A suspended Hillsborough County state attorney this week called on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to reinstate him to his elected post, citing a recent federal judge’s decision that concluded Warren never put in place blanket policies to prosecute only certain kinds of cases.
In a Jan. 20 opinion, however, Judge Robert Hinkle of the Northern District of Florida dismissed prosecutor Andrew Warren’s lawsuit against DeSantis, which had urged the court to rescind his suspension by the governor based on violations of the First Amendment and Florida Constitution. Hinkle concluded he was prevented from entering a judgment in favor of Warren.
“The 11th Amendment prohibits a federal court from awarding relief of the kind at issue against a state official based only on a violation of state law,” Hinkle wrote. “And the suspension would have occurred even had there been no First Amendment violation – the First Amendment violation was not essential to the outcome. This order thus directs entry of judgment for the governor.”
The ruling also noted Warren’s association with the liberal advocacy group Fair and Just Prosecution (FJP) and his decision to sign on to FJP statements discussing the transgender and abortion issues. Another issue that may have led to his suspension by the Republican governor was that he was a recipient of campaign funding from the Democratic Party, Hinkle said.
In a Jan. 25 letter to DeSantis provided to the Florida Record, Warren made his request for reinstatement based on the judge’s finding that he engaged in no prosecutorial misconduct and that DeSantis violated his First Amendment right to speak out on relevant issues and associate with groups of his choosing.
“The court confirmed that I never committed to not prosecute abortion cases, or any other cases of any kind,” Warren said in the letter.
In addition, his suspension has resulted in the appointment of an interim prosecutor who lacks authority, creating a situation that could jeopardize prosecutions in the 13th Judicial District, according to Warren’s letter.
Based on Hinkle’s opinion, the governor should rescind his previous executive order removing Warren from office, the letter states.
“Duty requires you to accept the court’s findings that the executive order is illegal, even if that finding is perhaps unwelcome,” Warren said.
The Governor’s Office did not respond to a request for comment. The Record also learned that Warren has not yet decided on what further legal actions he might take.