The fate of the legal feud between Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and a prosecutor who pledged to defy the state’s abortion law now rests with a judge who said a ruling could come within the next two weeks.
Lawyers for DeSantis argued this week that the governor wasn’t seeking political retaliation when he removed Democratic Hillsborough County prosecutor Andrew Warren for saying that he would refuse to punish violators of the state’s ban on abortion after 15 weeks.
Warren’s attorneys argued that his suspension from his twice-elected post wasn’t based on whether or not the governor believed Warren was competent to maintain his job. Rather, they argue his suspension was based solely on his public statements expressing disagreement with the law.
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DeSantis suspended Warren in August under Article IV, Section 7 of the Florida Constitution, according to a press release from DeSantis’s office. He said the suspension was decided after a statewide review, which found that most cases of laws not being enforced traced back to Warren’s office.
“The motivating focus … is all about enforcement of the law,” said George Levesque, a private lawyer representing the governor.
The announcement of the suspension came in response to a letter Warren signed declaring he would not enforce the abortion law and hinted that he would do the same with Florida laws about transgender procedures. The Sunshine State does not have a law addressing transgender treatments.
“For Gov. DeSantis, it was a chance to kill three political birds with one stone,” said attorney David O’Neil, who represents Warren. O’Neil said the suspension gave DeSantis a shot to earn political capital among his Republican base by opposing abortion and pushing a strong “law-and-order” stance and by attacking a so-called “woke” ideology.
U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle, who presided over the three-day trial, indicated it would be at least two weeks before he would make a ruling.
Warren was elected in 2016 and 2020 to his post in Hillsborough County, which also covers Tampa. He said the governor overturned the will of the voters by removing him from office and alleged his First Amendment protections were violated.
There have been at least 90 state attorneys general, district attorneys, and other elected prosecutors nationwide who have signed letters stating their intention not to prosecute people for seeking, providing, or endorsing abortion procedures, according to the Associated Press.
DeSantis made the decision to suspend Warren during the governor’s reelection campaign and during a time of speculation over whether the Republican could start a 2024 bid to run for president. It also follows a wave of Republicans who have denounced prosecutors who have been allegedly using personal discretion over whether to charge people for what they deem to be low-level crimes.
DeSantis has pointed to places such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, which have held recall elections over liberal prosecutors who didn’t enforce laws. Liberal billionaire George Soros helped fund prosecutors in both jurisdictions.
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Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon, who received $4.7 million from a Soros-funded political action committee, saw a 46% increase in homicides in his city during his first year in office, the Washington Examiner reported. Gascon faced an unsuccessful recall effort over his policies of downgrading felonies and choosing not to enforce most gun and drug crimes.
San Francisco voted overwhelmingly in June to recall San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, who received financial support from a Soros-funded PAC, in a stark rejection of his policies of doing away with cash bail and the declining prosecution of “quality of life” crimes, such as public urination and camping on the streets.
