Florida attorney suspended by DeSantis appeals to state Supreme Court for reinstatement

A Florida state attorney has appealed to the state’s Supreme Court to give him his job back, after he was suspended last summer by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) for his commitment to not prosecute people seeking or providing abortions.

Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren, a Democrat, has thus far been rebuked by courts in his attempts to overturn the suspension. The overture on Wednesday to the state’s highest court is the latest in a string of legal moves to push back against the governor, who he argued “exceeded his powers.”

DeSantis suspended Warren for what he said was “incompetence” and “neglect of duty,” after the prosecutor made statements indicating that he would not comply with prosecuting under a state law — banning abortion at 15 weeks — that went into effect on the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Warren filed a federal lawsuit against DeSantis for the suspension, and although a judge in January found that the move violated the Florida state constitution, he ruled he did not have the power to reinstate the prosecutor.

“The assertion that Mr. Warren neglected his duty or was incompetent is incorrect,” U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle said. “This factual issue is not close.”

Now Warren is asking the state Supreme Court to find that the governor overstepped his authority in suspending him, quoting the ruling from Hinkle that criticized the move as violating state law.

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