Lawsuit Filed Against DeSantis Over FL State Attorney's Ouster

TAMPA, FL — Andrew Warren, the elected Hillsborough County state attorney suspended by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, announced Wednesday that he has filed a lawsuit in federal court to challenge DeSantis’ "blatant abuse of power."

The suit asks a judge to compel the governor to rescind his "illegal order," restore Warren to office and prohibit DeSantis from taking similar "illegal actions against Warren in the future."

Warren addressed the media Wednesday morning alongside his counsel, Jean-Jacques “J” Cabou, co-chairman of the white collar investigations practice at the international law firm Perkins Coie, LLP.

Without notice, Warren, a Democrat who was twice elected state attorney for Hillsborough County, was suspended on Aug. 4 and escorted out of his office at the 13th Judicial Circuit Courthouse in downtown Tampa by an armed sheriff's deputy.

The Republican governor, who came to Tampa to announce Warren's ouster with Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister and Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, both Republicans, at his side, immediately had Hillsborough County Judge Susan Lopez sworn in as Warren's replacement. Lopez is a former Hillsborough County assistant state attorney who was appointed county judge by DeSantis Dec. 2, 2021.

Related story: Ousted FL State Attorney Says He's Not Going Down Without A Fight

In a matter of hours, Lopez assumed her new duties and all references to Warren were removed from the state attorney's website.

Supporters have been protesting in front of the courthouse since Andrew's suspension, calling it an attack on women and the LGBTQ community.

The governor's actions were also condemned by Democratic U.S. Reps. Charlie Crist and Kathy Castor, the Florida Senate's top-ranking Democrat, Lauren Book, state Rep. Fentrice Driskell, D-Tampa, and Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, the country's first openly gay mayor.

"The governor's actions constitute an extreme abuse of power — a new low for DeSantis who fails our great state with his mean-spirited, selfish and fiscally irresponsible focus on his political ambitions alone," U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor said.

"Removing a duly elected official should be based on egregious actions — not political statements," said Mayor Jane Castor. "In a free state, voters should choose their elected officials."

“This is clearly a political move by Gov. DeSantis that actually has nothing to do with keeping our community safer,” said Driskell, incoming Democratic leader for the state House.

In an executive order of suspension, DeSantis said he was suspending Warren "due to neglect of duty, incompetence and willful defiance of his duties as early as June 2021 when he signed a joint statement with other elected prosecutors in support of gender-transition treatments for children and bathroom usage based on gender identity."

In the same document, however, DeSantis acknowledged the Florida Legislature has not enacted any laws regarding gender-transition treatments for children or bathroom usage that Warren has failed to uphold.

DeSantis also took Warren to task for signing a pledge last year not to prosecute doctors and women involved in abortions that violated a 15-week abortion ban, a measure that hadn't even been passed by the Legislature at that time.

“In our country, there are protections for freedoms and limits on power. Ron DeSantis may not like them. He may not respect them. But he does have to follow them,” said Warren, who was first elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2020.

“There is so much more at stake here than my job. Ron DeSantis is hoping to get away with overturning a fair election, throwing out the votes of hundreds of thousands of Floridians. By challenging this illegal abuse of power, we’re fighting to make sure no governor can toss out an election because he doesn’t like the winner," Warren said.

The suit spotlights what Warren calls "the numerous legal flaws" in the executive order signed by DeSantis on Aug. 4 that replaced him with an "unelected DeSantis accomplice," including violating Warren's right to free speech under the U.S. Constitution and exceeding his authority as governor under Florida law.

"He's violated my first amendment rights by retaliating against me for speaking out on abortion and transgender rights and he's violated the Florida Constitution by removing me from office without any legal justification, throwing out the results of a fair and free elections," Warren said Wednesday morning.

Warren maintains that when he signed the joint statements on abortions and gender transition treatments, also signed by prosecutors from around the nation, those statements expressed his own views and opinions on the criminalization of abortion and gender-affirming care.

The statements are not binding policies, and no criminal cases related to those issues have ever come before Warren, Cabou said.

"DeSantis took action to remove Warren because of something Warren said, not what he did," said Cabou. "Under the U.S. Constitution, one elected official cannot remove another based on something they said."

Furthermore, Cabou pointed out that Warren does not work for DeSantis. He is an independently elected official. Under Florida law, the governor must have a valid reason for suspending him that's decided by a court, not the governor.

DeSantis’ executive order alleges “incompetence” and “neglect of duty.” In the lawsuit, Cabou explains that those two terms have specific definitions under Florida law and nothing Warren has done fits the definitions in the Florida Constitution. He said DeSantis exceeded his authority.

"Even though Ron DeSantis is governor, the first amendment still has meaning. The Florida Constitution still has meaning," Warren said. "And elections and democracy still have meaning."

Warren added that his lawsuit in federal court isn't about getting his job back.

"By challenging this abuse of power, we can make sure that no governor can toss out the results of an election because he doesn't like the outcome," Warren said.