Criminal justice reformers are mistakenly finding comfort in a federal court ruling last month that took Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to task for removing a twice-elected, reform-oriented county prosecutor from office.
U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle said the Republican governor violated both the First Amendment and Florida law by ousting State Attorney Andrew Warren — a Democrat elected by voters in Tampa and the rest of Hillsborough County — for speaking out against Florida’s 15-week abortion ban and proposed legislation to criminalize gender-affirming care.
But DeSantis’ blatantly political and anti-democratic maneuver worked. Warren remains out of office. Voters in the historically Democratic county remain disenfranchised and are stuck with an unelected, tough-on-crime prosecutor chosen by DeSantis because, Hinkle said, there was nothing he could do to restore Warren to his office.
