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Ousted state attorney gets another chance at reinstatement
Gloria Gomez reports
TAMPA - Ousted Hillsborough state attorney Andrew Warren could be weeks away from getting his job back if a Tallahassee judge rules in his favor.
Warren spoke to Fox 13 Tuesday and says he is still savoring a recent appeal victory, "I went and hugged my wife and we celebrated we knew this was a huge win not just for us, but for everyone who believes in democracy," said Warren.
It was back in August 2022, when Gov. Ron DeSantis removed Warren, the twice elected state attorney from office for neglect of duty and not following the law. The governor claimed Warren refused to prosecute abortion and gender-affirming cases however, Warren said that wasn’t true, no case had ever come before his desk. Warren called it nothing more than a political stunt.
Governor Ron DeSantis and Andrew Warren side-by-side.
The governor’s legal team pointed to a pledge Warren signed along with dozens of other top prosecutors across the country. But Warren said he was being punished for something he said not something he did, which violated his first amendment right. After the governor removed Warren, he appointed seasoned prosecutor and new Hillsborough County judge Suzy Lopez to replace him. Warren took the governor to federal court. After a week-long trial in Tallahassee, federal judge Robert Hinkle ruled the governor had violated Warren‘s rights, but had no authority to do anything about it. However, last week an appeals court disagreed and sent it back to Hinkle to reconsider his decision. A win for Warren, but the next move belongs to judge Hinkle," this is exciting news for anyone who believes in democracy. For anybody who believes the governor doesn’t just get to nullify an election and throw out votes of people he disagrees with. This is the fact that no one, not even the governor is above the rule of law," explained Warren.
The governor's office has until Wednesday to respond to the ruling. And with one year left in his term, Warren wants things to move quickly, "The voters have been denied the right to a state attorney for 17 months and it’s imperative that I get back to do the work that the people elected me to do," said Warren.
Judge Hinkle could handle this a couple of ways. He could rule immediately and give Warren his job back. Or, he could schedule a hearing in the next few weeks and hear arguments from attorneys and then hand down a ruling. Warren expects the judge to signal how he will proceed in the next couple of weeks.