Gov. DeSantis' shameful ouster of Andrew Warren: It took a village

[Zorro]

Many accomplices helped damage faith in government

A federal appeals court this month officially ended Andrew Warren’s fight over his tenure as Hillsborough County State Attorney. It was an absurd end to an outrageous episode that exposed the worst of government, and it should leave Floridians worried about the rule of law, the ethics of their top leaders and the justice system’s willingness to protect core constitutional rights.

Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended Warren on Aug. 4, 2022, alleging the steps and statements Warren advanced on abortion, transgender care and low-level crimes amounted to “blanket policies” against prosecuting violations of Florida law. Warren, a Democrat, argued the suspension was political retaliation from the Republican governor, and he sued DeSantis in federal court.

In January 2023, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle, who presided over Warren’s legal challenge, found the suspension stemmed from “policy differences” between the conservative governor and progressive state attorney. “The controlling motivations for the suspension were the interest in bringing down a reform prosecutor,” Hinkle wrote, finding that DeSantis’ actions violated the Florida and U.S. constitutions.

That should have been enough to quickly return Warren to office for the remaining two years of his term. But Hinkle concluded he lacked the authority to reinstate Warren. A three-judge federal appeals panel later dismissed that concern, underscoring the trial court’s findings that Warren was wrongly removed and clearing the way to reinstating him. But the federal courts dawdled for months, the next election passed and Warren’s term ended. This month, the appeals court dismissed the case as moot, writing: “Because Warren’s term of office has concluded, we cannot grant him any meaningful relief.”

https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/2025/01/16/gov-desantis-shameful-ouster-andrew-warren-it-took-village/