HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. – Suspended Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren, whom Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ousted in 2022, announced Monday he would not seek reelection for a third term.
“Donald Trump said he could shoot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue and get away with it. Ron DeSantis, trying to out-Trump Trump, shot democracy in the middle of our courthouse—and he’s gotten away with it,” said Warren.
Warren, a former federal white-collar crimes prosecutor, did not announce specific plans for his professional future. Still, he assured supporters he would continue to advocate for democracy in Florida and across the country.
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Saying that a twice-elected Hillsborough County prosecutor has put himself “above the law,” Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended Warren on August 4, 2022.
“The conduct that he has done has fallen below the standard that’s required in the Florida Constitution. When you’re saying you’re not going to enforce certain laws you don’t like, that’s a neglect of duty. That, quite frankly, is incompetence as defined in Florida law,” DeSantis said.
“State Attorneys have a duty to prosecute crimes as defined in Florida law, not to pick and choose which laws to enforce based on his personal agenda,” said DeSantis. “It is my duty to hold Florida’s elected officials to the highest standards for the people of Florida. I have the utmost trust that Judge Susan Lopez will lead the office through this transition and faithfully uphold the rule of law.”
In June of 2023, the Florida Supreme Court rejected Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren’s attempt to reclaim his job, ruling that the twice-elected Democrat waited too long to file the case.
Warren filed a federal lawsuit in September challenging his removal from office, and U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle ruled in January that the suspension violated both the Florida and federal constitutions. Hinkle, however, claimed he lacked the authority to reinstate the prosecutor.
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The 11th United States Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Atlanta, heard arguments in Warren’s appeal but has yet to rule.
In February, Warren also petitioned the Florida Supreme Court to reinstate him, claiming that the governor “exceeded his powers” in suspending him.
The Supreme Court’s 6-1 decision on Thursday, authored by Justice Charles Canady, stated that it has limited authority to restrict executive suspensions.
However, the decision, which criticized some of Hinkle’s findings, was more concerned with Warren’s delay in seeking Supreme Court review of his removal than with the merits of his suspension.
“Because the courts have let his illegal political stunt stand, if I ran and won, he could suspend me again for whatever bogus reason he wanted. And then we would be right back where we are today, with an illegal, unqualified political appointee installed in the job. I care about the State Attorney’s Office and this community too much to have that cloud of uncertainty hanging over us. I care too much to have that office remain leaderless—with an unlawful political puppet placed in a position she didn’t earn and isn’t qualified to hold,” said Warren Monday.
“For 17 months, I’ve had countless people encourage me to run again—Democrats and Republicans, lawyers and business leaders, cops and civilians. It has meant so much to know that I was able to make such a difference and earn the confidence of so many. I know people will be disappointed because they want me back as the state attorney. But as I’ve said since the day I was illegally suspended, this was about more than me,” Warren wrote.
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