Court asks whether a legal dispute involving Andrew Warren is moot

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

Now, after Warren lost an election for the job last week, an appeals court wants to know whether the long-running legal dispute is moot.

On Tuesday, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered attorneys for Warren and DeSantis to file briefs on whether the case is moot or will be moot in January. That’s when the term Warren was elected to serve in 2020 will end and a new term will begin.

With the case unresolved, Democrat Warren ran in last week’s election against Republican Suzy Lopez, who was appointed by DeSantis to serve as state attorney after his suspension. Lopez received nearly 53 percent of the vote to win a full term.

In suspending Warren, DeSantis accused her of “incompetence and willful defiance of her duties.” DeSantis’ executive order indicated in part that Warren had signed a national organization’s declaration to refrain from prosecuting abortion cases.

The governor also targeted Warren for signing a memorandum criticizing laws restricting care for transgender people. In addition, DeSantis touched on Warren’s policies that could limit police prosecution of bike and pedestrian stop-related cases and some low-level crimes.

In addition to challenging DeSantis’ accusations about her performance in the lawsuit, Warren argued that the suspension violated her First Amendment rights.

U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle ruled in January 2023 that the First Amendment protects Warren on two factors: her political connections and her advocacy for criminal justice reform. He nevertheless concluded that DeSantis would remove Warren based on other factors not protected by the First Amendment.

But in January 2024, a three-judge panel of the appeals court reversed Hinkle’s decision, with Warren winning. The panel said the suspension violated First Amendment protections on a number of counts and instructed Hinkle to take another look at whether DeSantis had legitimate policy grounds to remove the twice-elected prosecutor.

But DeSantis’ lawyers immediately requested that the full 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals take up the dispute. Although Warren’s lawyers attempted to expedite the resolution of the case, the case remained largely on hold. The full appeals court did not hear the arguments.

While DeSantis can remove public officials from office, the Florida Senate has final authority over whether to remove them from office. The Senate has put the Warren matter on hold while the court battle continues.

While Warren’s suspension attracted national attention, Democrats argued it was politically motivated. DeSantis, for example, touted the suspension during his unsuccessful bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

Similarly, DeSantis made a controversial move last year to oust Democrat Monique Worrell, the state attorney for Orange and Osceola counties. Lawsuits aimed at reinstating Worrell failed.

But Worrell won his job back by defeating Andrew Bain, who was appointed state attorney after his suspension, in last week’s election. Worrell received 57.5 percent of the vote.