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Who is the newly appointed state attorney?
Gloria Gomez reports
TAMPA, Fla. - A seismic shake-up took place Thursday at the Hillsborough State Attorney's Office.
Elected State Attorney Andrew Warren is out and newly appointed Hillsborough County Judge Susan Lopez is in.
All of that comes at the direction of Governor Ron DeSantis. He suspended Warren on Thursday morning for being soft on crime.
The governor tapped Tampa native Susan Lopez as the Acting State Attorney in Hillsborough County. At a press conference held by the governor Thursday morning, Lopez said she is honored to take the position.
"When the governor calls you for a different service you answer. So here I am," said Lopez.
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Lopez was just sworn in as a new county judge in March after being appointed by the governor.
Lopez grew up in Tampa. She graduated from Plant high school and went to law school in Boston. She was one of the top prosecutors in Hillsborough County for 17 years handling some of the biggest cases in the county.
Meanwhile, the legal community is still trying to come to grips with the unprecedented move.
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Defense Attorney Brett Metcalf stated, "We’re still trying to wrap her head around what this means and how this is going to impact everything in our system."
Metcalf expects Warren to challenge the governor in court.
"It will work its way to the Florida Supreme Court at some point and then who knows what happens after that," said Metcalf.
While DeSantis says Warren goes easy on criminals, Metcalf has had a much different experience with Warren’s office.
"Offenses that are violent in nature they’re pushing those cases and they’re pushing them hard," explained Metcalf.
He says he’s never heard of any governor removing an elected state attorney from office. Metcalf says we’re in uncharted territory and who knows how this will end.