TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The ongoing legal battle between Governor Ron DeSantis and former Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren took another turn Wednesday when the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the governor.
Warren has claimed that his suspension violated his freedom of speech, and in a unanimous decision, the appellate court largely agreed with this.
The appellate judges focused on the statement that Warren signed on abortion. The statement was cited as a reason that Warren was suspended and replaced by Governor DeSantis.
The decision from the court said the First Amendment protected the statement and that the governor, "must prove that unprotected activity, such as Warren's actual performance or his policies, motivated him to suspend Warren."
Specifically, the appeals court listed unprotected activities as Warren's "low-level offense policy," his "Bike Policy," or "Warren's performance."
The ruling doesn't mean that Warren would be returned to his job as state attorney.
Warren vs. DeSantis Appeals... by ABC Action News
News of the appellate court's decision comes around 48 hours after Warren said he would not seek re-election for a third term.
The announcement said that if he won the election, Governor Ron DeSantis "would simply repeat his illegal suspension of Warren and replace Warren again with an unelected political appointee."
“I have been planning to run for re-election since the day I was suspended. But the governor has made clear that he does not care about the will of the voters or our democracy, and that he is willing to break state and federal law to keep me from serving as State Attorney,” Warren said in his email.
Warren was elected as State Attorney for Tampa/Hillsborough County in 2016 and reelected in 2020.
ABC Action News has reached out to Warren for comment in light of the latest decision in the case but has not heard back as of publishing.
