TALLAHASSEE – Two weeks after being suspended from office, ousted Hillsborough State’s Attorney Andrew Warren has responded with a federal lawsuit against Gov. Ron DeSantis, citing free speech and judicial discretion in his fight to get his job back.
The suit says it seeks to confirm that the First Amendment still applies even though DeSantis is governor, and that courts can say what the state Constitution means: “not what DeSantis needs it to mean to silence his critics , promote their loyalists and subvert the will of the voters”.
“The bottom line is that everybody should follow the law, even the governor,” said David Singer, Warren’s attorney in Tampa. “We will ask a court to make sure that happens.”
The governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
“In our country, there are protections for freedom and limits on power,” Warren said at a news conference Wednesday morning in Tallahassee. “Ron DeSantis may not like them. He may not respect them. But he has to follow them.”
Warren framed the lawsuit as a fight in defense of democracy. By suspending him, Warren said the governor was subverting the will of hundreds of thousands of people in Hillsborough County who voted to elect him state’s attorney.
“By challenging this illegal abuse of power, we’re making sure that no governor can throw out the results of an election because he doesn’t like the outcome,” Warren said.
Wednesday’s legal action was the latest salvo in the politically charged battle that has drawn attention from Fox News to MSNBC. The Republican governor, whose policies have been criticized by Warren, a Democrat, removed him from office on August 4. The night before, DeSantis’ spokesman predicted via Twitter that the governor would unleash “the liberal media meltdown of the year.”
In his order from nearly two weeks ago, DeSantis cited two joint statements Warren signed with prosecutors across the country indicating she would not pursue cases related to transgender health care for minors or abortion limits.
DeSantis accused the state’s attorney of dereliction of duty and incompetence. Warren, he said, was eroding the rule of law, encouraging lawlessness and usurping the role of the Legislature. Suspended without pay, Warren was escorted from his offices by an armed deputy.
Flanked by law enforcement, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announces the suspension of Hillsborough County State’s Attorney Andrew Warren. [ DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times ]
Warren’s lawsuit countered that Florida does not have a transgender-related law that would create such cases for him to consider, and that he has not been asked to prosecute abortion-related crimes since he has been in office. The joint statements say the signatories will “exercise the discretion inherent in the role of prosecutors.”
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“Andrew didn’t say he would do anything other than use his discretion,” said Jean-Jacques Cabou, an Arizona-based constitutional and white-collar lawyer who is part of Warren’s legal team.
Warren, who has been elected twice, has promised to focus on violent and serious crimes while using reforms that include mental health courts and subpoenas for low-level offenders.
DeSantis’ executive order also criticized Warren’s policies of not prosecuting certain violations, including those stemming from an officer stopping a pedestrian or bicyclist, locally known as “riding a bike while black.”
Warren’s lawsuit claims they were not blanket policies and that her prosecutors had to “apply their judgment and discretion to individual cases.”
The lawsuit points to a history of disagreement between the governor and the state attorney general: Warren advocated for restoring voting rights to certain ex-felons, which DeSantis opposed. Warren supported the arrest of a church pastor who held services during the spreading pandemic, and DeSantis signed an order authorizing the services, a move Warren called “spineless.” DeSantis supported an “anti-riot” bill, which Warren called a solution in search of a problem.
The lawsuit alleges that DeSantis used the powers of his office “as a weapon to suppress criticism and promote cronyism” by suspending Warren, who had the right to speak freely about government policy.
He makes two legal claims: that the governor violated Warren’s First Amendment rights and that he exceeded his power in removing Warren from office. He is seeking a judge’s order to reinstate Warren as state’s attorney and prevent DeSantis from retaliating against him for things he says or policies he enacts.
DeSantis appointed Susan Lopez, a judge he placed on the county court in 2021, as acting state’s attorney. The lawsuit notes that Lopez has already begun to roll back the “policies promulgated by Warren and to which DeSantis oppose”.
At Wednesday’s press conference, Warren referred to Lopez as an “accomplice of Ron DeSantis.”
The press conference was open to the public, and the packed conference room at a hotel two blocks from the state Capitol included conservative activists, including Andrew Shirvell, executive director of the group Florida Voice of the Unborn. A reporter from the right-wing One America News Network asked Warren several questions to defend the governor’s action.
Warren encouraged followers to go to a new website, andrewarrenfl.com, for people to donate to their legal fund. Asked several times if he would disclose his donors, however, he said no.
“We will follow the law as we have always followed the law,” he said.
The Florida Senate has the final say on the removal or reinstatement of a public official. Under the rules, that process will be halted until court proceedings, including appeals, are completed, Singer said.
If a judge rules that Warren’s suspension was illegal, the Senate would have no further involvement, he said, “because their role is based on there being a lawful gubernatorial action.”
Warren is expected to hold a press conference at 2:30 pm in Tampa.
This is a developing story. Stay with tampabay.com for updates.
