and it’s a constitution killer. The fact that it screams “freedom!!!” all the time doesn’t change that.