What’s next in the Warren vs. DeSantis case
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TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — It’s been a whirlwind this week in a case between Gov. Ron DeSantis and suspended state attorney Andrew Warren.
Warren on Monday publicly announced he wasn’t seeking re-election because DeSantis would just suspend him again. Two days later, the court released an opinion saying he won his appeal against the governor, meaning he could have yet another chance to get his old job back.
The court concluded this bottom line, “The Supreme Court has made clear—for reasons that cut to the core of our representative democracy—that the first amendment safeguards elected officials’ right to express their views on salient political issues.”
It went on to read, “Whatever one thinks of Warren’s particular views about abortion, he is no less entitled to that protection.”
“In the appellate court, the opinion is the document that announces the reasoning and the decision and that’s what’s been issued this week,” Jean-Jacques “J” Cabou, one of Warrens lead attorneys, told 8 On Your Side in a one-on-one interview. “But there’s a second document called a mandate.”
It’s that mandate Cabou wants expedited.
They filed a motion asking for that expedition reading in part:
“Time is of the essence in resolving this dispute. As a result of Governor DeSantis’s illegal suspension of Mr. Warren, the voters of Hillsborough County have been deprived of the official whom they selected as State Attorney. An election involving millions of Floridians has been nullified. Mr. Warren, meanwhile, has been unable to serve in his post. One year remains in Mr. Warren’s term, and it should not be consumed by unnecessary delays in legal
proceedings. The urgency is all the greater now because resolution of this case will also impact the next election for State Attorney later this year. Mr. Warren’s decision about whether to run for reelection as State Attorney depends in significant part on the outcome of this litigation. He announced mere days ago that he would not seek reelection because of the possibility that, until his suspension is invalidated, Governor DeSantis would simply suspend him again on the same grounds.”
Cabou told 8 On Your Side the mandate is “the formal directive to the lower court to take action based on the reasoning of the opinion.”
“Until the mandate issues, jurisdiction is not thrown back to the trial court and we’ve asked the appellate court to expedite the issuance of it’s mandate so that the case can proceed quickly back to Judge Hinkle so he can do what he’s ordered to do by the appellate court’s opinion,” he said.
“We certainly understand the courts are going to take some time for these proceedings, but we hope that’s measured in days and at the latest weeks, not months,” Cabou said.
“It’s always been urgent,” Cabou said. “We filed the lawsuit in a matter of weeks after Mr. Warren was unconstitutionally suspended from office.”
“Elections matter and this election elected Andrew Warren and he is not doing the job he was elected to do,” he said.
So what does this all mean in world of politics?
Political Analyst Tara Newsom said when DeSantis removed Warren, it sent a chilling message.
“Not only did Andrew Warren get elected, he got elected twice and the first time he beat a 16-year incumbent,” Newsom said. “When Gov. DeSantis did the unprecedented decision of taking him out of his position, it really showed he wasn’t necessarily this advocate of democracy that he positioned himself to be.”
That’s where this case could take it’s place in the 2024 presidential election.
“I don’t think it’s going to play very well for Gov. DeSantis if indeed Andrew Warren goes back to the position and he’s plucked out again,” Newsom said. “I think it would also reveal, he’s more akin to Donald Trump politics, the politics of retribution, and that’s the kind of politics not just Florida, but America, is rejecting.”
She said Warren’s winning of his appeal could have a major impact.
“Andrew Warren and the overturning of this decision is like a tsunami of things Gov. DeSantis is going to have to face to undo the culture wars he’s been doing,” she said. “The courts are really now coming to the forefront to say, ‘listen, the political posturing that Gov. DeSantis did in order to advance his career is not constitutional.'”
“I think what you’re going to see is a meeting in between politics and the law right now,” she said.
The Governor’s Office sent the following statement to 8 On Your Side:
“A state prosecutor’s declared commitment to not enforce the laws of this state is not protected by the U.S. Constitution. The federal appeals court is flat wrong to have concluded otherwise. It’s disappointing that a federal appellate court would excuse such a blatant violation of that prosecutor’s oath to defend Florida law. The court’s decision is also an egregious encroachment on state sovereignty. Governor DeSantis used his authority under the state constitution to suspend this prosecutor from office, and the authority to remove lies with the Florida Senate. It’s inappropriate for a federal court to intervene in this matter. This decision sets a dangerous precedent, and it will empower the chaos we see across the United States as politically motivated prosecutors will continue to ignore criminal laws they don’t like and put our communities at risk. We are still looking over the decision, but we will ensure that Florida’s sovereignty and constitution are respected.”
JEREMY REDFERN, PRESS SECRETARY
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