11th Circuit rebukes DeSantis, orders a new trial for suspended prosecutor Warren

Suspended prosecutor Andrew Warren will get a second chance to reverse his suspension by Gov. Ron DeSantis for alleged “neglect of duty” and “incompetence” following a federal appeals court ruling in which a three-judge panel criticized the governor’s action.

A federal judge in Tallahassee ruled in January 2023 that Warren had done nothing wrong and that DeSantis acted for his own political benefit in advance of his run for president, but that he was powerless to reinstate Warren.

DeSantis claimed in August 2022 that Warren was going too easy on criminals and had signed policy statements objecting to the criminalization of abortion and transgender care.

But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit panel on Wednesday ordered U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle to reconsider because the First Amendment protected key DeSantis justifications for removing Warren from a job he’d been elected to twice as state attorney for Hillsborough County, in the Tampa Bay area.