DeSantis violated constitutions, federal judge rules
But Florida prosecutor ousted by governor doesn’t get job back.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A federal judge ruled Friday that Gov. Ron DeSantis had violated the 1st Amendment and Florida’s constitution by removing a state prosecutor, but said the federal courts can’t reinstate him.
In an order dismissing a lawsuit, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle wrote that federal law kept him from returning elected prosecutor Andrew Warren to office.
DeSantis had suspended Warren last year after the prosecutor said he would not pursue criminal charges against those seeking or providing abortions or gender transition treatments, and also had policies against charging people with some minor crimes.
Warren — a twice-elected Democratic state attorney in Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa — sued DeSantis in federal court in an effort to get his job back.
“The idea that a governor can break federal and state law to suspend an elected official should send shivers down the spine of anyone who cares about free speech, the integrity of our elections or the rule of law,” Warren said at a brief news conference Friday. “This is not over,” he told reporters.
Warren testified that he’d been suspended over his personal positions on abortion and transgender issues. He said his office used prosecutorial discretion, considering public safety and other matters, in all cases before deciding on charges.
Judge Hinkle largely sided with Warren’s arguments, but found that the case was effectively a state matter that could not be resolved by a federal judge.
The governor had “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.”
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.”
DeSantis’ office did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.
The governor had accused Warren of incompetence and neglect of duty, saying he was picking and choosing which laws to enforce. He cited the failure to prosecute crimes such as “trespassing at a business location, disorderly conduct, disorderly intoxication, and prostitution.”
DeSantis also cited Warren’s endorsement of statements from prosecutors around the U.S. who had pledged to not bring criminal charges against people seeking, providing or supporting abortion access — and who had opposed the criminalization of gender transition treatments.
Florida’s 15-week abortion ban took effect last year. The state has no law against gender transition treatments. Warren said his office had not received any criminal referrals related to the new abortion law or gender transition treatments.
His suspension helped position DeSantis, a likely 2024 presidential candidate, at the forefront of Republican opposition to progressive prosecutors who exercise discretion over charging people with what they deem low-level offenses.