Looking to salvage the last year of his term in office as Hillsborough County State Attorney, Democrat Andrew Warren is asking the federal 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to expedite his case.
"Time is of the essence in resolving this dispute," Warren's lawyers wrote in the filing.
"As a result of Governor Ron DeSantis's illegal suspension of Mr. Warren, the voters of Hillsborough County have been deprived of the official whom they selected as State Attorney. An election involving millions of Floridians has been nullified. Mr. Warren, meanwhile, has been unable to serve in his post. One year remains in Mr. Warren's term, and it should not be consumed by unnecessary delays in legal proceedings."
Warren was elected as State Attorney in 2016 and re-elected in 2020.
Last week a three-judge panel ruled that a lower court erred in finding the federal courts had no authority to reinstate Warren, even though the lower court found DeSantis' violated Warren's First Amendment rights when he suspended him in August 2022. DeSantis made that move because, among other reasons, Warren signed a pledge not to enforce abortion-related crimes in the wake of the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
DeSantis replaced Warren with Suzy Lopez, who has been serving in his stead ever since.
The appellate court decision sent the case back to a lower court in Tallahassee. DeSantis could appeal the ruling by requesting a review by the entire 11th Circuit, not just the three judges who ruled last week.
The filing asks the court to cut in half the typical deadline of 14 days for DeSantis to respond to the ruling, instead asking it to mandate a deadline of Wednesday, Jan. 17. The appellate court agreed.
The day before the Jan. 10 ruling from the appeals court, Warren declared he wouldn't seek re-election to the State Attorney position, reasoning that DeSantis could simply suspend him again if he won. But now he's arguing that his reinstatement could affect the election.
"The urgency is all the greater now because resolution of this case will also impact the next election for State Attorney later this year," the filing states.
DeSantis hasn't publicly responded to the ruling.
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