Suspended Hillsborough state attorney seeks speedier court resolution

After a year and a half of trying to win his job back in the courts, suspended Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren got a break in January: a favorable ruling from a federal appeals court.

What’s happened since? As is often true in the court system, nothing quickly.

With the deadline to qualify for the 2024 state attorney election coming at the end of April, Warren is again asking the courts to speed things up — for himself, for others considering running for the top prosecutor job and for candidates statewide wondering if Gov. Ron DeSantis could similarly suspend them, he said in a recent court filing.

“Resolution of this case impacts the electoral process and the choices of millions of Floridian voters,” said a motion to expedite filed this week in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

It’s the latest legal move in an unusual Florida story that’s garnered national attention: In 2022, the Republican governor suspended Warren, a progressive Democrat, saying the prosecutor refused to enforce certain laws. Warren called it a headline-making political stunt by a governor who wanted to be president.

Robert Hinkle, a federal judge in Tallahassee, found that DeSantis violated both the Florida and U.S. constitutions and largely sided with Warren in his ruling last year. But the judge also said he lacked authority to put Warren back in office.

This year, a three-judge panel from the 11th Circuit handed down a lengthy analysis of Hinkle’s ruling that, in an important footnote, disagreed with the decision that the judge couldn’t reinstate Warren. “The Eleventh Amendment permits federal courts to remedy First Amendment violations,” their ruling said. The case would be kicked back to Hinkle, opening the possibility of Warren’s reinstatement.

Only two days earlier, Warren had announced he wouldn’t run in the November election against Suzy Lopez — the former prosecutor DeSantis tapped to replace him — because of the “high risk” that the governor would just suspend him again. But with the ruling in his favor, Warren may revisit that decision, according to his recent court filing.

Lopez, a Republican, has gotten big support from the legal community as well as a Democratic challenger, former assistant public defender and prosecutor Elizabeth Martinez Strauss.

Meanwhile, Warren’s case is not yet back in Hinkle’s hands but mired in proceedings at the 11th Circuit. While the court agreed with one request from Warren’s lawyers to speed things up given the circumstances, the governor has asked for a rehearing before all 12 judges on the appeals court. The court docket shows one judge ordered that the case not be sent back to Hinkle yet.

In their motion this week, Warren’s attorneys noted he would have to file candidacy paperwork by April 26 if he were to run. “His decision whether to seek reelection will ultimately impact the decisions of many other candidates considering whether to run for that office,” his motion says. And Hinkle’s ultimate ruling will give guidance “to other candidates running for public office across Florida about whether Gov. DeSantis may nullify the results of an election on the grounds the governor has cited.”

The resolution of Warren’s case “will determine for such candidates whether the time and resources of running for elected office are worthwhile,” the motion says.

In an emailed response to the Tampa Bay Times, a spokesperson for the governor’s office said any comment would be contained within its legal filings.

“We really hope the 11th Circuit takes a close look at these dates and is thoughtful about the relevance of this matter to all potential candidates who are considering qualifying at the April 26th deadline,” said Warren’s attorney, David Singer of the Older Lundy firm in Tampa.