A U.S. appeals court judge agreed to an expedited review of suspended Florida state attorney Andrew Warren’s appeal in his federal suit against Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL).
The brief order from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit sets an accelerated review of the former prosecutor’s case against DeSantis, who is largely considered to be in the running for a 2024 White House bid.
DEMOCRATIC PROSECUTOR OUSTED BY DESANTIS WILL NOT BE REINSTATED: FLORIDA JUDGE
The Atlanta-based appeals court will hear the case in the first week of May.
Warren appealed a federal judge’s Jan. 20 ruling that barred him from reinstatement after months of litigation disputing the governor’s removing him from office, which was spurred by Warren’s public vows not to follow certain abortion-related laws.
A spokesperson for the former prosecutor said the appeal needed to be expedited because “the public needs resolution at the earliest possible opportunity of whether the governor illegally removed the duly elected prosecutor in the state’s third most populous city.”
In U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle’s January ruling, he found that DeSantis did not violate Warren’s First Amendment rights by suspending him but said the court did not have the power to reinstate his position. The court requested DeSantis to reverse Warren’s suspension, but the governor has yet to do so.
An initial brief from Warren is due on March 13 to the appeals court, while a response brief from DeSantis is due on April 12.
Warren was twice elected as prosecutor of Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa. He contends DeSantis overturned the will of the voters with his removal.
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Meanwhile, DeSantis could be weighing suspension of another state attorney, Monique Worrell, over her handling of previous prosecutions of a suspect who had records of arrests as a juvenile and was on probation at the time he allegedly went on a shooting spree, killing three people.
Last week, DeSantis’s general counsel requested Worrell to turn over emails, reports, and documents related to the suspect, Keith Moses.
