TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A federal judge hearing the case of Hillsborough County’s ousted state attorney appears to favor a trial over immediately reinstating Andrew Warren to decide the issue “once and for all.”
Warren was requesting a preliminary injunction to put him back to the office Gov. Ron removed him from last month.
The twice-elected state attorney was escorted from his downtown Tampa offices Aug. 4 by an armed sheriff’s deputy. The governor accused him of refusing to enforce laws involving abortion and transgender health care, and of not prosecuting certain low-level, nonviolent crimes.
Warren, a progressive Democrat, contended that his removal was a political stunt by the conservative governor with whom he had previously clashed. He said DeSantis violated his free speech rights and overstepped his authority.
Warren sued DeSantis and asked the judge for a preliminary injunction to reinstate him to his job. At a hearing Monday morning, Senior U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle indicated he’d like to avoid the possible back and forth effect of reinstating Warren and have a trial to settle the issue “once and for all.”
Hinkle asked the attorneys how quickly they could go to trial. Warren’s attorneys said a month. DeSantis’ lawyers said three to four months, although they’d need to confer with their clients to be definitive.
“The public isn’t served by yo-yoing this office,” Hinkle said.
He said the public interest was in trying the case as soon as possible to get all the facts.
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