In the early stages of his doomed effort to ascend to the head of the Republican Party, Ron DeSantis decided to pick fights with local elected district attorneys he claimed were too “woke” because they didn’t pursue prosecutions against minor offenders. Using a rule that allows Florida governors to remove local elected officials, DeSantis removed Andrew Warren as Hillsborough County prosecutor.
After a three-judge panel in federal appeals court tossed the case back to a federal judge in Tallahassee, Warren is asking the federal judge to rapidly decide his lawsuit against DeSantis that would essentially reinstate him into office nearly a year and a half after DeSantis undermined the determination of voters, the Orlando Sentinel reports. The outcome of the case could determine if Warren runs for office again.
The federal judge hearing the case, Clinton-appointee Robert Hinkle, ruled that DeSantis had, in fact, violated Warren’s First Amendment free speech rights, but Hinkle did not believe he had the authority to reinstate Warren to office. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals instructed Hinkle to rethink his ruling: “The Eleventh Amendment permits federal courts to remedy First Amendment violations.”