Former Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren will remain suspended after the Florida Supreme Court ruled 6-1 against his request on Thursday to be reinstated. The Soros-backed state attorney had been removed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) last August after pledging to not prosecute crimes to do with abortion and transgender issues.
The loss for Warren is a particularly bruising one for him, given that the decision came about his failure to act. As local news outlet WFLA highlighted about the order, the court had denied Warren's petition because of "unreasonable delay," and that he "offers no explanation for this delay."
Warren had waited almost five months after U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle dismissed his case in January. The matter needed to be decided at the state level, Hinkle found, citing the 11th Amendment. "We conclude that, under the circumstances of this case, the time for our review has passed," the Florida Supreme Court thus found.
Early on, the court's order addressed "issue preclusion," noting that it "does not transform final judgment losers, in civil or criminal proceedings, into partially prevailing parties." The order noted that Warren "presents these arguments even though the federal district court’s order on the merits is currently the subject of an appeal by Petitioner himself," referring to the case being before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. The court also explained "we deny the petition due to Petitioner’s unreasonable, unexplained delay."
The court appeared less than pleased for the delay, as expressed throughout the order. "Whether Petitioner 'invok[ed] this Court as a backup plan,' as the Governor argues, or whether Petitioner had other reasons for the delay, we do not know. Petitioner is not saying. Petitioner’s only reply on this point is that he 'filed for relief in this Court promptly following judgment in the District Court' and that 'no rule sets a time limit within which [he] was required to file his Petition,'" the order found, with the court going on to say such reasoning from Warren "is hardly persuasive."
WFLA noted complaints from Warren about the court's decision, despite how it came about with Warren not acting:
In a statement, Warren and his attorney wrote that they are disappointed by the ruling.
“This is an issue that is crucial for democracy in Florida,” Warren said. “Rather than addressing the substance of the governor’s illegal action, the Court cited a technicality and avoided a ruling on the merits of the case. We are extremely disappointed by today’s decision.”
“We are deeply disappointed that the Florida Supreme Court refused to evaluate the merits of Mr. Warren’s illegal suspension and instead ruled against him on procedural grounds,” Warren’s attorney, Jean-Jaques Cabou, said. “As to those grounds, we share Justice Labarga’s view that the majority was wrong to avoid the merits of Mr. Warren’s challenge.”
Warren had taken the time to appeal directly to DeSantis in a letter that WFLA reported on at the time, on January 25, though Bryan Griffin as DeSantis' then press secretary indicated Warren would remain suspended.
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals also heard Warren's case early last month. DeSantis had the support from state attorneys general in 14 other states through an amicus brief filed before the court. The order from this Florida Supreme Court also noted that the state constitution indicates Warren can seek relief through the state Senate.