Will Gov. DeSantis' removal of Tampa's state attorney Andrew Warren stick?
TAMPA Ousted Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren is out of a job because of something he said, not something he did.
Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped a bombshell when he removed Warren from office this week for pledging not to pursue certain criminal cases involving abortion and transgender minors. As the conservative Republican governor and the progressive Democratic prosecutor brace for the inevitable battle to come, the Tampa Bay Times asked legal experts to weigh in.
DeSantis order on Thursday said a governors executive responsibility allows him to suspend any state officer who is not subject to impeachment for acts that include neglect of duty and incompetence. Warren has effectively nullified these Florida criminal laws in the 13th Judicial Circuit, thereby eroding the rule of law, encouraging lawlessness, and usurping the exclusive role of the Florida Legislature to define criminal conduct, his order said.
Some experts focused on a specific aspect of the executive order: Though it said Warren neglected his duty and was incompetent because he had signed letters saying he would not enforce laws prohibiting gender-affirming care for minors or limiting abortion, in fact, no such cases have come before him.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/gov-desantis-removal-tampa-state-152000666.html
brush
(53,776 posts)bogus move. Warren is an elected official, not one appointed by DeathSentence.
This will go to court.
tulipsandroses
(5,124 posts)Hes got some nerve talking about incompetence.
yankee87
(2,170 posts)Now DeathSantis is also DictatorSantis. When does it end?
live love laugh
(13,104 posts)Glad its being scrutinized.
FBaggins
(26,735 posts)They have the power to do it.
As for "allow" or "scrutinized" - there's two ways to look at it.
1 - The state senate has the power to overturn the decision or make it permanent and fire Warren. It doesn't require a super-majority and republicans have control of the senate. Warren has been labeled a "rising star" in the state party and was recently selected to head up our "Safety & Justice Task Force". They have every reason to give him a black eye.
2 - State courts. You can certainly find a fair judge in FL... but every single appellate court and the state supreme court are almost unanimously republican.
So the best we can probably hope for is a local judge saying that the governor overstepped his authority - before an appellate court reverses the decision.