TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA — The Florida Supreme Court voted overwhelmingly against reinstating suspended Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren on Thursday.
The court ruled that questioned the legal course Warren had pursued for reinstatement and declined to consider his case due to an “unreasonable delay” of nearly five months.
“PATHOGEN OF IGNORING THE LAW”
The governor suspended Warren in August, following a statewide investigation into individual prosecutors that revealed Warren had “put himself publicly above the law.”
In June of 2021, Warren signed a letter vowing that he would not enforce any legal prohibitions on sex change operations for minors. He also refused to prosecute those who violated abortion laws.
“We are not going to allow this pathogen of ignoring the law to get a foothold in the state of Florida,” DeSantis said at the time of the suspension.
Warren has made himself out to be a victim of political persecution, arguing that the governor’s suspension violates the First Amendment.
“This is an issue that is crucial for democracy in Florida,” Warren said in a statement reacting to the ruling on Thursday. “Rather than addressing the substance of the governor’s illegal action, the Court cited a technicality and avoided a ruling on the merits of the case. We are extremely disappointed by today’s decision.”
In August, The Florida Standard exposed how Warren leveraged his official office to liaise with the Florida Democratic party and used taxpayer dollars to fund events related to his activism.
COURT QUESTIONS LEFTIST JUDGE
The court also took time to highlight the conclusions of U.S. District Court Judge Robert Hinkle, who previously claimed Warren’s suspension was unconstitutional.
Writing in Thursday’s ruling, Chief Justice Charles Canady suggested Hinkle overstepped the bounds of his role by calling attention to the federal judge’s “extraneous comments.”
In January, Hinkle dismissed Warren’s case because he lacked the jurisdiction needed to reinstate the suspended prosecutor, but took the liberty of opining that DeSantis has “violated the Florida Constitution.”
Canady also pointed out how Hinkle – a Clinton appointee – took shots at the Republican-led Senate.
“[Hinkle] seemingly questioned the ability of the Florida Senate to dutifully carry out its constitutional role in suspension matters, referring to that legislative body as ‘heavily partisan,’” Canady wrote.
Hinkle’s apparent attempt to add some juice to the merits of Warren’s claims line up with his recent rulings in favor of Left-wing causes.
Earlier this month, he blocked a new Florida law that prohibits doctors from gender-mutilating teenagers. Hinkle suggested that prohibiting doctors from removing healthy body parts of confused teens is “not good medicine.”
On Wednesday, Hinkle went a step further by determining that a Florida rule shielding taxpayers from funding the castration and genital mutilation of children is unconstitutional.
