A court questions whether Andrew Warren's lawsuit is moot

By Jim Saunders ©2024 The News Service of Florida

TALLAHASSEE — After Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended him as Hillsborough County prosecutor in August 2022, Andrew Warren began a fight in federal court to get his job back.

After Warren lost an election for office last week, an appeals court now wants to know whether the long-simmering legal dispute is moot.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday ordered attorneys for Warren and DeSantis to file briefs on whether the case is moot or will become moot in January. Then the term Warren was elected to in 2020 ends and a new term begins.

With the litigation unresolved, Warren, a Democrat, ran in last week's election against Suzy Lopez, a Republican who was appointed by DeSantis as a prosecutor after the suspension. Lopez received nearly 53 percent of the vote and won a full term.

When DeSantis suspended Warren, he accused him of “incompetence and willful disregard of his duties.” DeSantis' order suggested, in part, that Warren was signing a national organization's statement advocating against prosecuting abortion cases.

The governor also took aim at Warren for signing a statement criticizing laws that restricted care for transgender people. Additionally, DeSantis pointed to Warren's policies that could limit prosecution of cases related to police bicycle and pedestrian stops and certain minor crimes.

In the lawsuit, Warren not only disputed DeSantis' allegations about his performance, but also argued that the suspension violated his First Amendment rights.

U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle ruled in January 2023 that the First Amendment protected Warren for two reasons: his political affiliation and his advocacy for criminal justice reform. Still, he concluded that DeSantis would have suspended Warren based on other factors that were not protected by the First Amendment.

But in a victory for Warren, a three-judge panel of the appeals court overturned Hinkle's ruling in January 2024. The panel said the suspension violated First Amendment protections in multiple ways and ordered Hinkle to reconsider whether DeSantis had legitimate political reasons for ousting the twice-elected prosecutor.

But DeSantis' lawyers quickly asked the full 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to take up the dispute. While Warren's lawyers tried to expedite resolution of the case, the case remained largely on hold. The full appeals court heard no arguments.

While DeSantis can suspend officials, the Florida Senate has ultimate authority over whether to remove them from office. The Senate put the Warren question on hold while the court battle continued.

Warren's suspension drew national attention, with Democrats arguing it was politically motivated. As an example, DeSantis cited the suspension during his unsuccessful bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

Similarly, DeSantis took a controversial step last year to suspend Democrat Monique Worrell, the district attorney in Orange and Osceola counties. Lawsuits aimed at restoring Worrell to the position failed.

But Worrell won her job back in last week's election, defeating Andrew Bain, who had been appointed prosecutor following the suspension. Worrell received 57.5 percent of the vote.